A developmental continuum of phonological sensitivity skills

Abstract

Abstract A large body of evidence supports the link between acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among young children and their later literacy achievement. This literature review presents a synthesis of the developmental nature of phonological sensitivity skills as assessed among typically developing children over the past 30 years. Phonological sensitivity is composed of both phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, each representing a distinct set of skills that emerge in a general developmental sequence among typically developing children. Yet, insufficient attention is being paid to the developmental nature of phonological sensitivity skills in our efforts to identify and remediate early literacy difficulties among children. This article presents the array of skills that constitute phonological sensitivity, ordered in a developmental continuum based on research evidence in order to create a bridge between scientific evidence and school‐based practices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.