This document provides a template for a final project on developing plans to teach phonemic awareness in the classroom. It includes sections for general classroom information, reflections on readings, student assessments, analysis of assessments, instructional strategies, standards addressed, use of technology, and overall reflection. The template is to be completed throughout a training course on phonemic awareness and submitted at the end for feedback. It guides the creation of comprehensive plans, including activities, assessments, and lessons to teach phonemic awareness and address students' specific needs.

1. Supporting Phonemic
Awareness in the Classroom
By Cheryl Taylor

2. Final Project Directions
As a final project, you will develop plans for teaching phonemic awareness in your
classroom, including plans for assessment procedures, analysis, and activities. This final
project template will also include one example of a phonemic awareness assessment and
analysis on a student.
Your plans should incorporate at least one of the technology tools explored in this course
and include details for other types of phonemic awareness strengthening activities.
Complete this template as the course progresses. This template is due to your facilitator
at the end of Session Six. At that time, your facilitator will review your final project and
provide feedback for you.

3. Part I: General Information
(Session One)
Name: Cheryl Taylor
GRADE: Special Education Grades 1 thru 4
LESSON BLOCK LENGTH: Individual or small group reading group for 60 minutes per day.
Is Phonemic Awareness currently being addressed in your classroom? If so, how? If you are not currently teaching in a classroom, please fill out
this template as if you are teaching in the classroom of your choice.
Each student, whether in a group or individual, receives instruction in phonological instruction for 10 to 15 minutes a day. These activities
include phonemic awareness . Students are assessed as to their phonemic awareness needs and then lessons are created to reflect each students
need. Students are progress monitored every 2 to 3 weeks so that lessons can be tweaked as needed.

4. Part II: Phonemic Awareness
(Session One)
Reflect on one of the readings from this session. Some guiding questions could be: Why is phonemic awareness an important step in learning to
read? Do you currently assess student’s phonemic awareness? If not, what are the early indicators that allow you to identify if a student is at
risk of reading difficulty?
Phonemic Awareness is an important step in a child’s journey to learning to read. As a matter of fact, the NRP found several reasons for why
phonemic awareness is important. They conducted studies that” identified Phonemic Awareness and letter knowledge as two of the best
indicators of how well children will learn to read during their first two years of instruction” Other studies have shown that if phonemic
awareness is weak reading will also be weak and vice versa – if phonemic awareness is intact then reading will be strong. (The Importance of
Phonemic Awareness, SEDL) Since current research suggests that most students don’t enter kindergarten skilled in phonemic awareness it
seems that it would be important to incorporate phonemic awareness in the kindergarten curriculum. Phonemic Awareness Instruction should
continue through first grade for students with intact skills. For those students with phonological deficits, phonemic awareness instruction should
continue until it is well established.
At the school where I teach my colleague and I have over the last few years developed a reading program for students whom have intensive
reading struggles. These are bright students, mostly students with dyslexia, who need a program that is strong in teaching reading skills at the
word level, sentence level and then paragraph level. Since many of these students have phonological deficits we assess each student in phonemic
awareness and then design individual phonemic lessons tailored to their needs. They receive 10 to 15 minutes of phonological awareness at their
level.
Ask a very young child to rapidly name colored circles on a piece of paper – CTOPP has such a card. If the child shows difficultly rapidly naming
colors they will very likely have difficulty learning to read. Oral language can sometimes be an indicator of reading struggles.

5. Part III: Linguistic Components
(Session Two)
From the Yopp article, which activities look promising and intriguing? Which ones might be easiest to incorporate into your current curriculum?
Which activities, before assessing your students, do you think would benefit your classroom most? How could the activity address the
standards?
Working with students who are struggling with reading because of a learning disability (mostly dyslexic), and many of the students are above the
grade where phonemic awareness skills are taught, segmenting and blending of syllables, onset and rime and especially at the phoneme
level would benefit these students the most. Our youngest students that access the Learning Lab (grade 1 and 2) would begin with
segmenting and blending of syllables, move to onset-rime and then phonemes. Our oldest students (grade 3 and 4) would most likely
benefit from segmenting and blending of phonemes. The segmenting and blending would move from 3 phonemes up to 6 phonemes.
These students would also work on manipulating phonemes in words. For instance, using blocks show me how many sounds are in boat,
now if that says boat show me doat, the student would change the beginning block to show the change. If that says doat show me doak,
the student changes the last block. This work in manipulation of phonemes would continue until students are substituting, deleting and
adding phonemes. This is important since these are the skills used to decode and spell. These activities address the Common Core
Standards in kindergarten and first grade.
The standards are: Kindergarten: CCSSELA.RF.K.2 – Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables and sounds; CCSSELA.RF.K.2B –
Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words; CCSSELA.RF.K.2.C- Blend and segment onsets and rimes of one syllable
spoken words. First Grade: CCSSELA.RF.I.2 – Demonstrate the understanding of spoken words, syllables and sounds; CCSSELA.RF.1.2.B –
Orally produce one syllable words by blending sounds including consonant blends; CCSSELA.RF.1.2.D – Segment spoken one syllable
words into their complete sequence of individual sounds.

