Rhyme
Syllabification
tomato
to - ma - to
ring
king
Phonological
Awareness
Skill
Mapping
Alliteration
car, cake, carrots
Segmentation
s-p-oo-n
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
CONTENTS
Page
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
3
INTRODUCTION
The what and why of phonological awareness
Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
How to use the tool
The Preschool Year: Formal assessment or not?
4
4
4
5
ADMINISTRATION
Test materials
Steps for administration
Discontinuation guidelines
Administration instructions
6
6
6
7
DATA ANALYSIS
Construct a class map
Developmental sequence
Class map template
Colour coding
Using data for planning
Keeping track of progress
9
9
9
10
11
11
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS RESOURCES
Paper based resources
Online resources
iPad resources
12
12
13
FORMS
Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping Record Form
Stimulus sheet 1
Stimulus sheet 2
14
15
16
APPENDIX
Class Skill Map: Phonological Awareness (Option A & B)
Phonological Awareness Planning Guide
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
17
19
2
Glossary of Terms
Phonological Awareness refers to the ability to detect and analyse the sound structure of
spoken language. Children who have phonological awareness can:
 break words into syllables
 rhyme
 say the beginning sound of a word
 and say each sound in a word
Phonological Awareness is more than hearing. It includes being aware that our language is
constructed of words and that words have different sounds and sound patterns within them
(Schuele, Skibbe, Rao 2006).
Phonemic Awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual phonemes or
sounds in spoken words. For example,
 ‘What sound does ‘cat’ start with?’
 ‘What sounds do you hear in the word ‘top’?’
 ‘Say ‘gate’ and take away the ‘g’ sound’.
Phonemic awareness is a sub-skill of phonological awareness. Research shows that this area
has a significant role in supporting children to learn to read and write.
Phonics involves understanding the connection between letters and speech sounds. Phonic
knowledge assists beginning readers to understand how letters are linked to sounds – that a
speech sound can be represented by a small squiggle on a page, or grapheme, which leads
to understanding the spelling patterns needed for both reading and writing.
A Phoneme is an individual sound. It is the smallest part of spoken language. Sometimes one
phoneme (eg ‘f’) can be represented by more than one letter (eg ‘ph’).
A Grapheme is the smallest part of written language that represents a phoneme in the spelling
of a word. A grapheme may be just one letter such as f, and g or several letters, such as ph,
ch, ck.
A Syllable is a word part that contains a vowel or, in spoken language, a vowel sound (eg ele-phant).
A Rhyming word is a word which has the same ending sounds as another word. i.e. hat/cat,
write/light.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
3
INTRODUCTION
The what and why of phonological awareness
Learning to read is a complex process. Recent research has highlighted six key skill areas that
underpin literacy development. These are oral language, phonological awareness, phonics,
vocabulary, fluency and comprehension (NELP 2008).
Phonological awareness is a listening based skill, which
includes the ability to hear and blend syllables, understand
and produce rhyme and identify, blend and manipulate
individual sounds in words. A strong foundation in this domain
prepares students for learning letters and the important
process of connecting letters to sounds - phonics.
Phonological awareness is a fundamental cog in the literacy
mechanism as these skills assist children in learning to encode
(write) and decode (read) words. Research has shown that
children with well developed phonological awareness skills
learn to read more easily. Additionally, the ability to hear individual sounds in words has a
strong correlation with later literacy outcomes (Konza, 2011).
Phonological Awareness Skills Mapping (PASM)
The PASM is a screening tool designed to be used with children in the early years. Research
indicates that phonological awareness develops in a sequence and the PASM follows this
typical developmental order, as indicated below:
Preschool
Reception
Yr 1/2
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2003; & Gillon, 2004
How to use the tool
Assessment is an important element of best teaching practice and is part of the teaching and
learning cycle. The PASM allows for teachers to map phonological awareness skills across their
class and assists educators to gauge the range of phonological awareness skills children
demonstrate. This data can then be used for planning whole class and differentiated learning
experiences for children, according to their needs as demonstrated through the assessment
process.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
4
The PASM can be used to screen all children in a class. This is highly recommended for use with
children in their Reception year. For children in Year 1 and above, the PASM can be used
selectively, for children considered at risk.
Decreasing number of learners
The Preschool Year: Formal assessment or not?
Phonological awareness skills in the preschool year are still in their formative stages. A
preschool curriculum that is inclusive of embedding phonological awareness in play based
activities is highly recommended. This approach focuses on heightening children’s awareness
of the sound properties of words, while they are engaged in meaningful play based learning.
The question of assessment is a debatable one. Do children’s phonological awareness skills
need to be formally assessed at this point? Some sites opt for this process because it is a quick
and easy method for obtaining data on all children. Educators then use the data to inform
planning at the site and child level. Other sites find that different assessments are a priority and
they gain enough information by scoping the skills of a few children in their centre. This scopes
the skill level in the current group of children and provides educators with enough information
for centre programming, without taxing educator and children’s time for the assessment
process. Post assessments in both scenarios can be done to track improvement.
Some educators prefer to make observations about children’s phonological awareness skills
rather than engage in formal assessment. These observations may occur across different play
contexts and then this data is used for planning. Essentially there is no right or wrong answer to
this question and it is up to individual educators to decide what best suits their context.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
5
Administration
Administration of the PASM is best done in a 1:1 situation, preferably a quiet room as extra noise
can impact on children’s listening skills and your ability to hear their responses.
It is highly recommended that the classroom teacher administers the PASM. As you administer
the PASM, note any strategies the child uses to form their answer;
 Do they repeat the sounds to themselves?
 Are they responding quickly and confidently?
 Do they need help or extra practice items?
 Do they use letter names or sounds?
Test materials
