TRT Podcast #118: What we know about phoneme awareness – with Dr. Susan Brady
Phoneme awareness has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years. Dr. Susan Brady helps us sort out the research and make practical applications for teaching.
Full episode transcript
Articles and other resources mentioned in the episode
- Explicit syllable phoneme segmentation in the young child, by Liberman & Shankweiler (1974)
- Promoting phonemic analysis ability among kindergartners, by Cary & Verhaeghe (1994)
- Phonological awareness intervention and the acquisition of literacy skills in children from deprived social backgrounds, by Nancollis, Lawrie & Dodd (2005)
- How does orthographic knowledge influence performance on phonological awareness tasks?, by Castles (2003)
- IDA Phonemic awareness fact sheet
- The Reading League’s defining guide ebook
Dr. Brady’s work
Dr. Brady is so accomplished and published so much that it would be difficult to list all of her credentials and writing here. This document lists her education, honors, experience, publications, and more.
YOU’LL LOVE THIS PRACTICAL BOOK!
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Pamela Mehlin
Anna,
I am not sure why it took me this long to find your podcast!
I appreciate this conversation with Dr. Susan Brady. I have been keeping up with her work but, you asked her the hard question about using the one-minute drills from Kilpatrick’s book. Everyone needs to hear this!
I will be listening to more of your podcasts!
Pam
Anna Geiger
Thank you so much, Pam, I appreciate your feedback! I think it’s time for those one-minute drills to go …
Melissa Lucido
Thank you both for your work on this podcast! Earlier this winter I watched a webinar by Dr. Brady and have been sharing it with anyone that will listen. This is another great resource to pass on to people as well! After some intense discussions with a speech pathologist in my district, and these resources, I am in the early planning stages for next year (4K teacher and 4K/K Instructional Coach) where I will be proposing a new scope and sequence for the first few weeks of school with a focus on phoneme awareness. My experience in the classroom often bucked the old research so I am excited to hear how new research supports what I have experienced. And also garner new tools to enhance my teaching.
Anna Geiger
Thank you for all your thoughtful work and planning, Melissa! It’s wonderful that you’re a leader in this area – so many students will benefit!
Nattalie Botello
This interview helped to clarify and confirm so much about phonological and phonemic awareness for me. I have witnessed how activities like word chaining and switch it help to build these skills and phonics by linking letters and sounds.
I can’t wait to hear what other guests you have in upcoming episodes!
Anna Geiger
This is great to hear, Nattalie! I’m very. much enjoying this expert series!
Penny
Follow the above link to the IDA Phonetic Awareness Fact Sheet, check out bottom of p8 to top of page 9 first.
Check out YouTube video How the Brain Learns to Read. By Logic of English,
it is just 34 minutes and is very clear and understandable.
Connecting the sounds to the letters is how we read, and how words are stored in our brains, mapped, for instant retrieval. So focusing on sounds, phoneme awareness, fits perfectly.
Penny
YouTube video approx. 1 1/2 hours by Susan Brady. Great information, well presented.
Phoneme Awareness Research Updated by Susan Brady. through Reading Simplified
Samantha
Wow! That was very informative and makes me want to learn more! Like you, I was surprised by her suggestions for preschool, especially regarding not focusing on all aspects of phonological awareness. I’m newer to the science of reading, and like most of us, I want to follow what the science says is most effective, but I must admit it’s overwhelming to stay on top of what is the current right thing. I understand what Dr. Brady is saying regarding there not being a hierarchy, and focusing on phoneme awareness, segmenting and blending activities in preschool, but I thought there was support that other aspects of phonological awareness such as rhyming, onset & rime, syllables, and phoneme manipulation, helped create those connections in the brain to help facilitate orthographic mapping? From what you understand, is this outdated or just untrue as she was explaining it’s actually the opposite that established OG makes our brains better at those skills?
Anna Geiger
Samantha, I’m not sure if phonological awareness creates connections for orthographic mapping, but it makes sense to me that it draws children attention to words and the parts within words. Interestingly, in an article by Dr. Brady in The Reading League Journal in the past couple of years, she DID recommend including those bigger sound units in preschool instruction with a scope and sequence that was included in the article. So I wouldn’t toss them out – just know that they aren’t what will get kids reading. I think the article is behind a paywall. It’s called “A 2020 perspective on research findings on alphabetics (phoneme awarneness and implications for instruction)” Sept/Oct 2020
Here is an expanded version: https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Brady-Expanded-Version-of-Alphabetics-TRLJ.pdf
As I learn more about this I’ll be sure to share!
Susan Brady
Hi, Susan Brady here. I did suggest relegating phonological awareness activities for larger speech units to pre-k in the 2020 article noted by Anna. I no longer think that is the best practice. Instead, I would focus on the initial phonemes in spoken words (including the child’s first name), on alliteration tasks, and on learning letters that correspond with the phonemes children are discovering. Note that Shayne Piasta, another recent podcast interviewee on The Measured Mom, gives the reference for an article by Piasta, Petscher, and Justice (2012) that suggested a benchmark of knowledge of 18 upper case letters and 15 lower case letters in pre-K as predictive of better reading at the end of first grade.
Anna Geiger
Thank you for weighing in, Dr. Brady!
Lorraine
Anna,
Thank you for being honest about your interview with Dr. Brady. I found it fascinating and informative. It also affirms some of what I am discovering with my students in my K classroom.
I appreciate all your work. Thank you!
Lorraine
Anna Geiger
Thanks for your feedback, Lorraine! Would you mind telling me more about what you’re seeing in your classroom, and how it affirms what you heard in the interview?
Anna Geiger
Thanks so much for listening, Shelley! I agree – there was a lot in this one! I’m thankful that so many researchers are open to sharing their knowledge on the podcast!
Shelly
I am loving the interviews!!!! I had to listen to this one twice to make sure I got the information! The research your interviewees are sharing is fascinating and I have been really reflecting on my teaching processes.
Penny
Check out, on YouTube video by Susan Brady
Phoneme Awareness Research Updated by Susan Brady. On Reading Simplified.
4 months ago This is so informative and well presented. Approx. 1 1/2 hour