6. Part IV: Audio Recording Practice
(Session Two)
If you used an audio recording tool that provides an URL please share it here. If not upload it as an audio file here and in the discussion forum.
Reflect on this practice. How do you imagine audio recordings will help you teach and your students learn about phonemic awareness?
Audio recording of students phonemic awareness will be helpful in teaching because after giving an assessment you can go back and listen to the
recording to assess their phonemic strengths and weaknesses. Often while you are giving an assessment to a child it is difficult to record
everything during the assessment. Also the audio is a good way to show student’s growth with their phonemic awareness over the year or
years that you work with the child.
Audio recording can be a good source to use to train general education teachers in the use of phonemic awareness assessments and
activities. It is also good to get a baseline of the student’s strengths, weaknesses and be able to better plan lessons. Audio recording is also
beneficial to be able to re listen to the assessment. While giving the assessment, you may have missed something or not heard something.
What struggles did you or your students face or could face?
Audio may not be working while recording child.

7. Part V: Student Assessment
(Session Three)
Which assessment will you be using on your student?
The Assessment I will use is the PAST (Phonological Awareness Skills Test) I will focus on the parts of the test that assess phonemic awareness,
isolation, segmenting, deletion, and substitution. This assessment has recently been added to our list of assessments by the Special Education
department in my school. My student was given the PAST in December when the Learning Lab picked him up because he was a student that
came out intensive when assessed using the DIBEL (first grade) benchmark. The PAST showed that he could rhyme, isolate, blend and segment
syllables but was unable to successfully isolate, blend and segment phonemes. I was curious if my work with phonemic awareness activities has
benefitted this student or not.
Insert the URL of your audio-recorded assessment with a student here or upload audio file here and in the discussion forum.

8. Part VI: Analysis
(Session Three)
After completing an assessment on a student or small child, you will reflect on their scores using the appropriate worksheet. Please upload the
worksheets in the discussion forums if possible.
 What stands out to you most?
 My student was able to isolate sounds in the beginning and end as long as the word did not contain a blend. He was unable to isolate a
beginning blend. For instance, when asked to “Tell me the first sound in the word “clap”, He said, “cl”. He had a difficult time isolating
the blends at the end of a word especially if the blend was a more difficult one like” lt” in the word felt. It was the same for segmentation
of the phonemes in words too. He was unable to segment the words that had beginning blends.
 Reflect on the areas of student strength.
 My student was able to blend words together, cvc, ccvcc, and words with endings. He could segment the sounds in words as long as they
didn’t have a beginning or ending blend. Same was true for isolating sounds within words. Students who can take apart words and isolate
them into sounds and can put them together again have the foundation skill for using the alphabetic principle. My student has shown
good progress with his reading since I started working with him in December. At that time he struggled to read cvc words. Now he can
fluently read cvc words and is working on reading words with beginning and ending blends within his lessons. I believe our daily work
with phonological awareness has benefitted this student. Not only is he able to read cvc words he now considers himself a reader.
 Reflect on the areas of student weakness. Isolating, blending and segmenting of words with beginning and ending blends. Phonemic
awareness activities should focus on isolating and segmenting words with blends.

9. Part VII: Strategies
(Session Four)
Include strategies you will use in your classroom here.
 Products and Performances: I will be asking my first grade struggling readers to take part in activities that will help them to learn to
count, isolate, segment, manipulate phonemes within words, with and without blends, so that they can independently accomplish these
skills within words with blends to help them to apply their knowledge to decoding and encoding words with blends. It is my hope to
create this lesson to be used over again using different words while we are completing phonics lessons with all the beginning blends. Then
be able to change it up a bit to include ending blends too. Products used: small white boards, white board markers, pictures, objects,
paper bags, colored blocks,
 Questions relevant to your lesson: Will my explicit instruction in isolating beginning phonemes, segmenting phonemes in words
with blends and manipulating phonemes within words help the students to be able to independently isolate, segment and manipulate
sounds in words therefore being able to decode words with blends.
 Instructional Strategies: Using various activities that include manipulatives, I will teach students to master the ability to count and
isolate beginning phonemes in blends, segment phonemes within words that have blends and gain exposure to be able to eventually
master manipulating phonemes within words including words with blends.
 Specific Skills to be developed: The lesson will be developed for my small group of first graders that are struggling readers. This
group is made up of 4 boys. When they were given a phonological awareness skills test they had almost identical weaknesses. They were
unable to isolate beginning and ending blends, segment blends, and manipulate sounds to make new words including words with blends.
In this lesson I will target the skills of; isolating blends, segmenting blends in the beginning of words and manipulating sounds in words to
make knew words.