The following materials have been included and can be photocopied as necessary
 Administration instructions
 Record form
 Stimulus sheet 1: Segmenting syllables & Segmenting 3 & 4 sound words (Subtests 1, 6 & 7)
 Stimulus sheet 2: Matching Rhyme Pictures (Subtest 2)
There is space provided on the record form to record individual responses.
Steps for administration
Step 1: Demonstrate: Each subtest has a demonstration of the task, this helps show the child
what they need to do.
Step 2: Practice: The practice items help to familiarise the child with what is required for each
task. If you think the child might need an extra practice item, think of another, but don’t
use the test items.
Step 3: Test: It is important that the items are presented as set out. Do not give the child further
assistance.
Discontinuation guidelines
Preschool aged child
For Preschoolers, you may choose to stop testing after subset 2, as the remaining skills are not
expected to be mastered by the end of preschool. However, if the child is achieving a score
of 2 or more continue testing.
School aged child
Discontinue testing if the child scores a 0 or 1 on Subtest 6.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
6
Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
Administration instructions
Use the following instructions to administer the PASM. Ensure you have a copy of the record form
and relevant picture materials.
Subtest 1: Segmenting syllables (Breaking words into syllables)
Materials
Place the sheet with the coloured dots in front of the child.
 Demonstrate: “When we say words we can say them in beats. Listen:
Instructions
‘butterfly’ has 3 beats ‘bu-tter-fly’.”
As you say each beat touch a coloured dot. For ‘butterfly’ you would
tap 3 dots, one for each syllable.
 Practice Item: “Let’s practise with the word ‘caravan’. Tap a coloured
dot for each beat you hear in ‘caravan’.”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Now, tap out the beats in these words.”
If the child segments the word into sounds rather than syllables, say “It’s like
clapping a word.” Demonstrate clapping, then demonstrate tapping the
dots again.
Subtest 2: Matching rhyming words
Materials
Place the matching rhyme pictures in front of the child.
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “Some words rhyme. That means they sound a lot the
same. Let’s find the word that rhymes with ‘boat’. Is it ‘goat’ or ‘house’?
(point to each picture). ‘Boat’ and ‘goat’ rhyme, they sound a lot the
same.”
 Practice Item: “Listen to these words and find the rhyming word. Which
word rhymes with ‘whale’ – ‘foot’ or ‘tail’?”(point to the pictures as you
say the words).
 Test Items: “Which word rhymes with ………… - …….. or ……….?”
For Preschoolers, you may choose to stop testing here. (See discontinuation guidelines for more information)
Subtest 3: Producing rhyming words
Materials
None
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “Now it is your turn to think of your own rhyming words. Tell
me a word that rhymes with ‘hen’…. ‘ten’. ‘Hen’…. ‘ten’…. ‘Ben’. ‘Ben’
rhymes with ‘hen’ and ‘ten’. They all sound a lot the same.”
 Practice Item: “Now you have to tell me a word that rhymes with these
words: ‘hop’, ‘shop’….”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Now tell me a word that rhymes with …….., and ……..”
Nonsense words are acceptable, for example ‘dop’.
Subtest 4: Identifying first sounds
Materials
None
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “Now we are going to listen for the first sound in the word.
‘Leaf’ starts with the ‘l’ sound.” Make sure you say the sound and not the
letter name.
 Practice Item: “Now let’s practise some more. What is the first sound you
hear in ‘nose’?”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Tell me the first sound you hear in these words.”
If the child says the letter name, say “That’s the letter name tell me the
sound you hear at the start of the word.”
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
7
Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
Administration instructions (continued)
Subtest 5: Blending sounds to make words
Materials
None
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “I am going to say a word but I am going to break it up into
separate sounds. Listen to these sounds, ‘h – a – t’. Those sounds make
the word ‘hat’. Make sure you say each sound, not the letter name.”
 Practice Item: “Let’s do another one. Tell me the word these sounds
make ‘c – o – t’.”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Tell me the words these sounds make.”
Say one sound per second.
Subtest 6: Segmenting 3 sound words
Materials
Place the sheet with the coloured dots in front of the child.
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “We can break the word ‘run’ into sounds: ‘r - u – n’.” Make
sure you say each sound, not the letter name. Point to each of the
coloured counters for each sound you say.
 Practice Item: “Let’s do some more. Remember to touch a dot for each
sound you say. Tell me the sounds in ‘sit’.”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Tell me the sounds in these words.”
If the child does not separate the sounds clearly, say “Break up the sounds
a bit more, like this….”(demonstrate again).
Stop testing here if the child has scored 1 or 0.
Subtest 7: Segmenting 4 sound words
Materials
Place the sheet with the coloured dots in front of the child.
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “We can break the word ‘slip’ into sounds: ‘s - l - i – p’.”
Make sure you say each sound, not the letter name. Point to each of the
coloured counters for each sound you say.
 Practice Item: “Let’s do some more. Remember to touch a dot for each
sound you say. Tell me the sounds in ‘grab’.”
Administration
tip
 Test Items: “Tell me the sounds in these words.”
If the child does not separate the sounds clearly, say “Break up the sounds
a bit more, like this….”(demonstrate again).
Subtest 8: Deleting first sounds in words
Materials
None
Instructions
 Demonstrate: “We can take a sound away from a word to make a new
word. Listen, to the word ‘gate’. Now I‘ll say the word again and take
away ‘g’, ‘gate’ becomes …… ‘ate’.” Make sure you say the sound, not
the letter name.
 Practice Item: “Let’s do some more. Listen to this word – ‘meat’. Now say
the word again and take away ‘m’, ‘meat’ becomes …… (‘eat’).”
 Test Items: “Listen to this word - ………. and take away………. What word
does it make now?”
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
8
Data Analysis
Construct a class skill map
One of the most important aspects of assessment is how data is used for planning. To help
make data easily accessible, a class map can be constructed to show which skills children
have consolidated and which need developing. This supports teachers to plan their
phonological awareness curriculum.
Developmental sequence (Based on Schuele & Bourdreau, 2008)
The class map uses the developmental sequence and scopes key phonological awareness
skills which are then grouped into year level abilities. The PASM uses this developmental
sequence to determine which phonological awareness skills need explicit teaching.
This table shows the phonological awareness skills expected at different year levels.
Phonological Awareness Skill
Preschool
 Matching rhyming words
 Breaking words into syllables
Reception




