Phonemic awareness means children recognize that sounds are like building blocks and that the same sounds can be used to make all the different words. Phonemic awareness is a basic prereading skill. Rhyming games, letter and word games and letter and sound recognition activities are forms of early reading interventions. Teachers screen children for strengths and weaknesses in reading and schedule time for extra work with students needing help, usually in small groups of three students. With this intervention, students learn to decode words and learn new vocabulary.
The National Reading Panel noted that reading comprehension begins with a student’s understanding of individual words in printed text. Students who stumble over reading certain words can benefit from having a more-accomplished reader listen to them read aloud and correct any mistakes that arise. While reading aloud, a student may stumble over a problem word. Teachers working with that student will help the student learn the problem word, reading the sentence over until the student has learned the correct pronunciation and meaning of the word and sentence.
Elementary-level reading interventions also involve a teacher working one on one with students. The teacher follows along silently. When a problem or hesitation occurs, the teacher intervenes with suggestions on how to sound out the word. In paired reading sessions, first the teacher reads a passage aloud, then the student reads the same passage -- or they read together in unison. Repeated paired reading sessions allow students to gain confidence and reading fluency over time.
To enhance reading comprehension, students are shown strategies to use such as advanced story maps to identify and analyze the components of a text. Students learn to identify main characters and their motivations, recognizing problems the characters are having, noting plot development and the overall theme of the narrative. Story map instruction is highly interactive; the teacher works through the passage with the students and has them think out loud as they note the major elements of the text. Other comprehension interventions include a student’s performing a self-assessment of his understanding of a sentence, paragraph or passage, picking out keywords to help memorization, noting the main ideas in each paragraph of a text and using mental imagery to recall texts.