WGU Early Literacy Methods (D669):
The Ultimate Guide to Powerful,
Research-Based Reading Instruction
print awareness
the understanding that printed text carries meaning, including the recognition of words, letters, and the
functions of various elements in a book or written material
letter awareness
the understanding that letters are representations of sounds
book awareness
the understanding of how books work, including concepts such as reading from left to right, turning
pages, and recognizing the front and back cover
concepts about print
the understanding of how printed materials, such as books and other written texts, function and are
structured
phonological awareness
the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of spoken language, including words, syllables, and
phonemes (individual speech sounds), without necessarily understanding the meaning of the words
phonemic awareness
a subset of phonological awareness and specifically refers to the ability to recognize and manipulate
individual phonemes (speech sounds) in spoken words
syllables
units of sound within words that contain a single vowel sound and may or may not be preceded or
followed by consonant sounds
onset
the initial consonant or consonant cluster of a syllable that comes before the letter sound
rime
, the part of the syllable that consists of the vowel sound and any consonant sounds that follow it
consonant
a speech sound produced by obstructing the flow of air through the vocal tract
vowel
a speech sound produced without significant constriction or closure of the vocal tract
stops
consonant sounds that produced by one push of breath and then stopping the air including /p/, /b/, /t/,
/d/, /k/, and /g/
nasals
consonant sounds produced with the nasal passage open, allowing air to escape through the nose,
including /n/, /m/, and /ng/
fricatives
consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow opening or passage in the vocal tract creating
friction, this includes /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /sh/, /zh/, and /th/
affricatives
consonant sounds that begin as stops but are released as fricatives, which involves a brief stoppage of
airflow followed by a slow release with friction such as the sounds /ch/ and /j/
glides
consonant sounds that glide immediately into vowels, including /h/, /w/, and /y/
liquids
consonant sounds characterized by a partial closure of the vocal tract, allowing for the relatively free
flow of air like /l/ and /r/
voiced
sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords
unvoiced
sounds produced without vibration of the vocal cords
decoding
the process of using knowledge of letter sound relationships (grapheme phoneme correspondence) to
translate written symbols (graphemes) into into spoken language (phonemes) and recognize words
orthographic mapping
The Ultimate Guide to Powerful,
Research-Based Reading Instruction
print awareness
the understanding that printed text carries meaning, including the recognition of words, letters, and the
functions of various elements in a book or written material
letter awareness
the understanding that letters are representations of sounds
book awareness
the understanding of how books work, including concepts such as reading from left to right, turning
pages, and recognizing the front and back cover
concepts about print
the understanding of how printed materials, such as books and other written texts, function and are
structured
phonological awareness
the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of spoken language, including words, syllables, and
phonemes (individual speech sounds), without necessarily understanding the meaning of the words
phonemic awareness
a subset of phonological awareness and specifically refers to the ability to recognize and manipulate
individual phonemes (speech sounds) in spoken words
syllables
units of sound within words that contain a single vowel sound and may or may not be preceded or
followed by consonant sounds
onset
the initial consonant or consonant cluster of a syllable that comes before the letter sound
rime
, the part of the syllable that consists of the vowel sound and any consonant sounds that follow it
consonant
a speech sound produced by obstructing the flow of air through the vocal tract
vowel
a speech sound produced without significant constriction or closure of the vocal tract
stops
consonant sounds that produced by one push of breath and then stopping the air including /p/, /b/, /t/,
/d/, /k/, and /g/
nasals
consonant sounds produced with the nasal passage open, allowing air to escape through the nose,
including /n/, /m/, and /ng/
fricatives
consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow opening or passage in the vocal tract creating
friction, this includes /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /sh/, /zh/, and /th/
affricatives
consonant sounds that begin as stops but are released as fricatives, which involves a brief stoppage of
airflow followed by a slow release with friction such as the sounds /ch/ and /j/
glides
consonant sounds that glide immediately into vowels, including /h/, /w/, and /y/
liquids
consonant sounds characterized by a partial closure of the vocal tract, allowing for the relatively free
flow of air like /l/ and /r/
voiced
sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords
unvoiced
sounds produced without vibration of the vocal cords
decoding
the process of using knowledge of letter sound relationships (grapheme phoneme correspondence) to
translate written symbols (graphemes) into into spoken language (phonemes) and recognize words
orthographic mapping
