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Phonemic Awareness

Literacy Connections - Phonemic Awareness

 

SUPPORTING YOUR TIGER WITH TIGER WITH PHONEMIC AWARENESS

 

Literacy Connections - Phonemic Awareness (PDF Version)

 

  1. WHAT IS PHONEMIC AWARENESS?

Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of individual sounds (phonemes). When a child has phonemic awareness, they can hear and manipulate the individual sounds in words.

 

  1. EXAMPLES OF PHONEMIC AWARENESS
  • Blending Sounds – /w/ /i/ /sh/ - This is the skill you need to decode (read words).
  • Segmenting Words – wish has 3 sounds /w/ /i/ /sh/ This is the skill you need to encode (spell words).
  • Manipulating Sounds – Change the /w/ to /d/. What is the new word? dish This skill helps when new words are encountered in text.

 

  1. WHY IS PHONEMIC AWARENESS IMPORTANT?

Children need to become aware of how the sounds in words work. They must be able to hear and manipulate the sounds in words before they can begin to read or write them. When a child is sounding out a word, they need to be able to blend those sounds together. They may know the letter-sound relationship and be able to begin sounding out /s/ /a/ /t/. However, they must have phonemic awareness in order to blend those sounds together to read sat. When spelling words, a child needs to be able to segment (pull apart) the sounds of a word to hear each individual sound. For some kids, these skills come more naturally. However, for many children, the ability to blend and segment needs to be practiced and taught.

 

  1. TIPS TO SUPPORT PHONEMIC AWARENESS:
  • Integrate phonemic awareness activities (found on the next page) into your everyday life. Play with sounds. For example, say “I’m thinking of a pet that rhymes with log.”
  • Read books and sing songs that use rhyme, repetition, and rhythm.
  • Point out what your mouth looks like when you make a sound.

Phonemic Awareness Activities

  • Replace a word with a rhyming word when giving a direction. For example, “Simon says sit on the bouch” (instead of couch).

    After several games, start saying “Fimon fays” or “Timon tays...”

  • Say a word and have your child tap their body for each sound. 1 sound=head, 2 sound=shoulders, st nd 3rd=knees, 4 =toes. th Example: mat –  /m/ (head), /a/ (shoulders), /t/ (knees).

  • Say a word to your child. Ask your child to tell you the first, middle , or last sound (not letter) in that word. Example: What is the last sound in jam?

    You can do this while you are on a walk, in the car, cooking, or while looking at a book. Choose words that you see around you (leaf, spoon, cat, school, etc.)

  • Choose words that only have two or three sounds (not necessarily 2 or 3 letters, just 2 or 3 sounds). Say “I spy a /k/ /u/ /p/.” (You are saying each individual sound in the word, not the whole word.) Your child will try to figure out the word.

  • Make up silly sentences with several words that start with the same sound. Have your child identify the common sound.

    For example: “Freddy the frog found a fly on a fountain.”  or “Silly Sally saw a seahorse in the sea.”

  • Get silly with your child’s favorite stuffed animal. Tell your child that you need help understanding his language. Ask him or her to help you “translate.”

    Have the animal whisper a word to you. Then tell your child the word, the way the animal said it. “Mr. Bear said /r/ /a/ /t/. What is that word?

  • Say a short word with 2-4 sounds very slowly, one sound at a time (like a turtle). Ask your child to guess the word. Example: /sss/.../uuu/..../nnn/ = sun.

    Turn it into a Turtle Talk game! Take turns pointing to objects and saying each sound slowly. The other person blends the sounds together to say the word.

  • Draw circles or squares with chalk. Say a word and have your child jump to each circle as they break apart the word.

    Example: You say, “sat” and your child jumps on the first square and says /s/, then to the next square and says /a/, and then to a third square and says /t/.