Enhancing phonological awareness through the Rime House strategy: A literature review approach

Phonological awareness is a foundational skill for early literacy development, particularly for learners in their formative years. It encompasses the ability to recognize and manipulate sound structures within words, playing a crucial role in reading acquisition. The Rime House strategy, an onset-rime instructional approach, has emerged as an effective method for enhancing phonological skills by aiding students in identifying, segmenting, and blending word structures. This study employs a literature review approach to examine the efficacy of the Rime House strategy in phonology instruction. Drawing on twelve empirical studies, the research synthesizes evidence on how onset and rime interventions impact learners reading abilities and phonemic awareness. The thematic analysis highlights key benefits, including improved word recognition, enhanced phonemic segmentation, and increased reading fluency. Furthermore, findings suggest that the strategy is particularly beneficial for struggling readers, as it provides a structured and multisensory approach to decoding. The study also discusses the adaptability of the Rime House strategy across diverse educational contexts, reinforcing its potential as an effective pedagogical tool. Conclusively, this research provides valuable insights into the practical applications of the Rime House strategy, advocating for its integration into phonology instruction. It offers recommendations for educators, policymakers, and researchers, emphasizing the need for further studies to explore its long-term impact on literacy development.