Phonemic Awareness Activities for Parents

Rhyming Words   ·          Choose a picture (between 2) that rhymes with the given word ·          Find 2 pictures that rhyme (from 3-4 pictures) ·          Rhyming couplets - do orally and have the child complete the rhyme ex. The cat chased a mouse all around the ______. ·          Color the Rhyme, draw a picture or use a coloring book and make up rhymes of your own, have your child color the object that rhymes.  (Color something that: rhymes with hour - flower) ·          Read lots of poems, nursery rhymes, and rhyming books, leave out missing rhymes ·          “Rhymes with  at starts with /m/”  mat   Blending Sounds   ·          Rubber band stretching - stretch a rubber band as you say a word by individual sounds.  Start with “chunks” c-at   as the child becomes proficient, say each sound separately c-a-t  ·          Demonstrate this method of stretching - then say the word;    c-a-t  cat ·          Show 2 picture  cards - stretch one and have the child choose the correct picture ·          Same with 3 or more pictures ·          Stretch a word and have the child say the word back ·          Demonstrate stretching when reading books Segmenting Sounds ·          Say a word, clap syllables ·          Say a compound word, clap syllables ·          Say a compound word, ask the child to tell you the word without one of the syllables.  ex. Say cowboy without the cow ·          Say a word slowly, ask the child how many sounds they hear ex. /c/ /a/ / t/ =  3 sounds ·          Draw boxes to correspond with sounds (ooo) write letters in boxes beginning sounds, middle, ending  (words with silent letters or letter combinations are taught as one sound   (th would go in one box, silent e at the end is written after the last box.) ·          Say a word, have the child repeat it, ask the child to say the word without the beginning sound. (Start with words that have meaningful remaining sounds.)  ex. say cat without the /c/ = at ·          Try the same activity with the ending sound.  ex. say cat without the /t/ = ca