Phonological Awareness

What is Phonological Awareness?

Phonological awareness is a broad skill that includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language – parts such as words, syllables, and onsets and rimes. Children who have phonological awareness are able to identify and make oral rhymes, can clap out the number of syllables in a word, and can recognize words with the same initial sounds like 'money' and 'mother.'
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/phonologicalphonemic
Students will not have pictures or words to look at for answers. Phonological Awareness is a listening and speaking skill.

What does this mean?

These are the skills commonly taught and assessed in grade PK-2nd

*Scroll down for how to and examples for each skill listed.

Literacy First is divided into 16 Phonological Awareness Skills

2 Pre-K skills(to be mastered at the beginning of Kindergarten)9 Kindergarten skills (to be mastered by the end of Kdg.)5 1st Grade Skills (to be mastered by the end of 1st Grade)
Literacy FirstPhonological Awareness Skills
Spoken Word-Sentence Segmentation (PK)Rhyme Recogition (PK)Rhyme Completion (K)Rhyme Producation (K)Syllable Blending (K)Syllable Segmentation (K)Syllable Deletion (K)Phoneme Isolation- Initial Sound (K)Phoneme Isolation- Final Sound (K)Phoneme Blending- Onset & Rime (K)Phoneme Blending- All Phonemes (1)Phoneme Segmentation (1)Phoneme Deletion- Initial Sound (1)Phoneme Deletion- Final Sound (1)Adding Phonemes (K)*Phoneme Substitution- Initial Sound (1)

1.Spoken Word-Sentence Segmentation (Pre-K)

Goal: The student will correctly identify the words in a sentence by moving small objects for each word in the sentence. (Small objects: blocks, coins, erasers, paper clips, etc.)
Directions: Line up 6 small objects in a line. Parent reads the sentence aloud. Child will repeat the sentence and move an object as they say each word in the sentence.

Sample Questions:
1. Knock on the door. Answer: the student will move up 4 chips/use 4 fingers to count2. John chews gum.3. Did you sleep well?4. The rose smells good.5. I heard him sing.6. Stand next to me. 7. Those are two friends.8. I am hungry. (students will want to separate hungry)9. The paper bag burst. (students will want to separate paper)10. Where is my pencil? (students will want to separate pencil)

2.Rhyme Recognition (Pre-K)

Goal: The student will be able to hear 2 words together and determine if they rhyme or not.
Directions: Parent will say 2 words. The student will say yes if they rhyme and no if they do not. Parent: "I'm going to say 2 words. You will tell me if they rhyme. If they rhyme or sound the same you will say yes. If they don't rhyme or sound the same say no." Example: Parent: say "day-bay" Student: says "yes"
Sample Questions:
1. sell-tell answer: (yes)2. play-plug (no)3. bone-cane (no)4. dice-mice (yes)5. soak-soap (no)6. lamp-camp (yes)7. rob-sob (yes)8. pie-shy (yes)9. blue-pie (no)10. join-jump (no)

More Rhyming: other ways to practice rhyming

Which doesn't rhyme? say 3 words- 2 of them rhyme 1 doesn't car - bar - bike dive - dig- hive rip - rig- bigsoap - rope - toe star - stare - hair pot - lot- pickheart - lock - sockship - blip - bluegrin - tin - sand

3.Rhyme Completion (K)

Goal: The student will generate a rhyming word to complete a sentence.
Directions: Parent: "Complete the sentence using a rhyming word."Example: The silly old goat...is wearing a rain ____. Answer: (coat)
Sample Questions:
1. It is really true...the flag is red, white, and ___. answer: (blue)2. My little pup...is drinking from a ____. (cup)3. My new bed...is painted ___. (red)4. A baby snake...swam in the ___. (lake)5. See the plane fly....way up in the ___. (sky)6. My little teddy bear...is sitting in a ___. (chair)7. We bought some more...at the grocery ___. (store)8. I looked at the pig...and it was very ___. (big)9. We like to run...in the very bright ___. (sun)10. I heard Uncle Joe...say it was time to ___. (go)

4.Rhyme Production (K)

Goal: The student will generate a rhyming word to rhyme with the word given.*It does not have to be a real word as long as it rhymes. Rhyming words sound the same in the middle and the end.)
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say a word and I want you to tell me a word that rhymes with it."Example: bat Answer: hat (or cat, dat, fat, sat, etc.)
Sample Questions:
1. car2. bone3. sing4. land5. fig6. say 7. cap8. rock9. toy10. sun
***Note: It is common for students to try and use the same beginning sound on every rhyming word answer. If a child consistently uses the same beginning sound then ask the child to give you another word. If they have mastered rhyming they will be able to give you another word. If they do not give you a different word and can only use the same beginning sound then keep practicing. Students are only allowed to use 2 words with the same beginning sound. Example: The words to rhyme with are time, keep, sing. The child answers bime, beep, bing. That is using the same beginning sound as all 3 answers begin with the b sound.

