Focus on Phonemic Awareness

Activities for parents and teachers of pre-schoolers:

Along with reading aloud to your pre-schoolers every day, there are a few fun and easy activities that you can do to greatly enhance the your child's reading success in kindergarten and 1st grade. These activities are meant to teach a skill called phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the individual sounds that make up spoken words. These are auditory activities and can be performed anywhere: in line at the supermarket, in the car, or when taking walks together.

Rhyme Time! I once worked with a 1st greade teacher who used to say, "If they can rhyme, they can read." Dr. Seuss books are great rhyming read-alouds.

* Make up short little rhymes and invite your child to guess the rhyming word. "There once was a little mouse that lived in a little ______."

* Chant and sing nursery rhymes.

* Say three words, such as cat, mat, mug. Ask your child to pick the word that doesn't rhyme.

* Say 3 words, such as bug, cat, baby, and have your child pick the word that starts with a different sound.  

Focus on Sounds. Invite your child to guess the word when you divide it up into the sounds, such as /mmmmmmaaaaaannnnn/ man. Or ask your child what sound, not letter, they hear at the beginning of man, moon, monkey and so on.

Songs and Word Play! Recite fun tongue twisters with your child. Remember Peter, who picked a peck of pickled peppers? Swap beginning letters on common prhases such as "Bappy Hirthday!" or "Have a dice nay!  Here is a great song that builds phonemic awareness. Sing it to the last part of the song, "I've Been Workin' on the Railraod."  Download this song now!

 

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song for phonemic awareness.

For more songs and activities, google "Phonemic Awareness Activities."