PRAXIS 5205 · COURSE
Praxis 5205 Teaching Reading: Elementary course
20 guided lessons across 4 sections. Read the first chapter free — no account needed.
FREE CHAPTER
Phonological vs. Phonemic Awareness
This is the #1 mix-up on the reading test. If you can tell these two apart (and tell both apart from phonics), you'll grab easy points.
Key words
- Phonological awareness
- Hearing and playing with sound parts of spoken language: words, syllables, rhymes, onset-rime, and single sounds. — e.g. Clapping the syllables in 'pen-cil.'
- Phonemic awareness
- Hearing and playing with the smallest single sounds in spoken words. — e.g. Saying 'dog' as /d/ /o/ /g/.
- Phoneme
- One single sound in a word. — e.g. 'Ship' has 3 phonemes: /sh/ /i/ /p/ (but 4 letters).
- Onset and rime
- Onset = sound(s) before the vowel. Rime = the vowel and everything after it. — e.g. cat = c + at; street = str + eet.
- Phonics
- Connecting sounds to letters. — e.g. Matching the sound /m/ to the letter M.
THE UMBRELLA
Phonological awareness is the big umbrella. Under it, from biggest chunk to smallest: (1) words in a sentence, (2) rhyme and alliteration, (3) syllables, (4) onset and rime, (5) phonemes. That last level, single sounds, is phonemic awareness.
ORDER MATTERS
Kids usually develop these skills from big chunks to small. Rhyming comes early; changing single sounds comes later. If a question asks what to teach first, pick the bigger chunk.
BASIC VS. ADVANCED
Basic phonemic skills are isolating ('What's the first sound in fish?'), blending (/m/ /a/ /p/ = map), and segmenting (map = /m/ /a/ /p/). Advanced skills are deletion ('Say smile without /s/' = mile) and substitution ('Change /m/ in mat to /s/' = sat).
THE TEST TRAP
If an answer choice involves letters, print, or writing, it is phonics or spelling, not phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is done out loud.
ASSESSING IT
Assess phonemic awareness orally with no letters, like 'Tell me all the sounds in sun.' Find the level each student has mastered and teach the next one.
Remember this
- Phonological = the big umbrella (words, syllables, rhymes, onset-rime). Phonemic = the smallest single sounds.
- Skills develop big to small. Basic = isolate, blend, segment. Advanced = delete, substitute.
- If you can see letters, it's not phonemic awareness. It's phonics.
Phonemic = Phone. Eyes closed, no letters.
Every lesson in the course
I. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness and Emergent Literacy
11%- Phonological vs. Phonemic AwarenessFree
- Oral Language: Receptive and Expressive
- Concepts About Print
- Letter Recognition, the Alphabetic Principle, and Early Assessment
II. Phonics and Decoding
15%- Sounds to Letters: Systematic, Explicit Phonics
- Phonics Patterns: Blends, Digraphs, Diphthongs, and Schwa
- Syllable Types and Reading Big Words
- Morphology: Prefixes, Suffixes, Roots, and Base Words
- Irregular Words and Assessing Phonics
III. Vocabulary and Fluency
18%- Which Words to Teach: Vocabulary Tiers
- Teaching Vocabulary Explicitly and Deeply
- Word Solving: Context Clues and Structural Analysis
- Fluency: Accuracy, Rate, and Prosody
- How It Connects and How to Assess It
IV. Comprehension of Literary and Informational Text
18%- How Comprehension Is Built: Listening, Knowledge, and the Reading Rope
- Teaching Comprehension Strategies and Metacognition
- Discussion and Graphic Organizers
- Literary Text: Genres, Story Elements, and Literary Devices
- Informational Text: Structures, Features, and Digital Literacy
- Differentiation, Text Choice, and Assessing Comprehension