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Phonological awareness skills are essential for both language and reading development (e.g., Gillon, 2002; Hogan, Catts, and Little, 2005; Pokorni, Worthington, and Jamison, 2004; Schuele and Boudreau, 2008). The goal of this article is to provide speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with activities that help students, in grades three through high school, improve their phonological awareness. More specifically, the intent is to help SLPs:

Provide students with opportunities to focus on the constituent phonemes of words and to manipulate them with regard to their meaning;
Improve students’ comprehension and production of items that have sounds added, substituted, or deleted from target words;
Strengthen students’ understanding of the difference between the graphemic and phonemic representation of words;
Challenge students to apply phonological awareness skills to real-life contexts; and
Enhance students’ divergent-thinking skills, mental associations, and vocabulary.

When engaging in the activities that will be discussed in this article, SLPs must be aware of, and consider, each student’s needs, especially when working with individuals who have other speech or language difficulties. If for instance, there are motor or sensory problems, then the techniques described in this article may not be the appropriate approach. As with any intervention approach, good judgment is required by the SLP to determine which techniques would be most beneficial for each individual student.

Phonological Awareness and “Meta” Skills

Phonological awareness is the awareness of the sound structure of language. It includes being able to distinguish that sentences have words, words have syllables, and words have distinct sounds or phonemes. Phonological awareness does not develop in isolation. Several skills are needed to manipulate and demonstrate understanding of the sound system of the English language. For example, consider the following:

grasping sound-symbol correspondence—direct or otherwise (e.g., the phoneme /s/ is represented by s in sun, c in city, and ps in psychology)
segmenting and redefining a phonological string
analyzing and integrating syntactic information
interpreting contextual information
inferring meaning
perceiving and using paralinguistic cues (e.g., vocal intensity, stress, intonation)
evoking new and different meanings in words, phrases, and sentences
putting into words what is known implicitly

Factors Accounting for Difficulties

Students may be confused when there is a lack of correspondence between a sound and its alphabetic symbol. For example, cat has three sounds and three letters, but caught has three sounds and six letters. Some sounds can be represented by different alphabetic symbols (e.g., /f/ can be represented by f [as in fun], ph [as in phone], or gh [as in laugh]).

Words that look the same can be pronounced differently depending on the context, such as the word read, when referring to the present or past tense. Words that are spelled differently and have different meanings can be pronounced the same way (e.g., to, too, and two are all pronounced /tu/).

A consonant’s position within a syllable can affect its acoustic pattern (e.g., the /p/ in pat is aspirated, but the /p/ in top is not). The acoustic pattern of consonants is influenced by the vowels that surround them (e.g., the /b/ in boy has a different acoustic pattern than the /b/ in bat). Phonemic units often are obscured by co-articulation (i.e., an overlapping of sounds), making it difficult to determine where one sound ends and the next sound begins (Liberman, Shankweiler, & Liberman, 1989).

Children may be successful in segmenting syllables, but may fail to classify those segments according to the adult phonological system (e.g., children may treat /t/ and /tr/ as allophones. They would, therefore, regard chain and train as alternate pronunciations of the same word (Treiman, 1991). The ability to segment words into their constituent phonemes does not appear to occur as a natural consequence of learning spoken language (Adams, 1990; Gough, Juel, & Griffith, 1992).

Background and Rationale

Metaphonological awareness is achieved when students know and can talk about their ability to segment and manipulate the phonemes that comprise a word. Students who have developed metaphonological competence can use what they already know about manipulating phonemes to decipher unfamiliar words. Although these skills are commonly acquired by the time a child is 5½ or 6 years of age, for some children it is necessary to strengthen or develop these skills (Blachman, 1991).

There are several levels of phonological awareness. Shallow and intermediate phonological awareness skills include awareness that:

sentences and phrases can be broken down into single words;
some words share sounds or sound sequences;
a word can be divided into its component syllables; and
a syllable can be broken down into onsets and rimes (for example, slat has the onset /sl/ and the rime /at/.

Deep phonological awareness skills include awareness that:

a single sound (i.e., phoneme) in a word can be changed to create a new word;
a word can be segmented into its constituent phonemes;
the number of phonemes in a word can be counted and each phoneme identified; and, phonemes within a word can be manipulated to create new words.

