What’s inside: In this episode, we interview Dr. Melanie Schuele, professor and researcher at Vanderbilt University about her work on phonological awareness.

We talk about why it’s important to reading acquisition and why it is a critical component of literacy instruction.

Classroom implications: For about 20% of students, direct, explicit phonological instruction working in concert with phonics is a critical aspect of reading instruction. Teachers need the knowledge base of how English sounds pair to their written counterparts to effectively support this instruction.

Learn more about our guest: You can learn more about the work Dr. Schuele is doing at the Child Language and Literacy Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center by going to ww2.mc.vanderbilt.edu/cll. Below are some links to her past research and published works referenced in this episode:

• The Intensive Phonological Awareness Program (Brookes Publishing)

• Phonological Awareness: Beyond the Basics. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2008 Jan;39(1):3-20.

• Phonemic Awareness Skill of Speech Language Pathologists and other educators. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2008 Oct;39(4):512-20. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2008/07-0080).