5. Syllable Blending (K)

Goal: The student will listen to syllables said with a short pause between each syllable. Then blend the syllables into a word.
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say some words really silly kind of like a robot. Then, I want you to put together what I say really fast and tell me what word you hear."
Sample Questions:
1. note-book2. din-ner3. pil-low4. nor-mal5. bed-room6. light-bulb7. hon-ey8. in-vite9. tur-tle10. mu-sic

6. Syllable Segmentation (K)

Goal: The student will correctly identify syllables in a word by clapping or tapping for each syllable.
Directions: Parent: "Just the way I said a word funny you are now going to clap the syllables in a word." (similar to video above in #5)Example: Say "Balloon" normal. Clap it: ba-lloon. (2 claps/taps)
Sample Questions:
1. dinner answer: (2)2. baseball (2)3. stone (1)4. doctor (2)5. direction (3)6. wonderful (3)7. work (1)8. motor (2)9. giggle (2)10. fox (1)

7. Syllable Deletion (K)

Goal: Given a two syllable word, the student will say the word with one syllable deleted.
Directions: Parent: "I"m going to say a word then we will take part of the word away. You will have to tell me what's left. Say snowman without snow." (man)
Sample Questions:
1. classroom ... without class answer: (room)2. highchair... without chair (high)3. runner... without runn (er)4. doctor... without tor (doc)5. pumpkin... without pump (kin)6. lizard... without ard (liz)7. robot... without ro (bot)8. bookstore... without store (book)9. fishhook...without fish (hook)10. jumbo... without bo (jum)

8. Phoneme Isolation- Initial Sound (K)-beginning sounds-

Goal: The student will identify the beginning sound in a word.
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say some words. I want you to tell me the sound you hear at the beginning, or first in a word." **Students must say the sound the letter makes and not the name of the letter**
Sample Questions:/ /= sound The letter in the // represents the answer. It is the sound that letter makes.
1. radio answer: /r/2. zoo /z/3. neck /n/4. mice /m/5. chair /ch/6. care /c/7. turtle /t/8. shack /sh/9. watch /w/10. five /f/

More Beginning Sounds: other ways to practice initial sounds

Which words have the same beginning sound? sit - sat - rotbig - pig - bitgray - blue - greenmap - mat - cuptoe - run - rubspin - thick - spikechair - chip - wheelwrap - turtle- tart

9. Phoneme Isolation: Final Sound (K) -ending sounds-

Goal: The student will identify the ending sound in a word.
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say some words. I want you to tell me the sound you hear at the end of the word." **Students must say the sound the letter makes and not the name of the letter**
Sample Questions:/ /= sound The letter in the // represents the answer. It is the sound that letter makes.
1. same answer: /m/2. dog /g/3. lake /k/4. maze /z/5. feet /t/6. mash /sh/7. plum /m/8. push /sh/9. kite /t/10. smile /l/

More Ending Sounds: other ways to practice final sounds

Which words have the same ending sound? sit - sat - rockbig - pig - bithip - gray - haymap - mat - cuptoe - run - tinspin - thick - spikechair - chip - wearwrap - turtle- bowl

10. Phoneme Blending: Onset & Rime (K)

Goal: The student will listen to word broken apart in the beginning of sound(s) -onset- and the ending word family -rime-. The student will tell you the word you broke apart.
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say a word in a funny way, again. You're going to put them together quickly and tell me what word I said. You will say the word fast." (Basically you will say the word broken apart between the beginning sound and the word family. You will sound like a robot when you say it.)
Sample Questions:
1. /s/ un answer: sun2. /ch/ eap cheap3. /cr/ ow crow4. /b/ eep beep5. /pl/ ay play6. /d/ og dog7. /j/ ug jug8./b/ oom boom9. /t/ ime time10. /r/ ock rock