These deep phonological awareness skills pertain to phonemes, and, thus, can also be called phonemic awareness skills (Rubba, 2004).

Phonological awareness includes rhyme recognition, sound manipulation, and blending (Stackhouse, 1997), but the ability to segment words into their constituent phonemes is the culminating phonological awareness skill (Wallach & Miller, 1988). Children’s ability to segment syllables into phonemes develops gradually between 6 to 10 years of age, as they become more adept at attending to the phonemic aspects of words (Wallach & Miller, 1988). Before children can segment a word into its constituent phonemes, they must be able to do the following:

hear the similarity of rhyming words;
segment sentences into word units;
segment multisyllabic words into syllables;
identify the initial phoneme in a word; identify the final phoneme in a word;
identify a targeted medial phoneme in a word; and,
identify a targeted phoneme within a consonant blend.

Numerous researchers (e.g., Ball, 1997; Gillon, 2002; Hogan, Catts, & Little, 2005; Snyder & Downey, 1997; Stahl & Murray, 1994) have shown that phonological awareness training is highly effective for improving reading and spelling abilities. Given that the components of language are intertwined, a student with poor phonological awareness may have other language-learning difficulties.

General Recommendations

The following presents some general recommendations. Consider theses when helping students develop phonological awareness:

Verbal mediation. In the early stages of intervention, offer a great deal of ongoing verbal mediation. Discuss items under consideration in great detail. Point out factors such as rhyming, context clues, sound-symbol correspondence, spelling changes, aspects of world knowledge, and so forth.

Vocabulary. If you feel any words in the targeted material may be unfamiliar to the students, be prepared to discuss their meaning. Have an age-appropriate dictionary available for students.

Thinking aloud. Have students “think aloud” when working on an item. In this way, context clues can be identified and discussed, and misinterpretation of vocabulary items can be corrected.

Discussion of relevance. Students who need to improve their metaphonological awareness skills are more likely to be successful when they recognize the relevance of the intervention activities. Point out that knowing about sounds in word can help us: to read and write; spell words correctly during writing tasks; understand and enjoy humourous comments in newspapers, magazines, television programs, and commercials that are based on sound changes; and, they can help us understand and enjoy humorous signs on stores, billboards, bumper stickers, and T-shirts that are based on sound changes.

Knowing about how sound changes affect the meaning of words. Suggestions can be made that help students see the need for knowing about how sound changes affect the meaning of words. For example, we will be able to laugh at and enjoy the many riddles and jokes that have humor caused by a sound change. We feel more a part of the group if we understand the kind of humor others use.

Specific Activities to Enhance Basic Phonological Awareness

Sound Categorization

Bradley and Bryant (1983, 1985) suggest categorizing or grouping pictures of objects on the basis of shared sounds. For example, group hen with men and pen because they rhyme. Group hen with hat and hill because they share the initial sound; group hen with pin and sun because they share the final sound; and finally group hen with leg and net because they share the medial sound. Several picture cards that rhyme or share a sound in the initial, medial, or final position are placed on a table along with one picture that does not share this sound. The student is asked to identify the “odd one out,” and to explain his or her choice.

Phoneme Segmentation

Ball and Blachman (1991) recommend representing the sounds in one-, two-, and three-phoneme words by using disks or other manipulatives, such as tiles, buttons, or blocks. Each sound is represented with one disk. Divide an 8½ by 11 inch sheet of paper in half by drawing a horizontal line. Using one finger, move the disk from the top half of the paper to the bottom, having the student say the sound as the disk is moved. Initially, select words that begin with continuous-sound letters, such as s, f, or l, so that they can be held with a minimum of distortion. Pronounce the words slowly (e.g., “sss-uuu-nnn”) and have the student move one disk per sound. Stop consonants, such as b, k, or t, can then be segmented. As an option, have the student practice saying the target sound slowly, while at the same time holding up one finger to represent each sound in the word.

Metaphonological Activities

Activities requiring students to listen for and manipulate phonemes are also effective for phonological awareness building.