Year 1
 Blending 4 sound to make a word e.g. “sleep”
 Segmenting 4 sound words into component sounds e.g. “t-r-i-p”
Year 2
 Sound manipulation skills will start to develop in Year 1 and continue to
develop during Year 2.
Producing rhyming words
Identifying initial sounds in words when the word is heard
Blending 2 and 3 sounds to make a word e.g. “go”, “cat”
Segmenting 2 and 3 sound words into component sounds e.g. “p-e-n”
If a Reception child does not display skills from the Preschool level, then this would signal a
concern for the teacher. Likewise if a child is in Year 1 and does not display skills from both the
Preschool and Reception level, then again this would be a concern to the teacher.
Class map template
Assess the children
The first step is to assess the children in your class, and then the data can be added to the
class skill map. Depending on your context, you may decide to assess all the children in your
class or just children of concern.
Add the assessment data
Use the template (See Appendix A) and note children’s names down the left column.
Refer to the PASM score form for each child and transfer their score for each subtest to the
class map. For each score also include a  or  to indicate pass/fail.
Developmental
sequence
Skill domain
Date of
assessments
Reception
Joshua
Preschool/ Early
Reception
End of Reception
Year 1/2
Segment
syllables
Mar Nov
12
12
Match
rhyme
Mar
Nov
12
12
Produce
rhyme
Mar Nov
12
12
Ident first
sound
Mar Nov
12
12
Blend
sounds
Mar Nov
12
12
3 sound
segment
Mar Nov
12
12
4 sound
segment
Mar Nov
12
12

