When should early childhood educators introduce phonological awareness activities?
It depends on the activities! Early childhood educators are very well informed about developmentally appropriate practices. Although there is an enormous amount of press on the importance of phonological awareness, I want to beg early educators not to panic in a way that permits them to put aside what they really know. Once informed about the concept that underlies this awareness, in what developmentally appropriate activities can we engage children to enhance their awareness? We mustn’t close off important joyful parts basic to humans and suddenly force children to simply mimic us during phonics activities. Q: How should teachers of students with learning disabilities modify phonological awareness instruction? A: Again, it depends on the students with whom one works. If I had only one word to say, it would be RESPECT. I talk with older students about the whats and whys of what we are doing. I ask them to help me change the design of some of the activities so they are more appealing to
