Abstract
This action research examined the effectiveness of Project TILES (Teaching and Improving Literacy through Enhanced Strategies) in improving the phonemic awareness of selected Grade 1 learners. Phonemic awareness is a critical predictor of early reading success, yet classroom observations and literacy assessments revealed that several learners most especially the beginners, had trouble identifying, blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds in words.
Using CRLA-Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment, a pretest-posttest action research design, the researcher implemented Project TILES over a six-week intervention period. Learners participated in structured activities utilizing letter, sound manipulation exercises, phoneme blending, segmentation drills, word-building activities, and interactive literacy games. Data were gathered through teacher-made phonemic awareness tests, classroom observations, reading progress monitoring sheets, and learner performance records.
Results indicated a marked improvement in learners' phonemic awareness skills after the intervention. Grade 1 learners demonstrated increased proficiency in recognizing beginning, medial, and ending sounds, blending phonemes into words, and segmenting spoken words into individual sounds. Increased learner engagement, confidence, and classroom participation were likewise observed.
The findings suggest that Project TILES is an effective and sustainable intervention that enhances phonemic awareness and supports beginning reading instruction among Grade 1 learners.