Phonological Awareness Lessons

& Read-Aloud Books

Tip Sheet
Introduction Organization
Phonological awareness is the Reading A–Z provides activities developmentally appropriate.
ability to hear and manipulate that help develop phonological The Teaching Tips Lessons can
sound in spoken language. awareness. Teaching Tips sheets, be used independently of the
Phonological awareness skills read-aloud books, and read- read-aloud book and lesson
include word awareness, aloud lessons are available under for phonological awareness
rhyme identification, syllable Foundational Skills–Phonological instruction at the preschool level.
awareness, and sound Awareness on the website. Each You may also choose to use the
discrimination. When students Teaching Tips Lesson may be used read-aloud books and lessons
enter kindergarten, they in the preschool classroom with to supplement phonological
should have a strong sense of little modification. As the lessons awareness instruction. These
phonological awareness. This progress, some modifications can resources can be used with a
foundational skill is a predictor be made to the choice of words preschool audience by modifying
in the success of printed word used as well as some of the game some of the vocabulary and the
recognition. It is a mostly card activities to make them more complexity of activities included.
auditory skill that facilitates next
steps of visual discrimination
and manipulation of sound.
It is important to remember
that when doing phonological
awareness activities, the
grapheme, or alphabet letter,
is not used.

Resource Modification
Introduce phonological awareness lessons at a General modifications to the Teaching Tips Lessons
rate appropriate to students’ ability and level will need to be made in the following areas:
of comprehension. To start, you may want to •  Word Awareness: Repeat words, nursery
introduce one Teaching Tips Lesson every two to rhymes, or sounds several times and
three weeks and review phonological awareness emphasize the word or sounds that are the
skills daily. Each Teaching Tips Lesson provides focus of the activity. Emphasizing sounds
four to six activities that can be used during circle supports discrimination and leads to stronger
time or small-group instruction. The activities foundational skills. Use as many visual
presented may vary slightly from lesson to lesson. representations of the words as possible,
Incorporate one to two activities per session to such as picture cards in a pocket chart.
focus on a smaller number of skills at a time. This
will enable each student to practice the skill and
participate in the activity, which will allow them
to eventually master each skill.
Resource Modification
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 Phonological Awareness Lessons
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Tip Sheet Resource Modification continued

•  Identify Rhyme: When introducing rhyme awareness, •  Game Cards: Activities should only require the student
have students respond with nonsense words as well as to match words or come up with words that have
real words. This will enhance auditory awareness. As the same sounds. These games should not require
the year progresses, students should begin to answer skills beyond sound recognition, discrimination,
with more and more real words to show mastery. and/or manipulation. Requiring a second skill such
•  Syllable Awareness: Begin by using one- and two- as short-term memory or speed recognition can
syllable words to build and refine syllable awareness. frustrate students and deter auditory discrimination
Once students have started to master the skill, begin development. Students who are moving at an
introducing familiar three- and four-syllable words. advanced pace and are showing mastery of the basic
foundational skills can practice with all activities.
•  Sound Discrimination: Introduce students to
individual letter sounds and then progress into Beginning at lesson 20, read-aloud book vocabulary will
beginning sounds of words. When students are close need modifications for use with preschool students. For
to mastering these sounds, begin to introduce ending example, words such as kneading, rhubarb, or boasted
sounds of words. Middle sound discrimination should are difficult for preschool students to understand. The
not be covered in preschool, except with advanced read-aloud lessons that accompany the books will help
learners. Beginning and ending sounds should with comprehension. The lessons can be modified in the
be single letter sounds, such as sss or buh. Sound following ways for use with preschool students:
discrimination should not include blends or digraphs, •  Build Background: Help students make a personal
such as shhh or bllll. connection to the book. For example, if the book is
about a pet, ask students to share whether they have
a pet and what stories they have that may relate to
the book.
•  Preview the Book: Read the title of the book and ask
students to predict what the story will be about. Do
a picture walk, showing students each page of the
book, and ask them to clarify their predictions.
•  During Reading: Read the story aloud to students
with expression. As the story progresses, review and
clarify predictions students made to model what active
readers do as they progress through a text. Allow
students to ask questions about the story during the
reading and model appropriate questioning about the
story using simple question prompts in a think-aloud.