11. Phoneme Blending (1st)

Goal: The student will listen to word broken apart by each sound. The student will tell you the word you broke apart.
Directions: Parent: "I'm going to say a word in a funny way, again. You're going to put the sounds together quickly and tell me what word I said. You will say the word fast." (You will say each sound -represented by / /- the letters make. The child will put it together quickly to say what word you sounded out.)
Sample Questions:
1. /s/ /i/ /t/ Answer: sit2. /m/ /u/ /g/ mug3. /d/ /u/ /m/ /p/ dump4. /b/ /e/ be5. /s/ /l/ /i/ /p/ slip6. /s/ /t/ /u/ /k/ stuck7. /b / /e/ /s/ /t/ best8. /b/ /r/ /i/ /k/ brick9. /p/ /l/ /u/ /s/ plus10. /p/ /r/ /i/ /n/ /t/ print

12. Phoneme Segmentation (1st)

Goal: The student will break a word apart by each sound made in the word.
Directions: Parent: "Just like I took a word apart by each sound now I will say a word and you will tell me all the sounds you hear in that word." (The student will lift a finger for each sound they say in a word. The word -time- still only has 3 sounds though it is spelled with 4 letters- silent letters don't count for sounds heard. **This skill is backwards from #11**
Sample Questions:
1. hat Answer: (3) the student will raise a finger for /h/ 2nd finger for /a/ 3rd finger for /t/2. pig (3)3. high (2)4. flip (4)5. dime (3)6. cape (3)7. lucky (4)8. last (4)9. me (2)10. soup (3)

13. Phoneme Deletion of Initial Sounds (1st)

Goal: Given a word, the student will delete the initial phoneme and answer with what is remaining.
Directions: Parent: "We are going to take the first sound off of a word and I want you to tell me what's left. Say ____ without the ___."
Sample Questions:
1. mill...without the /m/ answer: (ill)2. load...without the /l/ (oad)3. Jake...without the /j/ (ake)4. jam...without the /j/ (am)5. said...without the /s/ (ed)6. guy...without the /g/ (eye)7. rain...without the /r/ (ain)8. near...without the /n/ (ear)9. toil...without the /t/ (oil)10. lit...without the/l/ (it)

14. Phoneme Deletion of Final Sounds (1st)

Goal: Given a word, the student will delete the final, or last, phoneme and answer with what is remaining.
Directions: Parent: "We are going to take the last sound off of a word and I want you to tell me what's left. For example, say teach without the /ch/." answer: tea
Sample Questions:
1. wait...without the /t/ answer: (way)2. seed...without the /d/ (see)3. guide...without the /d/ (guy)4. bowl...without the /l/ (bow)5. cane...without the /n/ (Kay)6. weave...without the /v/ (we)7. meet...without the /t/ (me)8. sight...without the /t/ (sigh)9. mood...without the /d/ (moo)10. pine...without the /n/ (pie)

15. Adding Phonemes (K)

Goal: Given a word or word chunk, the student will add an initial phoneme to form a new word.
Directions: Parent: "Say ___. Add /__/ to the beginning. What's your new word? (/__/means sound that letter makes; not the name of the letter.)
Sample Questions:
1. oat...add /b/ answer: (boat)2. eel...add /f/ (feel)3. eye...add /p/ (pie)4. ad...add /p/ (pad)5. egg...add /l/ (leg)6. aim...add /f/ (fame)7. op...add /t/ (top)8. in...add /b/ (bin)9. ooh...add /b/ (boo)10. are...add /c/ (car)

16. Phoneme Substitution: Initial Sound (1st)

Goal: Given a word, the student will change the initial phoneme to form a new word.
Directions: Parent: "Change the /h/ in house to /m/. What's your new word?" Answer: Mouse (/__/means sound that letter makes; not the name of the letter.)
Sample Questions:
1. Change the /f/ in fade to /j/ answer: Jade2. Change the /T/ in Tom to /m/ answer: Mom3. Change the /p/ in pain to /l/ answer: lane 4. Change the /b/ in bug to /t/ answer: tug5. Change the /s/ in soap to /r/ answer: rope 6. Change the /l/ in look to /h/ answer: hook7. Change the /c/ in cone to /b/ answer: bone 8. Change the /t/ in tape to /c/ answer: cape9. Change the /f/ in fuss to /b/ answer: bus 10. Change the /m/ in might to /n/ answer: night

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