Phonological awareness: hearing sounds before reading
A preschooler who hears "cat" and "mat" as a pair is already doing something with the sound of words, before any letter is on paper. Parents search for phonological awareness as the reading lesson approaches, or when segmenting and blending in groep 3 (the first formal reading year) goes stiffly.
Phonological awareness is hearing and moving sound parts in spoken words: rhyme, syllables, and later the separate sounds. This article explains those layers, why they come before technical reading, and which short games fit at home.
LogiLand is practice software. It is not the school's reading method. It does not diagnose, and it does not replace a speech therapist or teacher.
The reading step after this is technical reading. If reading stays behind, see reading delay.
What Phonological Awareness Is
A word has a meaning and a sound shape. Phonological awareness is attention to that sound shape, apart from the meaning. The child notices that sock and rock sound alike, that table is two parts, or that fish starts with /f/.
That ability grows in layers, from large to small (Anthony & Francis, 2005):
- Words in a sentence. "I see the moon" has four words. Young children do not count those on their own.
- Rhyme and a shared beginning. Cat and mat rhyme. Cap and cat share a beginning.
- Syllables. Ta-ble, cu-cum-ber. Clapping makes the parts audible.
- Separate sounds, or phonemes. Fish is /f/ /i/ /sh/. This smallest level is called phonemic awareness. It is part of phonological awareness, and it is the level closest to reading.
Phonological is the broader word. Parents sometimes search only for "phonological". They usually mean this whole area: hearing sounds.
A phonological speech disorder is a different term. It is about pronunciation patterns, explained in speech disorder.
At the start, the work is sounds. Once you link a sound to a letter, you step across to technical reading. The two support each other. A child who misses the /s/ in sock gets little from the letter s on a card.
Better practice with clients?
LogiLand is developing a fun app that makes speech therapy exercises more fun. You assign them, the child practises at home, you see the progress.
Request accessWhy This Comes Before Technical Reading
Technical reading links written marks to sounds and blends those sounds into a word. That link lands more easily when the child can already hear the sounds as separate pieces. Teaching phonemic awareness, together with letters, helps beginning readers (National Reading Panel, 2000).
The order at home and at school often looks like this:
- Rhyming together and making up silly words
- Clapping names and words
- Hearing the first sound
- Splitting a short word into sounds and blending it again
- Linking those same sounds to letters
Step 5 is technical reading. Keep that step for later if step 3 is still empty. A row of letters without a sense of sound turns into a memory drill.
Children differ in pace. Many preschoolers rhyme in play. Splitting words into phonemes often starts around formal reading, and sometimes only with help.
A preschooler who cannot split words into sounds yet has no disorder on that basis. A child in groep 3 who still hears no first sound after months of instruction deserves a conversation with the teacher.
Language plays a part. A child with a smaller vocabulary has fewer words in which to practise sounds. Read developmental language disorder if understanding and sentences are weak as well. A persistent reading problem at word level is covered in dyslexia symptoms.
Short Games at Home
Keep it to three to five minutes. Skip the score. Words the child knows work better than an abstract list.
1. Rhyme in the room
What you practise: Hearing that words share a piece
How to do it: "I see something that rhymes with book." Your child looks for hook or cook, or invents a nonsense word. Nonsense is allowed. The point is the sound.
When: Tidying up, in the car, getting dressed
Tip for parents: Laugh at odd rhymes. A correction about meaning pulls the child out of the sound.
2. Clap a name
What you practise: Syllables
How to do it: Clap: Sa-ra, two claps. Al-ex-an-der, four. Then a food word: ba-na-na. Your child claps, and you count aloud with them.
When: At the table, one round
Tip for parents: Friends' names work well. A worksheet works less well.
3. What do you hear at the start?
What you practise: The first sound
How to do it: "Fish, fire, bike. Which word is the odd one out: fish, fire, moon?" Or: "Say a word that starts like ball." You give two examples, your child a third.
When: The shopping list, animal pictures
Tip for parents: Start with sounds that are easy to hear, such as /m/, /s/ and /p/. /r/ and /l/ are still hard for many preschoolers to say. Practise hearing. Perfect speech can wait.
4. Segment and blend without letters
What you practise: Phonemes in a short word
How to do it: You say /k/ /a/ /t/, slowly. Your child says cat. Then the other way round: "Split sock." Three sounds is enough. Four sounds and clusters come later.
When: Once rhyme and the first sound already work
Tip for parents: If it fails, go back to syllables. Pushing on until there are tears teaches that sounds are dangerous.
5. Sound and letter, once school does that
What you practise: The bridge to technical reading
How to do it: Only once the teacher is offering letters. "You heard /s/. This is the letter s." Write it large. Link a word straight away: sock. Reading exercises can follow as a short game, beside the lesson.
When: Groep 2 or groep 3, in line with school
Tip for parents: A separate letter programme beside the school method sows confusion. Ask which letters the class is doing this month.
If your child already has speech therapy for sounds, line the games up with that. Practice at age 5 and at age 6 connect here.
When Extra Help Fits
Talk with school or a speech therapist if a child:
- in groep 3, after a period of instruction, still misses rhyme or a first sound
- swaps sounds in speech so much that words stay hard to understand
- links letters and loses them again at once, week after week
- also has weak sentences and weak understanding
Phonological awareness is a skill you can practise. On its own it is not a diagnosis. Sometimes a weak sense of sound belongs with a wider reading or language picture.
The teacher sees the start of reading. The speech therapist sees speech and language. Together they keep a child from practising the wrong layer for two years.
Practical Tips
- Speech first, letters after, when the child does not hear the sound yet
- Short turns. Three words, then stop
- Real words from home, sport and friends
- One layer at a time. Rhyme this week, the first sound next week
- The same line as school. Ask what this month's goal is
- Hearing. If you wonder whether your child misses the sound, have hearing checked
Conclusion
Phonological awareness gives a child a grip on the sound shape of words. That grip carries technical reading. Short games in an ordinary day are enough to begin.
Also read reading delay, dyslexia symptoms and speech disorder.
This article explains phonological awareness for parents. It does not diagnose. LogiLand is practice software and does not replace a speech therapist or teacher.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is phonological awareness? Hearing and playing with sound parts in spoken words: rhyme, syllables and separate sounds. Letters come in a later step.
Is phonemic awareness something else? Phonemic awareness is the smallest piece: the separate sounds in a word. It sits inside phonological awareness.
Must a preschooler already be able to split words into sounds? Rhyming and clapping fit many preschoolers. Splitting words into separate sounds often grows around the start of reading. A preschooler who cannot do that yet has no disorder on that basis.
Does this help with dyslexia? A weak sense of sound often comes with reading difficulty. Practice supports the start of reading. It does not establish dyslexia, and it does not replace an assessment. See dyslexia symptoms.
May I do this with an app? A short game can sit beside talking and reading aloud. LogiLand then practises words and sentences aloud. It does not replace the conversation about sounds.
References
Anthony, J. L., & Francis, D. J. (2005). Development of phonological awareness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(5), 255-259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00376.x
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. NIH Publication No. 00-4769.
Better practice with clients?
LogiLand is developing a fun app that makes speech therapy exercises more fun. You assign them, the child practises at home, you see the progress.
Request access