Resource Modification
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 Phonological Awareness Lessons
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Tip Sheet Resource Modification continued

Ask the following questions during reading:

Fiction: Nonfiction:
•  What do you think the characters are thinking? •  What did you learn?
•  Why do you think a character is doing what they •  What did you like most about what we read?
are doing in the story? •  What else do you still want to learn?
•  What do you think they are doing in this picture? •  What pictures did you like the best? Why?
Why? (Self-check illustration predictions after
•  What would you tell someone else about what
reading the page.)
we read?
•  Do you think this will help solve the problem?
•  After Reading: Have students explain whether the
(Allow students to respond.) Let’s read to find out.
book was a real (nonfiction) or not real (fiction) story.
•  What do you think is going to happen next? Be sure to support students’ understanding of these
•  How do you think this story will end? terms as the year progresses. Invite students to retell
or summarize their favorite parts. Discuss parts of the
story such as setting, characters, beginning, middle,
and ending. Ask specific questions that demonstrate
students’ understanding of the book, such as what
a specific character did or how they solved a problem
in the story.

Instruction and Center Design

Whole-class or small-group instruction
Choose one Tutor Teaching Tips Lesson to teach understanding of the skill being introduced or
in its entirety using the modifications discussed practiced. Be sure to emphasize the skill or sound
in “Where to Begin.” It is recommended to begin awareness that you are working on, repeating when
with lesson one and proceed through the sequence necessary. Any of the activities can be repeated
in order. Introduce one to two activities to teach with different sounds or words to bring students
consecutively each day during your circle time or to mastery.
small-group instruction. To incorporate each activity If choosing to incorporate the read-aloud book and
make sure to check for modifications in the above lesson along with each Tutor Teaching Tips Lesson,
section. Moving from one phonological awareness be sure to make the modifications suggested in the
activity to the next should only be made if you “Where to Begin” section above.
observe that your students are beginning to show

Instruction and Center Design

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 Phonological Awareness Lessons
& Read-Aloud Books

Tip Sheet Instruction and Center Design continued

Center or Individual Activities:

•  To support learning and repetition of phonological •  Repeat the sorting activity above with beginning
awareness, incorporate opportunities for individual sounds and then follow with ending sounds after
practice in centers. Repeat centers as necessary. students show mastery.
Provide ample opportunity for students to practice •  Provide picture cards with words that have one, two,
skills that are introduced in circle time or small-group three, or four syllables. Make a chart with a column for
instruction to scaffold to independent ability. each number of syllables and have students sort the
•  Provide the card games suggested in the Teaching picture cards into the correct column by clapping the
Tips Lessons. These games review and reinforce number of syllables.
material covered in circle time or small-group •  Provide each student with a large rubber band and
instruction. Model the game at least once for students picture cards. Have students say each word and
before having them use it in an independent center. expand the rubber band a little bit for each sound
•  Provide picture cards that represent rhyming words they hear in the word. The action of expanding the
for students to use in a sorting activity. For example, rubber band will provide a kinesthetic action that pairs
supply picture cards of a cat and a ball. Place these with auditory discrimination to reinforce the skill of
at the top of a T-chart and supply picture word cards segmenting sounds.
that rhyme with both cards: hat, mat, rat, wall, hall.
Have students sort the cards into groups of rhymes
under the pictures at the top of the T-chart. Introduce
new rhyming words weekly.

Extension Assessments
As the year progresses, introduce more one-, two-, The Phonological Awareness Assessment provided by
and three-letter sounds to sorts, rhymes, and sounds Reading A–Z (found within the Assessments drawer)
to increase phonological awareness and foundational can be used to measure student progress and overall
skills. This will allow students to begin to decipher learning. Additional formative assessments can be
one sound and skill from another. Review skills obtained by observing students in the centers as
continuously to help students reach mastery. well as in small or large groups. When observing
students, consider the following criteria:
•  Is the student recognizing the rhyme correctly?
•  Is the student able to recognize the sound
correctly?
•  Is the student able to segment and blend
syllables correctly?
•  Is the student able to identify the correct number
of syllables in a word?

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