Literacy

Phonological Awareness

How do we teach phonological awareness in our school?

Phonological Awareness is the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words, such as syllables, rhymes and individual sounds.  In Foundation, children will listen to the teacher say the sounds in a word eg "m - a - t", and the children will blend the sounds together to say, "mat".  They might also do activities like "Say 'spin' without the "s" (pin). But most of the time, phonological awareness is learnt hand in hand with phonics as they sound out each letter in a word and then blend them together to make the word.  They do the same thing in reverse to spell.  They say the word slowly and listen to each sound in the word.  

How can you help at home?

When you sing rhyming songs and chant nursery rhymes, you are developing your child's understanding of rhyme.  Young children also love books with rhyme within them and quickly learn to say the rhyming word when sharing a book with an adult.  Dr Seuss is a master of telling a story with rhyme - and who doesn't love Dr Seuss!

'I Spy' is an excellent game for building awareness of the first sound in words - and a great way to keep children entertained in the car.