4

4





0
1
0
0
0
Sound
delete
Mar Nov
12
12
Score a tick  if the child achieved 3 or 4
Score a cross  if the child achieved 0 or 2
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
9
Colour coding
The colour coding system provides a clear and simple visual summary of children’s skills, their
strengths and the areas that require development. Children’s phonological awareness skills
can be colour coded red, yellow or green, according to their achievement on testing.
Key
Red Light: Phonological Awareness is an area that needs development. Skills in this area are
well below what is expected for their year level.
 Reception children: Code as red if they scored 0, 1 or 2 in the skill domains from the
preschool column.
 Year 1 or above: Code as red if they scored 0, 1 or 2 on three or more skill domains from
the preschool or reception columns.
Yellow Light: Phonological Awareness is an area that needs monitoring.
 Reception children: Code as yellow if they scored 1 skill domain from the preschool
columns as 0, 1 or 2.
 Year 1 or above: Code as yellow if they score 2 skill domains from the preschool or
reception columns as 0, 1 or 2.
Green Light: Skills are within the expected range.
Some important points to remember when coding children:
Reception children
At the end of reception if children scored 0, 1 to 2 with three or more areas on the test, they
can then be coded as red.
Year 1 children
Note the skill map denotes that 2 areas are developing during year 1, segmentation of 4
sound words and sound deletion.
Therefore in early Year 1, expect the skills for the end of reception.
In late Year 1, expect all reception skills and developing at least 4 sound segmentation.
Monitoring progress
Each skill area has 2 columns, which allows for testing data to be added for the earlier in the
year and then again later to determine progress. This allows for easy comparison of skill
development.
Example: Phonological Awareness Class Skill Map
Developmental
sequence
Skill domain
Date of
assessments
Reception
Joshua
Brandon
Lidia
Jessica
Preschool/Early
Reception
Segment
syllables
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
Match
rhyme
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
End of Reception
Produce
rhyme
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
Ident first
sound
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
Blend
sounds
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
Year 1/2
3 sound
segment
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
4 sound
segment
Mar
2012

