Open Your Ears

Open Their Ears to Reading

Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify the small units of sound (phonemes) which make up words and how these can be segmented (pulled apart), blended (put together), and manipulated (added, deleted, and substituted). Phonemic skills include rhyming, alliteration, and counting syllables. Hearing the sounds of language is important in learning to read.

When learning to speak, children accumulate thousands of sounds. In order to read, children must recognize these sounds as individual units which are used to make up written words. Teachers and parents can help with explicit instruction (teaching children to connect sound with the letters of the alphabet) but playing games with sounds is a lot more fun.

Even the youngest children love to play with sounds. Here are a few examples of some “sound games” for parents and children to share. 

1. Sound Rounds! Model sounds with exaggerated pronunciation. “I Love Pickles!” YuM, PoPCorN! Add movement. “Jump when you hear a /p/ sound.”

2. Mix Them Up! Combine sounds to make nonsense words: Brush-em-be-too-tee-boos! Doo-da-diddy-cums! Dr. Seuss’s books are full of nonsense words. 

3. Break Them Up! Pull words apart: Say, cowbell. Now say it without /bell/. Start with compound words and move on to syllables: Say platter. Now say it without /ter/.

4. Rhyme Time! Read rhyming books. Add new rhymes to those in the book. Ask your child to add some more. Rhymes don’t have to be actual words: Pop, stop, hop, mop, vop, yop etc.

5. Rhyming Riddles! These answers rhyme with /bat/. I sit on your head. Who am I? (a hat). I sit on your lap and purr. Who am I? (a cat). Kids can make up rhyming riddles too.

5. Clap, Clap! Clap if these words start the same: (cup, cow); rhyme: (neigh, bray); have the same beginning (or ending) sound (pool, cool) etc.

6. Strange Change! Start with a word (hop). Change the beginning (or ending) sound. (top, stop, hog, hot, etc. ) Challenge your child to do the same.  

7. Stretch and Blend! Stretch words into their individual sounds or blend them together. Stretch, cheep, (/ch/-/ee/-/p/); clack, (/k/-/l/-/a/-/k/); blend /s/-/p/-/i/-/n/, (spin); /b/-/u/-/k/,, (buck). Demonstrate stretching or blending with large arm movements.

8. Sing!  Learn some silly songs and belt them out with your kids.

As children become more aware of phonemes, games can be made more challenging. Sound games, which be done anywhere, keep children occupied and happy. Help your child become a great reader!

(This is the second in a series on reading success)