• Focus on Phonemic Awareness

     

    1. Take turns thinking of two words that begin with the same sound. Examples: mom, moon; dog, door; fun, fast; paper, pet.

     

    2. Play the "Say it quickly" game. You say a word, one sound at a time and then have your child say the word at the normal rate. For example, you say each sound in the word cat, "/k/ /a/ /t/." Then your child says the word at the normal speed, "cat." Play this game with five to ten short words (words like: am, is, it, in, on, sit, pan, sun, top, net, and fin) every day. 

     

    3. Play rhyming games. Say a two word rhyme (for example cat & sat) and ask your child to say a word that rhymes with your words. Take turns. Ask your child to say a word and then you respond with a rhyming word. For example, your child says, "run" and you say "fun"; he says "hair", you say "pair." 

     

    4. Play the "Say it slowly" game. Say a word at normal rate and then have your child say the same word slowly, one sound at a time. For example, say the word, "mat." Then your child will say that same word slowly, one sound at a time, "/m/ /a/ /t/." Play this game using about five (5) to ten (10) short words each day 

     

    5. Take turns thinking of two (2) words that end with the same sound. Examples: mom, some; dog, rug; fun, ran. 

     

    6. Play the “Change that word” game. Think of a one syllable word and have your child think of another word that is different by one sound. Take turns with each word. For example, sat, sit, sip, lip.