RIC-6973_Phonological_awareness_skills_Book_2

Phonological awareness skills (Book 2) 

Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2018 

Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2018 

ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 

RIC– 6973 

Titles in this series: 


Auditory discrimination, Rhyming and Alliteration 


Segmentation and syllabification, and Blending 


Phoneme matching and Phoneme isolation 


Phoneme completion, and Phoneme addition and deletion 


Phoneme segmentation, Phoneme substitution and Phoneme reversal 

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Foreword 

The five books in the Phonological awareness skills series were 

developed to assist early childhood teachers develop these 

important skills with their children. 

The majority of the games and activities in this series of units 

are hands-on and oral, catering for pre-reading children. They 

are supported by teacher background information, including 

suggestions for teaching each skill, full instructions and all resources 

for each game and activity, additional resource worksheets and 

assessments. Literature and website links are also provided where 

applicable. 

These black and white hardcover books are also offered as fullcolour 

individual digital downloadable units. 

The skills in the books are presented in developmental order, so 

those in Book 1 should be completed before those in Book 5. 

Levels of phonological awareness 

word 

The books in the series include: 

Book 1—Auditory discrimination, Rhyming and Alliteration 

Book 2—Segmentation and syllabification, and Blending 

Book 3—Phoneme matching and Phoneme isolation 

Book 4—Phoneme completion, and Phoneme addition and deletion 

Book 5—Phoneme segmentation, Phoneme substitution and Phoneme reversal 

syllable 

onset and rime 

phoneme 

Contents 

Teacher background information.......... iv–viii 

About the games/activities pages............ iv 

How to use the games and activities.........v 

Suggested mastery of skills table..............v 

Curriculum links.....................................vi–vii 

Assessing phonological 

awareness skills......................................... viii 

Segmentation and syllabification .......... 1–60 

Teachers notes.............................................1 

Pre-test..........................................................2 

Games, activities and resources...........3–58 

Assessment.......................................... 59–60 

Blending.................................................61–108 

Teachers notes.................................... 61–62 

Pre-test....................................................... 63 

Games, activities and resources...... 64–106 

Assessment......................................107–108 

Assessing the two skills............................... 109 

Class recording sheet.................................. 110 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) iii

TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

The general term ‘phonological awareness’ includes phonemic awareness of sounds, words, syllables 

and rhyme. All phonological and phonemic awareness skills are learnt orally. Children need the ability 

to identify and work with the sounds of spoken language in order to make sense of sound–symbol 

relationships. 

About the games/activities pages 

The majority of the games and activities in this series of units are hands-on and oral, catering for prereading 

children. However, some activities involve sound–symbol relationships so letters and written 

work are included. This caters for younger children who need extension and older children who need 

remediation, consolidation, reinforcement or revision of skills. 

Games and activities without resources are suitable for lesson breaks and ‘attention-grabbing’ games. 

The 12 different skills are presented in developmental order. The first skill—auditory discrimination—is 

the most basic, but undervalued skill; while the twelfth—phoneme reversal—is the most complex skill 

and harder to master. 

The skills are: auditory discrimination, rhyming, alliteration, segmentation and syllabification, and 

blending. The following skills involve manipulating phonemes: phoneme matching, phoneme 

isolation, phoneme completion, phoneme addition and deletion, phoneme segmentation, phoneme 

substitution and phoneme reversal. 

• Each skill has a number of different components. Games and activities for each component are 

provided together. An objective down the side of each game/activity states which component is 

covered by the game/activity. 

For example, rhyming has three main components: discriminate rhymes between words (i.e. tell 

whether or not two spoken words rhyme); discriminate rhymes in context including listening to 

songs, poems, or nursery rhymes and find the rhymes; and produce rhymes. 

The title of the 

game/activity 

is given 

Full instructions 

and reference 

to any resources 

needed are stated 

The skill 

component 

is stated 

• Segment sentences into words 

ACTIVITY 3: Ten frame sentences 

Provide each child with a laminated cardboard ten 

frame. Some are provided on page 19. The children 

will also need counters. 

My mum is wonderful! 

Say the sentences below, and for each word in the sentence, children place a 

coloured counter, button or marker in the ten frame. Then they count them to 

see how many words there are in each sentence. 

