Although many children learn the sounds that make up language before they come to school, some will need practice recognizing phonemes in kindergarten and first grade. In his article, “How Now Brown Cow: Phoneme Awareness Activities,” Edwin S. Ellis offers practical exercises that teachers can use in regular classrooms to develop phonological awareness. Ellis said that phonemic awareness activities are not offered in all kindergarten and first grade classrooms, and wrote that it’s especially important for students who are at risk for reading failure to be given opportunities to develop awareness of phonemes.
Putting Phonemes Together Activities
Once students have practiced recognizing and saying some of the consonant and vowel sounds, they can begin to put those sounds together to make words. Start with words that have two sounds. Try to use words with sounds that can be stretched like /sss/ or /mmm/.
Say, “This word starts with /mmm/ and ends with /eee/. What is the word?
Use the words it, bee, my, say, each time asking children to name the word.
Ellis suggests saying the beginning of a word like /l/ and the end /ight/ and asking the children to put the word together (light). Do the same activity using children’s names, e.g., /d/ and /an/ (Dan), /s/ and /andy/ (Sandy).
Put several objects in a paper bag; e.g., a toy truck, a book, and a mask.
Say the word one sound at a time /tr/ /u/ /ck/ and ask children to guess what the object is. Show the object if a child guesses correctly.
Play musical chairs. Place chairs in a circle and have each student stand in front of one. Put a picture of an object, e.g., a shirt face down on one of the chairs. Have children march around the chairs while music is playing. Children stop when the music stops. The child in front of the chair with the picture has to say the sounds /sh/ /irt/. Ask what the word is. Call on someone to say it.
Check Phoneme Awareness
In his article, "ABCs of Phonemic Awareness, "Roger Sensenbaugh advised that activities for phonemic awareness should be playful and fun, include group activities, encourage social interaction, allow for individual differences, and encourage children's curiosity. The article also includes references to tests that can be used to measure children's awareness of phonemes.
Assessment can also be informal; the teacher can observe and record student progress and plan additional activities for children who are not making adequate progress.
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