Ways Parents Can Build Phonemic Awareness

Play A Game

• Children enjoy games, and incorporating phonemic awareness into an entertaining activity will get your child interested in learning something new. Challenge your child to find something that starts with a certain letter, such as a basketball for the letter "b" or a doll for the letter "d." Once your child catches on, make the game even more challenging by asking her to line up 26 items, one that starts with each letter of the alphabet, offering assistance with the tricky letters such as "x." Another way to play would be to let your child choose a letter and then race to see who can find something that starts with that letter first.

Talk Nonsense

• If your child is like most, he relishes a chance to be silly. Take advantage of that to teach phonemic awareness, suggests the Reading Rockets website, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Recite a poem or sing a song that your child knows well, except change a word or two, replacing them with the wrong word. See if your child can pick up on your error and correct you. Make up silly words, too. Ask your child to put on his socks and shoes, but substitute made up words when you say "socks" and "shoes." Talking nonsense requires your child to pay closer attention to what you're saying, which helps him distinguish between different letter sounds.

Make Letters Part of Your Day

• Bring letters into your life and your child will learn and remember the sounds more easily. While you're cooking dinner, ask your child to find a vegetable in the refrigerator that starts with a "c," such as carrots, or a "g," such as green beans. Prepare the vegetable as part of the meal and ask your child to remind you what it starts with. You might also ask your child to get dressed in something that starts with a letter "b," such as a blue shirt or a brown pair of socks. Encourage your child to point out letters she sees and ask her to say the sound with you. You might also quiz your child on the letter sounds by asking her what letter her things start with. For example, ask her what letter her lunchbox, backpack, pencil, pillow or toys start with. She'll enjoy showing off her skills while reviewing the various letter sounds.

Additional Activities

• Read to your child every day. Reading is a powerful way to make letter sounds come alive. As you read, point out letters and ask your child to tell you what sound they make or challenge your child to point out different letters as you read. Write your child notes, too. Read the notes to your child, pointing out letters and the sounds they make as you go. Exposure to the printed word is another effective way to build phonemic awareness, according to the K12 Reader website. Encourage your child to write you notes, as well, even if the words are spelled wrong. Simply getting the first letter of each word correct is a huge step in the right direction.