Sentences: 

I feel hot. (3) The orange smells sweet. (4) 

We like school. (3) I am taller than my best friend. (7) 

Boys can cook. (3) I make my bed every day. (6) 

My mum is happy. (4) On the weekend, I played soccer. (6) 

Here is an apple. (4) Dogs like bones. (3) 

I have new shoes. (4) Look at the red truck. (5) 

Mud is wet and squishy. (5) Birds sing loudly. (3) 

My dad bought a new laptop. (6) Here is the bat and ball. (6) 

Today I am going to Mim’s house to play. (9) 

My friend Trevor has a new set of building blocks. (10) 

An image links 

to the resources 

needed. It also 

helps explain 

what the children 

are expected to do 

• All games/activities are titled and reference is made to the pages on which any required resources 

are found. 

• Full instructions describe the game and the number of children involved. Where spoken words are 

required, a list of words is provided. 

• Answers are provided where relevant. 

• Images on the game/activity reflect the resources required. 

iv 

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au

How to use the games and activities 

• All games and activities can be printed off onto cardboard, laminated, cut into A5 cards and stored 

in a box for easy access. Alternatively, the sheets may be printed off and placed in a plastic sleeve 

and stored in an A4 folder. Any full-colour resources can be photocopied, laminated and stored 

with them. 

• All activities are directed by a teacher or adult helper, so full instructions are given, including a 

script (where applicable) and a list of words to use. The children are not expected to read the 

words, although some may be included to clarify a picture so the correct word is generated, or to 

extend more capable children. 

• All resources should be collected and prepared before commencing a game or activity. Some 

games require sports equipment like beanbags, buckets, hoops or a hopscotch frame. Others 

require cards or game boards to be made. 

• Teachers or adult helpers should read all instructions and understand what the child is expected to 

do before starting an activity. 

• Some activities have resource worksheets to consolidate the concept and to engage children who 

like written work like ‘big kids’. 

Suggested mastery of skills table 

Age Skill Skill typically mastered 

4 Auditory discrimination 

4–5 Rhyming 

4–5 Alliteration 

TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

4–5 Segmentation and syllabification 

5–6 Blending 

• Sentence segmentation 

• Syllable segmentation 

• Syllable blending 

• Phoneme blending (onset/rime) 

• Phoneme blending (all phonemes) 

5–6 Phoneme matching 

5–6 Phoneme isolation 

5–6 Phoneme completion 

6–7 Phoneme addition and deletion 

• Syllable deletion 

• Initial and final sound deletion 

6–7 Phoneme segmentation 

7–8 Phoneme substitution 

7–8 Phoneme reversal 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) v

CURRICULUM LINKS 

The phonological awareness skills presented in this series of units cover a range of age groups 

and levels. To account for these, links to both the Early Years Learning Framework and Australian 

Curriculum have been provided. 

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) 

The games and activities in this series incorporate the following outcomes: 

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity 

Children develop their emerging autonomy, interdependence, resilience and sense of urgency. For example, when they 

increasingly cooperate and work collaboratively with others. 

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world 

Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and 

responsibilities necessary for active community participation. For example, when they broaden their understanding of the world 

in which they live; listen to others’ ideas and respect different ways of being and doing; use play to investigate, project and 

explore new ideas; and increasingly cooperate and work with others. 

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing 

Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing. For example, when they increasingly cooperate and work 

collaboratively with others; recognise their individual achievement; and recognise the contributions they make to shared 

projects and experience. 

Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing. For example, when they manipulate 

equipment and manage tools with increasing competence and skill. 

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners 

Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, 

persistence, imagination and reflexivity. For example, when they are curious and enthusiastic participants in their learning; use 

play to investigate, imagine and explore ideas; and participate in a variety of rich and meaningful inquiry-based experiences. 

Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching 

and investigating. For example, when they apply a wide variety of thinking strategies to engage with situations and solve 

problems. 

Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another. For example, when they make connections 

between experiences, concepts and processes; and use the processes of play, reflection and investigation to solve problems. 

Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, places, technologies and natural and processed materials. 

For example, when they use their senses to explore natural and built environments; explore the purpose and function of a 

range of tools, media, sounds and graphics; manipulate resources to investigate, take apart, assemble, invent and construct; 

use information and communication technologies (ICT) to investigate and problem-solve; and explore ideas and theories using 

imagination, creativity and play. 

