Glossary · Sounds and phonemic awareness
What is phoneme deletion?
Definition
Phoneme deletion is saying a spoken word without one of its sounds, as in saying “slip” without /l/ to get “sip.”
Deleting a sound from the start or end of a word is the easier version. Deleting a sound from inside a cluster, the /l/ in slip or the /r/ in trip, is harder and shows whether the student really hears every sound in a blend.
Deletion tasks start with compound words and syllables (say cupcake without cup), then move to single phonemes. Students who can do syllable deletion but freeze on phonemes are usually still hearing a blend as one unit.
Keep the words real when you can. A real word as the answer gives the student a way to check themselves, though made-up answers are fine once they've got the idea.
In a lesson
“Say trip. Now say trip without /r/.” The student says “tip.” If they say “rip,” they dropped the wrong sound; slow the word down and tap each sound together.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- tript·r·i·p
- slips·l·i·p
- cupcakec·u·p·c·a_e·k
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Deletion inside blends is a good predictor of blend spelling. Record it, and look back at it when blend errors appear in dictation.
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