Abstract
Research has suggested that approximately 25% of children do not make the connection between sounds (phonemes) and the letters that represent those sounds (graphemes) on their own. This disconnection, or lack of phonological sensitivity, makes learning to read and spell both arduous and frustrating for beginning readers. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the effects of two training programs on phonological awareness abilities in six children performing below grade level in their reading skills. The six participants participated in two individual, 1-hour, pre-and post-testing sessions, and then met in groups of three, twice weekly for 30 minutes for a total of 10 therapy sessions per group. The pre- and post- testing sessions included administration of the Phonological Awareness Skills Program – Test (PASP) (Rosner, 1999), the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamental (CELF-4) Subtest: Rapid Automated Naming (RAN) (Wiig, Secord, & Semel, 2003), the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT-2) (Williams, 2008), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) (Dunn & Dunn, 2006). Additionally, one month prior to the start of the PAT study the six participants’ phonemic awareness skills were measured using the standardized assessment Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) (Good & Kaminski, 1996), administered by a school-based Intervention Specialist. During the remaining ten sessions, three participants received traditional phonological awareness training and three participants received modified RAVE-O, which includes, phonological awareness training. The traditional approach to phonological awareness training (PAT) employed skill building activities consistent with the hierarchy of phonological awareness (rhyming, segmenting, blending, on-set rimes) without an association to literature. The modified-RAVE-O approach differed in method with emphasis on building an inventory of easily retrievable components of language, through the introduction of phonological, semantic, and orthographic activities associated to a core curriculum reading book. Conclusions Reached The scores from both the modified-RAVE-O training group and the traditional phonological awareness training group indicated a departure from recent phonological awareness therapy trends of incorporating contextualized content into training. These results suggested that there are not significant differences in treatment outcomes between contextualized and decontextualized phonological awareness training.