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators 

Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes. For example, when they engage in enjoyable 

interactions using verbal and non-verbal language; contribute their ideas and experiences in play, small- and large-group 

discussions; interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, clarify and challenge thinking, negotiate, and share new 

understandings; convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence, building on literacies of home/family and the 

broader community; exchange ideas, feelings and understandings using language and representations in play; and express 

ideas and feelings and understand and respect the perspectives of others. 

Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts. For example, when they listen and respond to sounds 

and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes in context; sing and chant rhymes, jingles and songs; and begin to understand key 

literacy and numeracy concepts and processes, such as the sounds of language, letter–sound relationships, concepts of print and 

the ways texts are structured. 

vi 


CURRICULUM LINKS 

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) 

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators (continued) 

Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work. For example, when they develop an understanding that 

symbols are a powerful means of communication and that ideas, thoughts and concepts can be represented through them; 

begin to be aware of the relationships between oral, written and visual representations; and listen and respond to sounds and 

patterns in speech, stories and rhyme. 

Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking. 

For example, when they engage with technology for fun and to make meaning. 

The Early Years Learning Framework (PDF). Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 13 June 2018. 

Australian Curriculum English 

Foundation 

Phonics and word knowledge 

• Recognise and generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and sounds (phonemes) in spoken words 

(ACELA1439) 

• Recognise and name all upper and lower case letters (graphemes) and know the most common sound that each letter 

represents (ACELA1440) 

• Understand how to use knowledge of letters and sounds including onset and rime to spell words (ACELA1438) 

• Know how to read and write some high-frequency words and other familiar words (ACELA1817) 

• Understand that words are units of meaning and can be made of more than one meaningful part (ACELA1818) 

• Segment sentences into individual words and orally blend and segment onset and rime in single syllable spoken words, and 

isolate, blend and manipulate phonemes in single syllable words (ACELA1819) 

• Write consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words by representing some sounds with the appropriate letters, and blend sounds 

associated with letters when reading CVC words (ACELA1820) 

Year 1 


• Manipulate phonemes in spoken words by addition, deletion and substitution of initial, medial and final phonemes to 

generate new words (ACELA1457) 

• Use short vowels, common long vowels, consonant digraphs and consonant blends when writing, and blend these to read 

single syllable words (ACELA1458) 

• Understand how to spell one and two syllable words with common letter patterns (ACELA1778) 

Year 2 


• Orally manipulate more complex sounds in spoken words through knowledge of blending and segmenting sounds, phoneme 

deletion and substitution in combination with use of letters in reading and writing (ACELA1474) 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) vii

ASSESSING PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS 

Phonological awareness skills play an important part in early childhood 

learning. It is therefore essential to screen children as early as possible 

so that any gaps in education, misconceptions or weaknesses can 

be remedied quickly. Learning difficulties should be detected and 

rectified as early as possible so that issues of poor self-esteem do not 

develop. 

Phonological awareness is a strong predictor of literacy development 

and the Phonological pre-tests provide an overview of prereading 

skills needed for literacy development. 


word 

syllable 


phoneme 

PRE-TESTING AND POST-TESTING 

It is essential to assess young children on their phonological awareness skills before introducing 

specific ones. 

Phonological awareness testing should occur early at kindergarten or prep level, and monitoring of 

the children’s progress should continue throughout the year. 

Both pre- and post-testing have been provided in this book. All tests should be administered on a 

one-to-one basis. 

The post- tests provided in this book are comprehensive and have a greater degree of difficulty, 

assessing a child’s understanding of phonological awareness skills. In-depth assessments are 

provided at the end of each skill section. An assessment covering all skills in the book is provided on 

page 109. Once gaps in learning or misconceptions have been identified, teachers can utilise the 

information to further assist children experiencing learning difficulties. 

Full instructions are provided and no resources are required to carry out the testing. A section is 

provided for teachers to make comments about children’s responses. 

Teachers should use their own initiative about when to stop the testing if students are confused, 

frustrated or find the test too easy (when it is very obvious they have mastered the skill). 

A class recording sheet is provided on page 110 for the pre-test and for the post-test. More than 

one copy of the checklist may need to be printed to cover all the children in the class. Options for 

colouring the results are suggested to make it easier to view results at a glance. 