4

4

3

4

4





0

3
1

3
0
0
0



0
0
0






1
0
0
0
0
0







0
0
0
0
0
0
0







1
1
0
0
0
0
0
Nov
2012
Sound
delete
Mar
2012
Nov
2012
Year 1
Jayden
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
10
Using data for planning
The class skill map can help identify skills that require development at the class level and can
assist teachers to identify groups or individuals that require targeted assistance with specific
phonological awareness skills. The class skill map can be a sea of colour, but the colour will
help locate patterns in this information that can be used for planning.
1. Using your class skill map, look at the patterns across your class.
2. Find your red and yellow light children and note which skill domains need developing.
Focus on skills that children should have for their year level.
3. From this information develop a planning guide (See Appendix B). You might have
several areas highlighted on your planning guide, as frequently class skill maps will show
weaknesses across numerous domains.
Example: Phonological Awareness Planning Guide
Phonological Awareness Skill:
Syllable identification
 Collect a bag of small toys, make sure you have 1,2 & 3
syllable words (add 4 syllable words at a later date). Take it
in turns, select a toy and name it. Clap out the beats, use a
small drum or counters? You could use words related to
class topic/book.
Focus Children:
Jessica and Jayden
 Hoops on floor/chalk circles outside. Use these for the
children to jump in when they break up the words into
syllables. You may need to say the word slowly to help
them get the idea.
4. Identify which skills need targeting for many children. These skills could be developed at
whole class level and will require you to think about how this can be explicitly taught
within your current program.
5. Identify which skills need targeting for some children. These skills could be developed
either at the whole class level or small group level.
Keeping track of progress
Monitoring children’s progress is critical for differentiated teaching. Many children make quick
progress with phonological awareness when teaching is targeted, so tracking development is
important. Observation of children’s skills during class based activities is a valid method of
monitoring progress. Use the class map to record tis progress. This allows you to keep track of
phonological awareness development in your class and change the teaching focus as
necessary.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
11
Phonological Awareness Resources
To supplement classroom literacy programs, small-group or individual instruction can be
utilized to help children who have difficulty with any aspect of phonological awareness.
The following are suggestions to support teaching of phonological awareness skills.
Paper based resources
 Sound Starters: Teacher Resource Book consists of 30 small books, introducing the alphabet
plus three commonly used consonant diagraphs—ch, sh, th. (Love & Reilly)
 Sounds Fun: targets syllabification, rhyme & first sound awareness. There is also a “Listening
puppet” and game instructions (Love & Reilly)
 Wizard: targets sound analysis and blending to improve early decoding and spelling skills.
Includes a colourful A3 board game & instructions for literacy activities (Love & Reilly)
 Singing Alphabet: 29 A4 cards introduce & reinforce sound letter links. Features amusing
picture and alliterative phrases (eg. “Ugly uncles u u u”) (Love & Reilly)
 A Sound Way - Teacher resource book 2nd Ed. & Interactive Whiteboard CD: The book
contains over 100 black line masters with fun activities and a PA screening checklist. The CD
contains over 120 animated whiteboard activities.
 Sounds Abound: Listening, Rhyming and Reading (Catts & Vartiainen)
 MyGo Card Game: targets rhyming, word segmenting, sound blending & sound identifying,
and intial sound word generation (Sandpiper Publications)
 Sounds of the Century: Written specifically for working at a whole class level, with the idea of
rotating groups of children through the various activities in the program. It is also well suited
for individual therapy. Each lesson plan comes with all resource materials required for the
activities & are presented as black line masters (Sandpiper Publications)
 Nursery Rhymes Program: Consists of lesson plans for 10 popular nursery rhymes, with 5
activities for each rhyme. It is ideally suited for the preschool child, and can be run at a class
level or individually. It has been written such that a teacher or teacher aide can easily go
through the program with the child. (Sandpiper Publications)
 Oracy for Preschool Program (Sandpiper Publications)
 Oracy – Too Program (Sandpiper Publications)
 Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum (Jager Adams, Foorman,
Lundberg & Beeler)
Online resources
 Clifford's Sound Game: Find items that start with the same sound as the picture and drop
them in the box; audio.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/index.htm
 Diagraphs movies – these movie clips provide both visual and auditory representations of
these letters. A sentence is made with a word containing the targeted sound. Then the
targeted sound is placed in various positions in a word and the child clicks on the letters to
hear that word. The last click brings you back to the main menu for other choices of letter
sounds.
Starfall Movie for /sh/ - http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/sh/load.htm?f
Starfall Movie for /wh/ - http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/wh/load.htm?f
Starfall Movie for /th/ - http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/th/load.htm?f
Starfall Movie for /ch/ - http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/ch/load.htm?f
 Phonological Awareness Activities for the Classroom, Sue McCandlish, Speech Pathologist,
Department for Education and Children’s Services, SA, 2006.
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/northernadelaide/files/links/Phonological_Awareness_Bo.pdf
 Reggie the Rhyming Rhino: A rhyming game that can be played online; need audio.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/reggie/home/index.htm
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
12
 Extra Language Resources (ELR) www.elr.com.au
 Sounds of the letters: Letters are named along with its sound & a picture association.
http://www.readinglesson.com/abc.htm
 Starfall Consonants Game: Click on a letter to see a "story" about that letter. In the story see 3
pictures that begin with the letter, and sort upper and lower case letters.
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/play.htm?f
 Laying the foundations for literacy success: ‘Linking Letters to Sounds’ brochure and
‘Phonological Awareness, Oral Language and Print’ brochure.
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/svpst/a8_publish/modules/publish/content.asp?id=36072&
navgrp=2852
 The Gillon Phonological Awareness Training Programme (Gillon, University of Canterbury, NZ)
5 to 7 year old version:
http://www.education.canterbury.ac.nz/people/gillon/gillon_phonological_awareness_trai
ning_programme.shtml
Preschool version:
http://www.education.canterbury.ac.nz/people/gillon/integrated_phonological_awarenes
s.shtml
iPad resources









Sound sorting (by Lakeshore)
Letter sounds (by Blue Crane Inc)
Abitalk fun rhyming
Letter a day (by Lakeshore)
Tic Tac Toe (by Lakeshore)
ABC Pocket Phonics (lite version available)
Syllable awareness – transportation
Starting sounds from I can do apps
Speech pacer








