FREE PHONEMIC AWARENESS THERAPY MATERIALS
Letter/Sound of the Week at Home
1. Pick a letter of the week.
Draw the letter and discuss capital and lowercase versions of the letter.
2. Letter-Sound correspondence:
Talk to your child about the sound(s) the letter makes. Have them practice the sound. Tell them words that start with that sound. Show them pictures of their favorite toys/singers/actors/books/etc. with that sound and write that letter with the corresponding picture.
3. Letter/Sound Hunt:
Look for your letter of the week in print – start with logos (Wendy’s, McDonalds, Fisher Price) and then look in books, magazines, clothing labels, etc.
4. Grocery List Sound Hunt:
When you do the groceries, have a list of the foods that start with your letter/sound of the week. Give this list to the child or have them copy the list of 2-3 items (you can draw pictures next to each item at first or cut & paste the grocery flyers). Your child must then be on the look-out for those items while you shop. Point out other items that begin with your letter as you find them and bring their attention to the print on the label. It’s also fun if you challenge them to find another item in the grocery store that begins with their ‘special sound’ and you will buy it for them (e.g. cookies for the /k/ sound, Doritos for the /d/ sound).
5. Book Reading:
6. KEEP IT FUN!!!!!!:
Talk about your letter/sound as often as possible but keep it fun. Try to keep your conversations about letters/sounds to 3-4 times per book reading, for instance. Sprinkle conversations about sounds throughout your day rather than focusing on it for long periods at a time.
7. Words of the Week:
After your child has mastered his/her sound of the week, choose a few new words for them to learn and post them in a special visible place in the house (fridge, next to their bed, on their door, etc.) so you have your very own word wall. Try to use these new words in different modalities throughout the week so your child can learn the word as well as it's meaning in a multisensory way. For example, your sound of the week is /th/, and you choose one of your words as 'throw'. You can read a book about baseball to your child that week as well play a game outside of catch while using the word 'throw'.
It is important to note that you don't always have to point the 'learning' out to your child. This is called MODELING. Through modeling, sort of like imitation, your child will likely imitate your language/actions and pick up on the learning moments.
Draw the letter and discuss capital and lowercase versions of the letter.
- Have your child try to copy the letter.
- Put it in a visible place in your house (e.g. the fridge, next to their bed) to remind you and them about the letter of the week.
- Encourage your child to tell others what the letter/sound of the week is in conversations.
- Start with sounds your child can say and letters that only make one sound. Leave vowels until last (unless your child’s name begins with a vowel). Using letters from your child’s name first is sometimes good too.
2. Letter-Sound correspondence:
Talk to your child about the sound(s) the letter makes. Have them practice the sound. Tell them words that start with that sound. Show them pictures of their favorite toys/singers/actors/books/etc. with that sound and write that letter with the corresponding picture.
- Break the word up into either onset and rime (e.g. m – op, k - ite) or else break up all the sounds (e.g. m - o – p) depending on how advanced your child is.
- Discuss when it is the first sound you hear in many words. Have them try to break the word up after you.
- Once they are good at finding the first sounds in words you can discuss when their letter/sound of the week is the last sound in a word (e.g. wal-k).
- Make the ‘special’ sound more obvious by saying it louder than the rest of the word, holding it longer (when possible) and/or adding a slight pause before/after the sound.
3. Letter/Sound Hunt:
Look for your letter of the week in print – start with logos (Wendy’s, McDonalds, Fisher Price) and then look in books, magazines, clothing labels, etc.
- Point out the letter to your child to start and then ask them if they can find their letter when you see words that contain it.
- Begin by pointing out words with the letter/sound at the beginning of the word, since this is more obvious to children, then make it more challenging when this is too easy (e.g. look for end of word sounds).
- You can also look for words/objects that start with that sound while going through the toy box, setting the table or driving. Playing “I Spy”, but only spying words that start with that sound is also fun.
4. Grocery List Sound Hunt:
When you do the groceries, have a list of the foods that start with your letter/sound of the week. Give this list to the child or have them copy the list of 2-3 items (you can draw pictures next to each item at first or cut & paste the grocery flyers). Your child must then be on the look-out for those items while you shop. Point out other items that begin with your letter as you find them and bring their attention to the print on the label. It’s also fun if you challenge them to find another item in the grocery store that begins with their ‘special sound’ and you will buy it for them (e.g. cookies for the /k/ sound, Doritos for the /d/ sound).
5. Book Reading:
- Try to choose books to read together that have your letter/sound – point out the letter/sound while you read and then ask them to look for it as well. Pause after reading a word that starts with their letter to give them a clue when you first begin.
- Incorporate computer games or apps. There are wonderful interactive websites now that keep children engaged while teaching children sounds/letters. You can also play with them to keep it time together! Some suggested sites are: www.starfall.com and www.readingrockets.org/
6. KEEP IT FUN!!!!!!:
Talk about your letter/sound as often as possible but keep it fun. Try to keep your conversations about letters/sounds to 3-4 times per book reading, for instance. Sprinkle conversations about sounds throughout your day rather than focusing on it for long periods at a time.
7. Words of the Week:
After your child has mastered his/her sound of the week, choose a few new words for them to learn and post them in a special visible place in the house (fridge, next to their bed, on their door, etc.) so you have your very own word wall. Try to use these new words in different modalities throughout the week so your child can learn the word as well as it's meaning in a multisensory way. For example, your sound of the week is /th/, and you choose one of your words as 'throw'. You can read a book about baseball to your child that week as well play a game outside of catch while using the word 'throw'.
It is important to note that you don't always have to point the 'learning' out to your child. This is called MODELING. Through modeling, sort of like imitation, your child will likely imitate your language/actions and pick up on the learning moments.