Start with rhyming activities. For example, “Say a word that rhymes with top” (e.g., pop, hop, and mop); or, which of these words does not sound like the others?” (e.g., rock lock, sock, bat). Model each task before asking the student to respond.
Progress to segmentation of sentences into word units. For example, after modeling the task, ask the student to use one block per word to show how many words are in a spoken sentence, such as “Mary had a little lamb” = 5 blocks.
Next, segment multisyllabic words into syllables. For example, after modeling the task, ask the student to use one block per syllable to show how many syllables are in a multisyllabic word, such as lollipops = 3 blocks.
Help the student identify the initial phonemes in words, starting with spoken words that begin with continuous sounds. For example, sun = /s/, fit = /f/, lip = /l/. Progress to spoken words that begin with stop sounds. For example, top = /t/, cat = /k/, dog = /d/.
Then, help the student segment the phonemes in a spoken word. For example, ask the student to say quickly a word that is spoken slowly (e.g., b-a-t would become bat). Then ask the student to say all the sounds in a normally spoken word slowly (e.g., fat would become f-a-t).
Help the student progress to segmenting phonemes in words that contain two- and then three-phoneme blends (e.g., glass, street).
Finally, review the above basic phonological skills. For example, prepare activities that mix the phonological awareness tasks. The following are examples of what you might say to the student:
Say the words: peel, pill, seal, fail. Then say, “Which of the words rhyme with feel?”
Segment the word sick by slowly saying these sounds: /s/ /i/ /k/. Then say, “Blend these sounds together. What word do they make?”
Say: boil. Then say, “What is the last sound in that word?”
Say: near. Then say, “What is the first sound in that word?”
Say: tend. Then say, “What are the four sounds in tend?”
Say: mice, ice. Then say, “What sound was not included in the second word?”
Have the student manipulate phonemes in words.
For example to take away a consonant sound to make a new word:

Say: mice. Then say, “Take away a sound to make a word that means frozen water.” (ice)
Say: glove. Then say, “Take away a sound to make a word that means to feel strong affection for another person.” (love)
For example, to change a consonant sound to make a new word:
Say: tick. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means ill.” (sick)
Say money. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means a substance made by bees.” (honey)
For example, to change a vowel sound to make a new word:
Say: rug. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means an old, tattered cloth.” (rag)
Say: bag. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means the opposite of little.” (big)
For example, to add a consonant sound to make a new word:
Say: ink. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means a place where people go to skate.” (rink)
Say: sail. Then say, “Change a sound to make a word that means a word that means not fresh.” (stale)

Phonological Humor Activities

Humor items for children frequently are based on manipulation of phonological elements, such as those created by minimal pairs. Older students tend to be motivated by these phonological awareness activities that use humor as their base.

Take Away a Consonant Sound

Q. How do fireflies start a race? A. “Ready, set, glow!”

Which word in the answer makes the riddle funny? (glow)
What do you think the real word is? (go)
Which words or phrases give you a clue as to why the “funny” word was used? (fireflies and race)
Explain why the “funny” word was used. (Fireflies glow, which sounds like go, and races are started by saying “Ready, set, go!)

Change a Consonant Sound

Q. What do you call a clam that doesn’t share? A. Shellfish.

Which word makes the riddle funny? (shellfish)
What do you think the real word is? (selfish)
Which words or phrases give you a clue why the “funny” word was used? (clam and doesn’t share)
Explain why the “funny” word was used. (A clam is a shellfish, which sounds like selfish, a quality of someone who doesn’t share)

Change a Vowel Sound

Q. What is the difference between shillings and pence?
A. You can walk down the street without shillings, but you can’t walk down the street without pence.

Which word in the answer makes the riddle funny? (pence)
What do you think the real word is? (pants)
Which words or phrases give you a clue why the “funny” word was used? (shillings and pence)
Explain why the “funny” word was used. (They are names for money in England, and pence sounds like pants, which should be worn when walking down the street)

Add a Consonant Sound

Q. What is a ghost’s favorite dessert? A. Booberry pie.

Which word makes the joke funny? (booberry)
What do you think the real word is? (blueberry)
Which words or phrases give you a clue why the “funny” word was used? (ghosts and dessert)
Explain why the “funny” word was used. (Ghosts say “boo,” which sounds like blue, and blueberry pie is a favorite dessert for many people.

Challenge Activities

Add more challenge to phonological awareness activities such as how the following requires students to use multiple skills in the same activitiy.

