PHonological Awareness Therapy Techniques That Work!

1. PHonological Awareness Therapy Techniques That Work! We examined the use of explicit teaching of phonological awareness skills to prepare preschoolers for the reading expectations in the Kansas City, KS school district. Susanne Mahoney, Kerri Schreiber, Peggy Wiens, Sarah Plese Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools Education Center Preschool November 2006

2. Why target phonological awareness skills? • The increasing expectations placed on students in preschool and kindergarten prompted us to examine this topic. • Current research indicates that children who have speech delays are at greater risk for difficulties in developing reading skills. • Phonological awareness skills are linked to early reading achievement. Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

3. Supporting Research • According to Laura Justice (KSHA presentation, 2005), the best predictors of successful development of decoding skills are alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and print-concept knowledge. Explicit teaching is necessary to ensure that students learn necessary skills for reading success. • Only 24% of 4th grade students read proficiently and 37% do not have basic skills for reading. • A 3 year longitudinal study of 12 preschool students with speech impairments and 19 preschool students with typically developing speech examined the effect of targeting phonological awareness skills during the preschool years (Gillon, 2005). • The study revealed that early intervention which facilitates phoneme awareness and letter knowledge in addition to targeting improved speech intelligibility contributed to stronger phoneme awareness skills and eventually to improved decoding and encoding of printed words. • The students most at risk for reading problems in the primary grades are those who start school with less phonological awareness, lower verbal skills, and less letter knowledge (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999). Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

4. Education Center PreschoolKansas City, Kansas • The preschool program at the Education Center serves at-risk 4-year olds and children identified with special needs ages 3-5. • Approximately 70% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches. • Each collaborative teaching team consists of: a general education teacher, a special education teacher, a paraprofessional and special education support staff. • The students attend 3 hours a day in a morning or afternoon session. • Speech-Language services are provided within the classroom and in the speech therapy room. Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

5. Intervention • Participants • 12 students with speech and/or language delays • 2 students were speech only students • 10 students also have delays in other developmental areas • 4 typically-developing students • Assessment • A locally developed phonological awareness screening was used as a pre- and post- assessment to determine abilities in the areas of: • Detecting rhymes • Developing rhymes • Segmenting syllables • Awareness of initial sounds Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

6. Intervention • During the ‘04-’05 school year, we created 30 literature- based lesson plans for speech groups which targeted vocabulary, speech sound production, syntax, and narrative development. • Based on the needs identified in the current research, we added a phonological awareness component to each of these lesson plans during the ‘05-’06 school year. • We used a cyclical approach to target rhyming, segmenting syllables, and initial sound awareness. • These activities were implemented using explicit teaching during speech therapy and classroom activities with identified students. • General education peers did not participate in the intervention outside of the general education classroom. • These activities were implemented using explicit teaching during speech therapy and classroom activities with identified students. • General education peers did not participate in the intervention outside of the general education classroom. Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

7. Intervention Results • We have observed improvement in student performance for each of the targeted phonological awareness skills. • Students who were previously unable to complete any of the tasks successfully showed greater interest and participation in the activities. • During classroom activities, identified students demonstrated comprehension of phonological awareness activities despite the fact that they were not always accurate in completing the tasks. • Improvements in speech sound production and a decrease in phonological processes were also observed. Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

8. References Burns, M.S, Griffin, P., & Snow, C.E. (Eds.). (1999). Starting out right: A guide to promoting children's reading success. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Fitzpatrick, Jo. (2002). Getting Ready to Read: Independent Phonemic Awareness Centers for Emergent Readers. Huntington Beach, CA: Creative Teaching Press, Inc.Gillon, Gail T. (2005). Facilitating phoneme awareness development in 3- and 4- year old children with speech impairment. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 208-324. Gillon, Gail T. (2005). Phonological Awareness: Evidence to Influence Assessment and Intervention Practices. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 281-284.Justice, Laura. (2005). Evidence-Based Practice in Early Literacy Intervention. Kansas Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Conference Presentation. Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese

9. Susanne Mahoney, M.A., CCC-SLP Kansas City, KS Public Schools Education Center Preschool 4601 State Avenue Suite 38 Kansas City, KS 66102 www.kckps.org Peggy Wiens, M.S., CCC-SLP Kansas City, KS Public Schools Education Center Preschool 4601 State Avenue Suite 38 Kansas City, KS 66102 www.kckps.org Kerri Schreiber, M.A., CCC-SLP Kansas City, KS Public Schools Education Center Preschool 4601 State Avenue Suite 38 Kansas City, KS 66102 www.kckps.org Sarah Plese, M.A., CCC-SLP Kansas City, KS Public Schools Education Center Preschool 4601 State Avenue Suite 38 Kansas City, KS 66102 www.kckps.org Presenters Mahoney, Schreiber, Wiens, & Plese