What rhymes (by Kindergarten.com)
Phonics awareness (BUGbrainED)
Word wagon HD (Duck Duck Moose)
Rhyming PCS (Mayer Johnson)
Preschool matching game rhyming words
ABA problem solving game – What rhymes?
Beginning sounds interactive game
Rhyme-N-Time
For further information on resources speak to your speech pathologist or contact the Special
Education Resource Unit (SERU) on ph 8235 2871.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
13
Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
Record Form
Date: ________________________
DOB: _______________
Examiner:_____________________
Developed by
Year 1/2
Developed by
Year 1/2
Developed by the
end of Reception
Developed by the
end of Preschool
Name:_________________________________________
Age: ______ Year:______
1. Segmenting syllables
Demo: bu-tter-fly
Practice: ca-ra-van
2. Matching rhyming words
Demo: boat, goat, house
Practice: whale, foot, tail
telephone (3)
table (2)
pelican (3)
kindergarten (4)
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
3. Producing rhyming
words
Demo: hen, ten, Ben
Practice: hop shop..?
4. Identifying first
sounds
Demo: leaf (l)
Practice: nose (n)
see bee
mug rug
lot hot
rake cake
book (b)
face (f)
soup (s)
make (m)
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
frog cup dog
jar car mop
egg leg cat
chair key bear
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
5. Blending sounds to
make words
Demo: h…a…t
Practice: c…o…t
6. Segmenting 3 sound
words
Demo: run (3)
Practice: sit (3)
t…i…p
c…a…p
s…oa…p
n…e…s…t
fan
tap
case
feet
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
7. Segmenting 4 sound words
Demo: slip (4)
Practice: grab (4)
best
flag
broom
step
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
/4
8. Deleting first sounds in words
Demo: gate (-g) = ate
Practice: meat (-m) = eat
bus (-b) = us
cage (-c) = age
tape (-t) = ape
bone (-b) = own
Comments:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
Stimulus sheet 1: Segmenting syllables & Segmenting 3 & 4 sound words
(Subtests 1, 6 & 7)
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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Phonological Awareness Skill Mapping (PASM)
Stimulus sheet 2: Matching Rhyme Pictures (Subtest 2)
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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Appendix A: Phonological Awareness Class Skill Map (Option A)
The class profile is used to record the skill level for your children in your class. Insert the scores
after initial testing in the first column under each skill domain. Data can be re-entered in the
second column after retesting later in the year. This data can also be used as a ‘running
record’ to show the development of phonological awareness skills over time. Add ticks as you
observe that children are competent with this skill domain. This presents a quick visual summary
of development over time.
Marking
 - score 3 or 4 items correct,  - score 0,1, 2.
Developmental
Sequence
Skill domain
Preschool/ Early
Reception
Segment
syllables
Match
rhyme
End of Reception
Produce
rhyme
Ident first
sound
Blend
sounds
Year 1/2
3 sound
segment
4 sound
segment
Sound
delete
Date of
assessments
Year Level -
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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Appendix A: Phonological Awareness Class Skill Map(Option B)
Room:
Teacher:
Date: ______________
Preschool/Early Reception
Skill domain
Reading
Level
Sight
Words
Snd/Letter
Knowl
Segment
Syllables
Match Rhyme
End of Reception
Produce
Rhyme
Identify First
Sound
Blend
Sounds
Year 1/2
3 Sound
Segment
4 Sound
Segment
Sound
Delete
Date of
assessments
Child Name
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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Appendix B: Phonological Awareness Planning Guide
Phonological Awareness Skill
Focus Children
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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References
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Department of Education & Children's Services, SA. (2009). Talking Literacy, Code Breaking: A
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Gillon, G. (2004). Phonological Awareness from Research to Practice. Guilford Press, New York.
Konza D (2011) Research Into Practice: Understanding the Reading Process [Online].
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Early Literacy Panel [online]. Available: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.pdf
[2012, October 19].
Schuele, M., & Boudreau, D. (2008). Phonological Awareness Intervention: Beyond the Basics.
Language, Speech and Hearing Services In Schools Vol. 39, 3–20.
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Whitehurst, G. & Lonigan, C. (2003). Emergent literacy: Development from Prereaders to
Readers. In Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Vol 1. Ed S Neuman & D. Dickinson, Guilford
Press, New York.
© Talking Literacy, Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia, 2012
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