Make new words by doing the following to each word listed:
See how many words you can make by adding a sound—not a letter—to the word bee. Remind students that the way a sound is spelled may change the meaning. (bead, beef, beak, beam, bean, beep, bees, beet, beat)
See how many words you can make by taking away one or more sounds—not letters—from the word splatter. (platter, patter, latter, splat, spat, pat, sat, at)
See how many words you can make by changing a sound—not a letter—in the word wall. (ball, call fall, hall, tall, well, will, wool, wail, walk)

Assessing Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness can be measured informally by using items such as the ones previously cited. For example, randomly select three items from the first set of activities above and three to five phonological humor activity items. If students respond correctly to most of the items, it is probable that phonological awareness skills are at an acceptable level. In addition, classroom teachers generally can provide information regarding students’ understanding and use of the phonological elements of language by examining the students’ reading and writing assignments.

There are also norm-referenced instruments that measure various aspects of phonological awareness, such as:

Test of Phonological Awareness (2nd ed.; TOPA-2+ for grades K-3 by Torgesen & Bryant (2004)
The Phonological Awareness Test—2 for grades K-4 by Robertson & Salter (2007)
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) by Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte (1999). The CTOPP has forms for students ages 5-6 and 7-21.

References

Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Ball, E. W. (1997). Phonological awareness: Implications for whole language and emergent literacy programs. Topics in Language Disorders, 17(3), 14-26.

Ball, E. W., & Blachman, B. A. (1991). Does phoneme awareness training in kindergarten make a difference in early word recognition and developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 26, 49-66.

Blachman, B. A. (1991). Early intervention for children’s reading problems: Clinical applications of the research in phonological awareness. Topics in Language Disorders, 12(1), 51-65.

Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. (1983). Categorizing sounds and learning to read: A causal connection. Nature, 30, 419-421.

Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. (1985). Rhyme and reason in reading and spelling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Gillon, G. T. (December, 2002). Phonological awareness intervention for children: From the research laboratory to the clinic. ASHA Leader Online. Retrieved on April 15, 2008 from www.asha.org

Gillon, G. T. (December, 2002). Phonological awareness intervention for children: From the research laboratory to the clinic. ASHA Leader Online. Retrieved on April 15, 2008 from www.asha.org

Gough, P. B., Juel, C., & Griffith, P. L. (1992). Reading, spelling, and the orthographic cluster. In P. B. Gough, L. C. Ehri, & R. A. Treiman (Eds.), Reading acquisition (pp. 35-48). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hogan, T. P., Catts, H. W., & Little, T. D. (2005). The relationship between phonological awareness and reading. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 285-293.

Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D., & Liberman, A. M. (1989). The alphabetic principle and learning to read. In D. Shankweiler & I. Y. Liberman (Eds.), Phonology and reading disability: Solving the reading puzzle (IARLD Monograph Series; pp 1-33). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Pokorni, J., Worthington, C., & Jamison, P. (2004). Phonological awareness intervention: Comparison of Fast ForWord, Earobics, and LiPS. Journal of Educational Research, 97, 147-157.

Robertson, C., & Salter, W. (2007). The Phonological Awareness Test 2. East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems.

Rubba, J. (2004). Phonological awareness skills and spelling skills. Retrieved February 19, 2008 from http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/phon/phonaware.html

Schuele, M. C., & Boudreau, D. (2008). Phonological awareness intervention: Beyond the basics. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39, 3-20.

Snyder, L. S., & Downey, D. (1997). Developmental differences in the relationship between oral language deficits and reading. Topics in Language Disorders, 17(3), 27-40.

Stackhouse, J. (1997). Phonological awareness: Connecting speech and literacy problems. In B. S. Hodson & M. L. Edwards (Eds.), Perspectives in applied phonology (157-196). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.

Stahl, S., & Murray, B. (1994). Defining phonological awareness and its relationship to early reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2, 221-234.

Torgesen, J. K., & Bryant, B. R. (2004). Test of Phonological Awareness (2nd ed. Plus). East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems.

Treiman, R. (1991). Phonological awareness and its roles in learning to read and spell. In D. Sawyer & B. Fox (Eds.), Phonological awareness in reading (pp. 159-189). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte (1999). Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

Wallach, G. P., & Miller, L. (1988). Language intervention and academic success. Boston, MA: College-Hill Press.


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