• Phonological Awareness 

    Before children learn to read print, they need to become aware of how the sounds in words work.  They must understand that words are made up of individual speech sounds, or phonemes.  Phonological awareness is the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language (exs: rhyming, breaking words into syllables).  It is an understanding that the words we speak can be taken apart.  It is something we do auditorily not visually.  We can do it with our eyes closed.  A child's skill in phonological and phonemic awareness is a good predictor of later reading success or difficulty, therefore, it is a very important skill to teach.  We work on this skill at school; however, you can work on this skill at home with your child in many fun ways! 

    Rhyme Time

    Rhyming is an important phonological awareness skill.  It introduces children to the sounds in words and to identify patterns in spoken language. Rhyme Time activities will help children attend to and play with rhymes in fun ways.

     

    A great way to introduce children to the concept of rhyming is through rhyming children’s books (exs: Is Your Mama a Llama?, Sheep in a Jeep, Goodnight Moon, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Llama Llama Misses Mama) or rhyming songs (exs: Down by the Bay, Hickory Dickory Dock, Five Green Speckled Frogs).  Before you read/sing talk to children about the concept of rhyming and give examples.  When reading a familiar book or singing a familiar song, stop after rhyming words and ask them what words they heard that rhyme.  You also can stop before reading/singing the second word of a rhyming pair, and ask the children to guess the word before continuing.  As you do this more, children will gain a better understanding of rhyming words.

     

    There are a lot of videos you can find online that help teach children to rhyme.  Some of the videos children watch and listen to, while others are interactive and incorporate movement.  Below are a list of some that can help reinforce rhyming skills. The more children are exposed to rhyming the stronger their rhyming skills will be!  

     

    Learning to rhyme is a skill that takes place in 3 stages for children: 1. Exposure to rhymes, 2. Hear and recognize rhymes, 3. Rhyme production.  

    In the final stage of rhyming, children are asked to produce words that rhyme.  Please remember that nonsense words count, too!

     

    Below are some activities that you can do with your child where he/she is asked to hear a word and then independently produce their own word that rhymes with it.  Remember, these activities can be done anywhere (car, walk, supermarket) and only take a few minutes.

     

    Rhyme production: Say “Let’s play a game.  I’ll say three words that rhyme and sound alike at the end.  You say one more word that rhymes.  It can be a silly word.  Let’s start: hinky pinky, slinky, ____”.  Your child provides a rhyming word. 

     

    Body part rhymes: Point to a part of your body and ask your child to think of a rhyming word.  For example, what rhymes with hair? (exs: bear, dare).  What rhymes with eye? (exs: pie, kie)  What rhymes with head (exs: bed, zed).  Make it more challenging by asking for two or three rhyming words.  

     

    The Ship is Loaded with…: To start, tell your child that a ship is set to sail somewhere and needs to be loaded up with many silly things.  Tell them you are going to start by saying what the ship is loaded with.  They then need to say additional things that the ship is loaded with that rhymes with what you said.  For example you say, “The ship is loaded with cheese.”  Your child would repeat, “The ship is loaded with….” and fill in a rhyming word (exs: trees, pees, bees).  Next, you would say, “The ship is loaded with mats.”  Your child would repeat, “The ship is loaded with…” and fill in a rhyming word (exs: cats, bats, gats).  

     

    Remember that solid rhyming skills will lead to greater auditory discrimination and stronger phonological awareness in young learners.  These skills are the stepping stones to early literacy.

     

    Syllable Awareness

    Syllable awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate syllables in spoken words.  Early practice with word parts (syllables) prepares children's brains for blending individual sounds (phonemes) into whole words.  

     

    Since syllables can be such an abstract concept, a hands-on way to hear them is best for learning.  

     

    Here are some activities to help your young learner understand syllables while also having fun!

     

    1. Clap Time: Associating the syllables of a word with “beats” is one of the most effective ways for children to grasp the concept of syllables. In this activity, your child will clap the beats of a word. Start with simple words that your young learner will already be familiar with (mommy, daddy, apple, pizza, etc.).  When you begin, show your child how to clap the syllable: /pi/ (clap) /zza/ (clap). After demonstrating, ask them to join you as you clap the beats of other common words.  We recommend holding your hands wide apart and then making a big clap to help your child hear and see the number of syllables. Try to also have your child clap and say the syllable at the same time.  Don’t feel limited to two-syllable words for this activity. Instead, throw in some shorter, one-syllable words and longer, three or four-syllable ones. This way, your child understands that words come in all different lengths.  Throughout the day, pick a couple of words to clap the beats of. This way, it becomes second nature for your child to think about the syllables in a variety of words.

    2. Syllable Stomp: This game works similarly to the previously mentioned one; however, instead of clapping each syllable, your young learner will be stomping the ground for each syllable they say in a word. The louder the stomp, the better!

    3. Hum The Word: Humming is a simple yet fun and effective way to teach your child about syllables. To get started, ask your child to close their mouth and hum a word.  After that, have them count the distinct hums they made.  If your child has trouble with this, have them say the word aloud before they try humming it.  You can also hum the word first and ask them to copy you.  This modeling can give them the confidence they need to hum words on their own.

     

    Syllables are one of the building blocks of phonological awareness, which is crucial for early literacy development. Teaching children to recognize and segment syllables in words helps them become more proficient readers and writers. It is easier for students to orally blend syllables, like “butt/er/fly” and say “butterfly”, than it is to orally blend phonemes like “d/o/g” to say “dog”. When we teach these phonological awareness skills, we should start with syllables.

     

    Syllable Counting Videos

    Syllable STOMP

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGEIZoBlkYE&t=81s

    Syllable Count Song

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks5ekq1vh2k

    Clap the Syllables

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcLIPW-ITC4

     

     

    Activities for Reinforcing Letter/Number Identification

     

    • Start with capital letters

    • Start with letters that your child can relate to… something they find interesting or connect with (ex: first letter in their name or family members’ names, their age)

    • Only introduce a few letters/numbers at a time (3 to 5)

    • Continually review previous letters/numbers learned to ensure they are retained

     

    1. Letter or Number Memory Match

    2. Alphabet or Number Go Fish

    3. Alphabet or Number Bingo

    4. Musical Letters or Numbers - name the letter or number you are on when the music stops

    5. Letter or Number Hide and Seek - hide letters or numbers around a room - when child finds them they name the letter or number

    6. Build the letter or number out of… playdough, goldfish, pipe cleaners, stamp it with dot art, legos, etc.

    7. Trace the letter or number in… shaving cream, whipped cream, pudding, apple sauce, sand, etc. 

    8. Tic Tac Toe - practice with two letters or two numbers

    9. Letter Fly Swat - write a few letters or numbers on large paper or outside with chalk, have child run and swat letter or number with fly swatter when you name it