CHILDHOOD PROTAGONISM AND LITERACY: ACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Abstract

Literacy, as a complex process that combines cognitive, social, and emotional dimensions, still faces the challenge of overcoming traditional practices centered on memorization and mechanical repetition, which reduce children to the status of spectators of their own education. This problem is intensified by the guidelines of the National Common Core Curriculum (Brazil, 2017), which advocate meaningful, participatory, and inclusive literacy, anchored in child protagonism. In this context, this study aims to analyze how active methodologies can favor the development of phonological awareness and increase children's autonomy in the literacy process. The rationale lies in the need to reframe literacy practices, incorporating strategies that promote playfulness, critical reflection, and student co-responsibility. Using a qualitative approach, based on a literature review and observations in the context of a Pre-II class in Luziânia-GO, the research draws on references from Freire (1996), Dewey (1979), Vygotsky (1998), Malaguzzi (1999), Morais (2012), Bacich, Moran, and Valente (2018), among others. The results indicate that sound games, songs, dramatizations, and investigative projects enhance phonological awareness, engagement, and critical thinking, provided they are mediated by a clear pedagogical intentionality. It can be concluded that the integration of child protagonism, active methodologies, and phonological awareness contributes to inclusive and meaningful literacy, in line with the BNCC, while highlighting the need for continuous teacher training and public policies that ensure adequate material conditions for its implementation.