Phonological Awareness
Phonological Awareness is Child’s Play!

What is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is sensitivity to the sound structure of language. It demands the ability to turn one’s attention to sounds in spoken language while temporarily shifting away from its meaning. When asked if the word caterpillar is longer than the word train, a child who answers that the word
caterpillar is longer is demonstrating the ability to separate words from their meanings. A child who
says the word train is longer has not separated the two; a train is obviously much longer than a
caterpillar! Children who can detect and manipulate sounds in speech are phonologically aware.  
Why is phonological awareness important in reading development?

In English – and many other languages – the written language is predominantly a record of the
sounds of the spoken language. With a few exceptions, the English language is written out sound by
sound. For example, to write the word cat, we listen to the individual sounds in the word (the
phonemes) and then use the symbols that represent those sounds: C‐A‐T. Sometimes sounds are
represented by letter combinations rather than a single letter. The three sounds in fish (/f/‐/i/‐/sh/)
are written with four letters: F‐I‐S‐H; the combination of S and H represents the single sound /sh/.
We must be able to notice and have a firm grasp of the sounds of our speech if we are to understand
how to use a written system that records sounds. Individuals who are unaware that speech is made
up of small sounds have difficulty learning to read a written system based on sounds. A child’s ability
to reflect on language itself, specifically the sounds of language and especially the phonemes,
supports the child’s understanding of the logic of the written code. That we use symbols to represent
small sounds makes sense because the English language consists of small sounds. Indeed, in the last
several decades a preponderance of evidence has revealed that noticing and being able to
manipulate the sounds of spoken language – phonological awareness – is highly related to later
success in reading and spelling. The developmental origins of this awareness can be traced to the
preschool period.  

How can preschool teachers support phonological awareness development?

Young children have a natural propensity to play with language, and the early years are an optimal
time to foster and extend their explorations. Insightful preschool teachers notice children’s
spontaneous play with sounds of language, respond to it, and encourage it, often joining in
themselves. In Mr. Hernandez’s room, 3‐year‐old Jessie pounded a few blocks together and vocalized,
“Boom boom bam bam boom boom bim!” Another time, Mr. Hernandez heard Molly singing quietly,
“Molly, dolly, polly, jolly, Molly, dolly, polly, jolly.” Children can benefit from being surrounded by the
sounds of language – as they sing, chant, listen to books, and play games that focus on sound

Below are four suggestions that parents and teachers can easily implement as they support young
children’s development of phonological awareness:

Read aloud books that play with sounds
Sound substitution is the focus of Cock‐a‐doodle‐MOO! by Bernard Most, which describes a rooster’s
dismay when he loses his voice.  Los Ninos Alfabeticos, by Lourdes Ayala and Margarita Isona‐
Rodriguez, uses alliteration and rhyme throughout.

Important Understandings about Phonological Awareness
• Phonological awareness is the ability to attend to and manipulate units of sound in speech (syllables,
onsets and rimes, and phonemes) independent of meaning.
• Phonemic awareness is one aspect (and the most difficult) of phonological awareness. It is the ability to attend to and manipulate phonemes, the smallest sounds in speech.
• Phonological awareness includes matching, synthesis (for example, blending, adding), and analysis (for
example, counting, segmenting, deleting) of spoken sounds. Analysis tasks are generally more challenging; production is typically more difficult than recognition.
• Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness are different from phonics. Phonics is a means of
teaching reading in which the associations between letters and sounds are emphasized.
• Phonological awareness is highly related to later success in reading and spelling.
• Phonological awareness can be taught. Instruction should be child‐appropriate and intentional.
• Although instruction should generally progress from larger to smaller units of sound, phonological
awareness development is not lockstep and children need not master one level before being exposed to
other levels of phonological awareness.
• Concrete representations of sound units (such as chips and blocks) may help make mental manipulations of sounds easier for some children. Pictures and objects may help reduce memory load.

Share poetry that plays with sounds
For example, after children have heard and chanted “Hickory Dickory Dock” several times, suggest
they create a poem titled “Hickory Dickory Dare.” Ask the children where the mouse might go. Some
children might appropriately substitute the onset by saying “The mouse ran to the fair” or “The
mouse ran through the hair.”  Other children might offer responses such as, “The mouse ran to the
store.” Chuckle and appreciate this response for its image, but gently guide the child to offer a word
that fits the sound pattern.

Share songs that play with sounds
Many children’s songs include sound play. “Willoughby Wallaby Woo,” for instance, prompts children
to sing their own names, substituting /w/ for the initial sound in the first syllable:
Willoughby Wallaby Woo, an elephant sat on you.
Willoughby Wallaby Wee, an elephant sat on me!
Willoughby Wallaby Weter, an elephant sat on Peter.
Willoughby Wallaby Willy, an elephant sat on Billy.

Play games that draw attention to sounds
A fun game for 4 and 5‐year‐olds is the guessing game “I Spy.” The teacher/parent says, “I spy with
my little eye something all of you are wearing that begins like this: /sh/.” The children look at one
another, and exclaim, “Shoe!” Yes. Shoe begins with /sh/. Next, “I spy with my little eye something on
the wall that begins like this: /m/.” Guesses from the children include “mirror” and “map.”  
For young children, developmentally appropriate phonological awareness activities are a form of
play. Riddles, games, singing, and dramatization will bring on laughter, silliness, and experimentation.
However, knowledgeable educators know that phonological awareness is much more than play. It is
also serious business. These educators recognize that they play a key role in promoting phonological
awareness. They know that its development will contribute to a child’s successful launch into literacy
and deserves thoughtful and careful attention.  

Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children, Young Children Journal, January 2009.