Phonics is a crucial and incredibly valuable skill for our young learners to begin understanding reading by hearing sounds, sound patterns, letter recognition, and so much more. Children often begin learning phonics by sounding out letters and learning which letter represents that sound to that letter, like A is for apples. Children from ages 2- 4 years also learn from the world around them before entering formal education.
As defined, reading by using phonics is often referred to as decoding words, sounding out words, or using print-to-sound relationships. Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners can hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes, the smallest mental units of sound that helps to differentiate units of meaning. (Wiki).
Learning how to build words and blending sounds is no simple task like learning how to paint. There are art forms and techniques to understand how color and canvas work together. Learning is a similar process to phonemic awareness. Once children experience this understanding, they begin to feel confident in reading.
Our reading tutors pair fun phonemic awareness activities to your child’s skill level because they understand every child learns differently. When your child understands the relationship between the sounds of words, the next step — reading — becomes a real adventure
1st Grade Phonemic Awareness
1st grade reading tutoring lays the bricks down for your child’s next level to reading. They learn the following at a first-grade level:
- Letter recognition
- Consonants (B, C, D, F, etc.)
- Vowels Sounds (A, E, I, O, U and Y)
- Digraphs (OA like in boat)
- Diphthongs (OY in like in the toy)
- Blends (SL like in slip)
2nd Grade Phonemic Awareness
2nd grade reading tutoring continues the journey at a second-grade level or closes potential gaps in phonics understanding to ensure that your child is excited and ready to read:
- Letter recognition
- Consonants (B, C, D, F, etc.)
- Vowels Sounds (A, E, I, O, U and Y)
- Digraphs (OA like in boat)
- Diphthongs (OY in like in the toy)
- Blends (SL like in slip)
