Phonological Awareness Activities
Phonological Awareness is the understanding of sounds in words without letters. Many
students have a difficult time separating our language into individual parts and this
complicates learning to read and spell.
Blending (the ability to put together sounds) and segmenting (the ability to pull sounds
apart) is the foundation to all Phonological Awareness (PA) activities.
Phonemes (sounds) are the smallest unit of sound in a word. For instance, "zoo" has three
letters, but just 2 phonemes "z.....oo" and "ship" has 4 letters, but just 3
phonemes "sh.....i.....p." Blending and segmenting tasks are an abstract concept, which
requires listening and memory skills. Many children need some type of marker (beans or
blocks) to connect the sounds with a tangible object. The tangible objects or picture cue
cards make this concept more concrete, understandable, and fun.
Phonological Awareness – Sounds (Phonemes)
Concept – Understanding phonemes can be blended into words and words can be segmented
into phonemes.
Activity Materials – Markers or picture cue cards and a list of words with two, three, four
and five phonemes.
Blending Directions Without Markers:
Hint: (a more abstract strategy) The longer you pause between each phoneme, the more
the student’s memory has to be used. Memory development is a much-needed skill for most
struggling readers. Pause between each sound for several seconds.
The parent faces the child and says, “m....e....l....t” The child blends the phonemes
together into “melt.”
Blending Directions Using Markers:
The parent faces the child (so that the child can watch the parent’s mouth – if
needed). The parent lines up four markers (pennies or buttons for example) and starts
from the child’s left, moving to the right (the direction we read) stating, “m” pausing for
several seconds and then moves the first marker slightly, then states “e” and moves the
second marker slightly, then states “l” and moves the marker slightly, the states "t" moving
the marker slightly. The child then verbally blends the phonemes into “melt” and uses
his/her finger to make a sweeping movement (underlining) from left to right under the
markers as the word is spoken.
Insight: Years ago, educational professionals thought that children with letter and word
reversals had visual issues. However, now professionals think these difficulties may reflect
“left-right orientation” challenge. In simple language this means when a child reads, he/she
doesn’t continually “sweep” from left to right, instead the child looks at the letter or word
without directionality.
Segmenting Directions Without Markers:
The parent faces the child and says, “melt.” The child segments the phonemes into
“m…..e…..l....t” and sweeps his/her finger from left to right.
Segmenting Directions Using Markers:
The parent faces the child (so that the child can watch the parent’s mouth – if
needed). The parent lines up four markers in front of the child and states, “melt.” The
child touches each tile and starts from his/her left and moves the first marker slightly and
says “m,” then states “e” and moves the second marker slightly, then states “l” and moves
the third marker slightly, then states "t." The word has been segmented! The child then
uses his/her finger to make a sweeping movement (underlining) from left to right under the
cards as the word is spoken.
Hint: Make sure your child uses his/her dominant hand and sweeps from left to right...this
is a critical skill for some to learn to read effectively. Also ensure that your child does not
start moving the tiles backwards from a right to left motion.
Starting Phoneme word list:
Two Phonemes:
zoo
bow
me
Three Phonemes
lip
hot
ship (sh...i...p)
Four Phonemes (Ending Blends)
sand
jump
help
Four Phonemes (Beginning Blends)
flat
dress
grass
Five Phonemes
blond
trend
spent
You can use the above activities to blend and segment syllables as well.
Syllable word list:
One Syllable
Two Syllables
Three Syllables
cat
table
umbrella
door
basket
telephone
pig
candy
elephant
grass
flower
Saturday
ball
pencil
Four Syllables
Five Syllables
watermelon
cafeteria
harmonica
veterinarian
kindergarten
vocabulary
helicopter
opportunity
january
university
family
Blending and Segmenting Compound Words
Blending Directions:
The parent faces the child and holds up his/her right hand and says “butter.” Then the
parent holds up their left hand and says “fly.” The parent then puts their two hands
together and child blends the words together and says, “butterfly.” The word has been
blended!
Insight: The longer the pause between the two words, “butter” and “fly,” the more difficult
the task becomes as the child must hold each word in his/her memory to figure out the
word…an important skill! If your child is unable to blend the two words together, repeat
the words again more quickly, using your hands as “markers.”
Eventually, you will be able remove your hands and your child will be able to hold the words
in his/her memory, blending the two words together with ease.
Segmenting Directions: This activity will be the opposite of blending. Your child is going to
pull apart the compound words. The parent faces the student, with both hands together
and says, “butterfly.” The student then says, “butter” and the parent pulls the right hand
away to the right (segmenting) and then the student says, “fly” and the parent moves the
left hand to the left. The word has been segmented!
Compound Word List:
paintbrush
toothbrush
noontime
steamboat
cookbook
fishhook
playmate
footprints
downtown
snowflake
countdown
seesaw
groundhog
sundown
jigsaw
southwest
cowboy
bedspread
rooftop
headlight
mailbox
raindrop
pigtail
broomstick
Sunday
seaside
teammate
beehive
airplane
baseball
campfire
chalkboard
touchdown
sailboat
playground
notebook
lighthouse
downstairs
crosswalk
bookstore
birthday
birdhouse
bathroom
sandpaper
sunshine
eggshell
windshield
wallpaper
headlight
sunbeam
understand
Superman
flashlight
waterfall
bluejay
soapsuds
toenail
Blending and Segmenting Sentences
Concept – Understanding words in sentences.
Activity Materials - Use counters (beans, pennies or other small objects) and a bowl or
bag. Your child will place one counter into the bag for each word.
Segmenting Sample Sentences:
The parent says, “The dog can run.” Your child repeats the sentence and places one
counter in the bag as they say each word. “The” (one counter), “dog” (one counter), “can”
(one counter), “run” (one counter).
The parent says, “That flower is pretty.” Your child repeats the sentence and places
counter in the bag for each word. “That” (one counter), “flower” (one counter), “is” (one
counter), “pretty” (one counter).
Insight: Some students may not understand that some words are made up of syllables and
that “flower” is not two words, but one. The second sentence example should have 4
counters placed in the bag…those children will place 6 counters.
This activity also practices listening skills and memory development. The student must
listen to the sentence, remember the sentence and repeat the sentence, then remember
the words to “segment” the sentence. As the sentences become longer and more complex,
the skills are challenged.
Practice examples:

“My mom made a cake.” (5 counters)

“The blue truck is in the mud.” (7 counters)

“His sweater is in the closet.” (6 counters)

“We went to the mountains yesterday.” (6 counters)

“Grandma is coming for spaghetti dinner tonight.” (7 counters)
Activity variations:
Instead of using counters and a bag try…

Marching around the room – each step represents a word.

Clapping hands (as seen in the picture) – each clap represents a word.

Jumping rope – each jump represents a word.

Moving army men or horses (any toy) across the floor or table to represent a word.
Blending Sample Sentences:
Now try the opposite!
The parent says, “His………dog……….is………….lost.” The child then blends the sentence
together into, “His dog is lost.”
Insight:
This activity may seem very simple, however some children have a difficult time holding the
words in their memory and blending them together into an understandable sentence. The
longer the pauses between words…the more challenging this activity becomes and the more
skills are required to be successful. So….stretch those sentences out!
Practice examples:


The…bird…is…singing.
My…mom…is…very…helpful!

Can…you…play…with…the…truck?

On…the…table…is…a…blue…plate.

I…have…a…friend…at…school...named…Tim.
Have fun with your child…it is the most important part of learning!
Adapted from http://solutionsforstrugglingreaders.blogspot.com/