Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is the ability to notice and work with the sounds in language. This includes rhyming (repeating, identifying, and naming rhyming words), hearing words that begin with the same sounds, hearing the parts of a word (syllables, and each sound or phoneme), and knowing that sentences are made up of separate words. It uses listening and speaking skills, not print.

The following are suggestions and examples of ways that teachers and providers can support phonological awareness for children, ages 3-5.

• Read books with poetry and rhyming words. After you have read the book a few times, stop when you come to the second word that rhymes, and let the children fill in the word. “Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a yellow fish looking at ____”
• Sing or say nursery rhymes often. Repeat new rhymes several times, raising your voice on words that rhyme. Then leave off the end word and have children fill in the rhyming words. Repeat nursery rhymes and introduce new ones throughout the year.
• Invite children to make up new verses of familiar songs or rhymes by changing the beginning sounds of words: “Humpty Dumpty” to “Lumpty Gumpty.”
• Play word games that help children to hear beginning sounds of word. When possible, use children’s names in the games.
  • For transition activity, call each child’s name using the same letter, Byrone, Beremy, Bita, Biane, Bal, etc.
  • “Willaby, Wallaby, Woo” by Raffi
  • “Banana, Fanana, Fo-fanana, Fee, Fi, Fonana, Banana” song.
  • “If your name begins with the same sound as ball you may go wash your hands.”
• Play “the same or different words” game: Say two words and ask the children if you said the same word or if you said two different words. Keep the words similar so that children are challenged to listen carefully. Examples: “crow-grow; vase-face; book-hook.” Don’t forget to sometimes say the same word twice.
• Play word games that help children hear syllables in words.
  • Clap syllables in children’s names.
  • “Hickity, Tickity, Bumble Bee, Can you say your name for me?” (children clap
    the child’s name in syllables)
  • Say a word and have children clap syllables touching parts of their body (head, shoulders,tummy, thighs, knees, toes) as they say each syllable of the word. Use short and long words and see how far down the body each word goes.
• Play games that help children hear words in a sentence.
• Say a sentence. Start with short sentences. Then have the children clap each
  Word in that sentence with you. Count the number of words you clap. As children increase their awareness of this concept, increase the length of the sentences that you use.
• Read books and play games with alliteration (Alice the alligator ate another apple).