Develop Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is the conscious sensitivity to the sound structure of language and is an important and reliable predictor of later reading ability. Children develop phonological awareness through verbal communication. Songs and nursery rhymes are particularly good tools for developing this auditory skill. Here are some fun activities that you can do with your child:

Sing the "alphabet song."

Read Books that rhyme—Dr. Suess, Nursery Rhymes, etc. Read to the point of the rhyming word, then stop. Let child guess the word.

Play the "Rhyming Game": You give a word, child thinks of a word that rhymes. Take turns.

Play "Can You Find the Rhyme?" Orally provide pairs of words that rhyme and pairs that do not (pan, man; pat boy). Ask, Do pan and man rhyme? How do you know? Then ask, Do pat and boy rhyme? Why not?

Sing rhyming songs.

Play the "Stretch and Shrink Game": You stretch out a word “sssssssaaaaaannnnnnnnd” and child tells what the word is. Play it like “I Spy” on car trips. Take turns.

Play the "Word Puzzle Game": Say each letter sound, individually, “c – a – t” and child guesses the word. Take turns if child can. Play it like “I spy.”

Play the "Sorting Game": Gather objects or pictures with two or three different first sounds. Take turns choosing an object and putting it in the right pile. You can use a letter card to mark each pile and also teach letter/sound identification.

Play "Piglet” Latin Game: Say a word, then say it again omitting the first sound. “pig-ig” “cup-up.”

Play "I Spy" with your child. Say the name of the object you are spying, sound by sound (I spy a c-a-t.). Your child blends the three sounds and says "cat."

Play "Guess What We're Having for Supper?" For example: Tonight we are having h-o-t d-o-g-s. Can you guess what we're having?

Play "Pick a Sound." This is a listening game. Have your child sit and listen to a group of words. Each time your child hears a word that begins with the special sound she or he stands up. If the word does not start with the sound, he or she must stay seated. Demonstrate this game by providing a few examples for your child (s: snake, sale; a: apple, ant).

Play "Silly Word Day" by replacing the first letter of each family member's name with another sound (Tob for Bob; Tam for Sam; Tinda for Linda).