IRVINE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
FAMILY LITERACY PROJECT
Phonemic Awareness Activities For 6-7 Year Olds
Guidelines for Use of Following Activities
Attached you will find a "developmental" list of activities to reinforce what is happening in your child's classroom. We hope this is a positive and fun one-on-one time with your child.
These activities are intended to be done orally and for short periods of time (5-7 min.) repeatedly in every day life. Examples: in the car, in the bath, waiting for appointments, car wash, in line, etc...
Rhyme
- Parent reads a Nursery Rhyme aloud. Child identifies rhyming words heard in nursery rhyme.
- "Rhyme Hunt": Parent thinks of a one syllable word. Ex: "you". Parent chants, "Let's make a rhyme for "you". Child: "stew"
Sample word list:
book—cook tree—flea try—fly two—blue tea—bee pot—hot wall—wall play—day
Identify any rhymes you come across in your daily reading with your child.
- "What Does Not Belong Game": Parent gives child three words. Two of the words rhyme. Child finds word that does not belong (does not rhyme).
Example:
Parent: "Rat, men, hat"
Child: "Men"
Sample Word List
hit—sit—fat hen—Tom—pen man—can—bell hill—mop—top
Blending and Segmenting Words
Initial sounds
Parent says, "Start with "l", add "unch". What's the word?"
Child: "lunch"
Parent: "Start with "s" and add "andwich". What's the word?"
Child: "sandwich"
Final sounds
Parent: "Start with "superma", add an "n" sound. What's the word?"
Child: "Superman"
Parent: "Start with "stam", add a "p" sound. What's the word?"
Child: "Stamp"
Continue above activities with any familiar words.
Middle Sounds
Parent says three words with same middle vowel sound.
Parent: "Teeth, cheek, deep. What sound do you hear in the middle?"
Child: "ee"
Continue activity with different vowel sounds.
Sample word list:
| sack—mack—tack | heat—seam—meal | hop—mom—pot | dock—lot--Tom |
| sank—tank—thank | comb—poke—wrote | hen—yell—pet | hill—tick—sip |
Whole Word (from part to whole)
Parent gives child one syllable word to blend, one sound at a time.
Parent: "B...i...g". What's the word?"
Child: "big"
Parent: "S...t...o...p". What's the word?"
Child: "stop"
Helpful Hint: A great time to accomplish this task is in your car. You can read street signs and other print that you may come across.
Whole Word (from whole to part/phonetic spelling awareness)
Parent says entire word: "Big"
Child says each individual sound: "B...i...g"
Sample word list (any words will work)
nest sand mop when top rat game rug
"Change the Name Game":
Parent: "Say 'man'"
Child: "man."
Parent: "Say it again, but this time say 't' instead of 'm'."
Child: "tan"
Parent uses word families to continue playing game substituting beginning, sounds to make new words. See attached list of word families for more practice.
*Also revisit activities on Phonemic Awareness Activities For 4-5-6 Year Olds list.