One of the most important skills for children to develop in the kindergarten year is the recognition that letters and sounds are related. It is often called "the alphabetic principle"--the notion that speech sounds can be connected to letters in a predictable way. To grasp the alphabetic principle, children need to understand that: (1) letters…

In this article, the author expresses concern that phonemic awareness is being viewed as a skill that is taught, rather than an ability that children develop as they become literate. Research has found that as children begin to read and write, phonemic awareness and knowledge of phonics develop gradually and simultaneously. In this paper, the…

Proper application of the alphabetic principle rests on an awareness of the internal phonological (and morphophonological) structure of words that the alphabet represents. Unfortunately for the would-be reader-writer, such awareness is not an automatic consequence of speaking a language, because the biological specialization for speech manages the…

Various lines of research demonstrate that children do not need intensive phonics instruction to develop the functional command of letter/sound patterns that they need as readers. The fact that children normally learn highly complex processes and systems by merely interacting with the external world is perhaps the most important reason why…

Describes phonological sensitivity at different grain sizes as a good predictor of reading acquisition in all languages. Presents information on development of phonological sensitivity for syllables, onsets, and rimes. Illustrates that phoneme-level skills develop fastest in children acquiring orthographically consistent languages with simple…

Notes the California's Reading Task Force's heavy emphasis on phonemic awareness (PA) evaluation and training. Argues that although evidence shows that phonemic awareness will emerge by simply reading, California's school libraries--ranked near last in the nation--would require a massive commitment to rise to the task. Argues (in an ironic tone)…