10. Part VII: Strategies, cont.
(Session Four)
Include strategies you will use in your classroom here.
 Activities and procedure: I will start my lesson with a counting activity, using small white boards I will give the students words that
they will put slash marks on their white board according to how many sounds in the words. Words given will be cvc and ccvc words. After
they have made their slash marks they will turn their boards so that I can check their work. Students will be guided to fix any errors. Next
we will complete an isolating activity. Pictures will be provided to each student, the pictures will be of cvc and ccvc words, Taking turns,
the students will be asked to put their pictures into two groups, those that start with one sound and those that start with a blend. As they
place their pictures into the different piles they have to isolate the beginning sound or the sounds in the blend. Next, will be a short
segmenting activity with objects. Each student will be provided with a bag containing 4 or 5 objects with blends in the beginning. The
students will be asked to take out their objects, name them and then using elkonin boxes segment the sounds in the name of the object. I
will again guide them through any errors if necessary. Last activity will be done using colored blocks, I will say a cvc or ccvc word and have
the students segment them, then I will ask them to make a new word by changing a sound in the old word. For example, “using the
colored blocks show me the sounds in the word clam, now change the word from clam to clap.” The students will switch the last block to
show the change. Beginning blend phonics lesson will be given. At the end of the lesson students will asked to read a small decodable that
includes words with blends. Students can either highlight the words with blends in the story or find the words with blends and orally say
them or write them down.
 Extensions and modifications: These activities will continue throughout our phonics lessons with beginning blends to help students
apply their phonemic awareness knowledge to decoding and encoding words with blends. Modifications have been built into the lesson by
having each activity start out with words that the student is successful with. Also the activities will be individualized to meet the needs of
the 4 boys. For instance, if I find that a student needs more time counting phonemes with beginning blends I will give him opportunities
within the lesson to work on this while the other students may be completing a different activity. Also, I student could work on an app. on
an IPAD after the lesson is completed if they need further work.
 Materials and resources needed: white boards, white board markers, pictures, objects, paper bags, colored blocks,
 Websites used: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/377
 References (copyright needed?)

11. Part VIII: Common Core Standards
(Session Four)
Please list all relevant State Standards here. (Please specify your state and provide state standards website URL)
New Hampshire State Standards I used in my lesson plan are: (http://education.nh.gov/spotlight/ccss/side-by-side-english.htm)
Reading Foundational Skill Standards for Grade 1:
1. NH.1.R.ERS.1.3 (R:ERS:1:1.3) Demonstrates phonemic awareness and applies phonological knowledge and skills by: Isolating phonemes in
single syllable words (e.g., "Tell me the first sound in 'mop';" "Tell me the last sound in 'mop,'" "Tell me the middle sound in 'mop.'")
2. NH.1.R.ERS.1.4 (R:ERS:1:1.4) Demonstrates phonemic awareness and applies phonological knowledge and skills by: Deleting phonemes in
one-syllable words ("What is "crust" without the 'c'?")
3. NH.2.R.ERS.1.1 (R:ERS:2:1.1) Demonstrates phonemic awareness by: Blending and segmenting phonemes in more complex one-syllable
words (which may include combinations of blends and digraphs, as in th-i-ck, t-r-a-sh)

12. Part IX: Technology
(Session Five)
Include technology strategies you will use in your classroom here, noting also your access to computers and other required hardware. You may
also consider using your newfound podcasting skills in a creative way to help students with phonemic awareness.

13. Part X: Reflection
(Session Six)
Please use this section to reflect on your phonemic awareness plans and the process you have undergone in this course. Include the key points of
your learning and how it will change your classroom instruction.

14. Part XI
The final part of the coursework is to create a file of all the components of your lesson and upload it in the assignment section or in the
discussion forum in Session 6 on the main course page.
This file should include, but not limited to:
1. Formal Lesson Write-up
a. Including student grade and level
b. Standards addressed in lesson
c. Goals and Objectives
d. Skills addressed
e. Clear presentation of the direct instruction
f. Materials and Resources
g. Follow-up and Assessment
2. All printed materials used in lesson
3. Provide a short explanation of the purpose of the lesson based on prior needs and
assessments.