To administer the assessments, teachers or adult helpers will need: 

• one set of assessment task sheets for each child 

• three simple sound items for the auditory discrimination task 

• class recording sheet 

Administering the tests: 

• Assess children individually. 

• Give clear instructions (these are included). 

• Assess in an area where there are few distractions. 

• Model examples so children have a clear understanding of the tasks. 

• Record responses and comment about automaticity of answers. 

• Work through each section until the children have four consecutive incorrect answers. 

viii 


SKILL 4: SEGMENTATION AND SYLLABIFICATION 

TEACHER NOTES 

What are segmentation and syllabification? 

SEGMENTATION 

Segmentation is the process of taking a word and breaking it down 

into separate speech sound (phonemes). 

Learning the skill of segmenting should commence with the largest 

unit of speech—sentences, splitting them into words; then move 

to smaller units of language—syllables, onset and rime; and then 

individual phonemes. 

SYLLABIFICATION 

A syllable is a part of a word that contains a vowel or vowel sound 

and the consonant or consonant group that precedes it. There may 

also be a consonant following the vowel or vowel sound. 

Syllabification is, therefore, a component of segmentation; i.e. 

breaking or segmenting words into smaller parts—syllables. 

There is often confusion about where to break up words into 

phoneme 

syllables, since where a word is split into syllables orally may 

differ from where a word is split when writing. For example, when 

speaking, the word carrot may be split up as ca/rrot or carr/ot but 

when writing the word is split between the two consonants—car/rot. The latter is more common. Where 

to split words is not the most important factor at this stage of phonological awareness development. 

The most important aspect is that children are able to segment words into units of sound. 

Phoneme blending and phoneme segmentation are best taught together. 


Why are segmentation and syllabification important? 

Segmentation is an important skill in learning to read and helping children when they need to spell 

and write words. 

In order to write or spell words, children need to be able to break words into their component 

speech sounds, then select the letters that represent these sounds. Being able to segment means that 

children can begin to encode unfamiliar words. 

Research has shown that segmenting words into syllables or phonemes requires children to retain 

the individual speech units in the mind as the word is segmented—involving using the child’s active 

working memory. 

word 

syllable 


What do segmentation and syllabification involve? 

Segmentation involves: 

• segmenting sentences into words 

• segmenting compound words 

• segmenting words into syllables 

• segmenting words into onset and rime 

• segmenting words into phonemes 

R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) 1

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS PRE-TEST 

SYLLABIFICATION 

Say these instructions to the child: 

We’re going to play a clapping game and I want you to help 

me break some words apart. I’ll say a word and I want you to 

say it back to me and clap each part of the word. 

Comments 

Use the following examples: 

Say window and clap each syllable—win/dow. 

Say to the child: Now you say ‘window’ and clap each part. 

Say number and clap each syllable—num/ber. 

Say to the child: Now you say ‘number’ and clap each part. 

Say today and clap each syllable—to/day. 

Say to the child: Now you say ‘today’ and clap each part. 

Say the following words and ask the child to clap the 

syllables: 

1. candle (can/dle) 

2. farmer (far/mer) 

3. Monday (Mon/day) 

4. scooter (scoo/ter) 

5. lizard (liz/ard) 

Total: 

2 


Segmentation and syllabification games and activities 

ACTIVITY 1: Clap the words 

As a class, say together familiar poems, nursery rhymes or songs. 

As the rhyme is spoken, clap the words—one clap for each word. 

Demonstrate first so that children understand what they have to do. 

Repeat using other actions such as tapping knees, clicking fingers and so on. 

Commence with short poems then progress to longer ones. 

If necessary, clap each line of the poem, rhyme or song then pause before 

going on to the next line. 

• Demonstrate the process of blending • Immerse children in sound play 

ACTIVITY 2: Stand up for words 

Use a familiar nursery rhyme or poem for this activity. 

Children sit in a circle. The first child stands up and says the first word of 

the rhyme or poem. The second child stands up and says the second word. 

Continue around the circle until the 

rhyme is completed. Some children 

may get more than one turn to say 

a word but they may stay seated 

for their second turn. 



ACTIVITY 3: Ten frame sentences 

Provide each child with a laminated cardboard ten 

frame. Some are provided on page 20. The children 

will also need counters. 

Say the sentences below, and for each word in the sentence, the children place 

a coloured counter, button or marker in the ten frame. Then they count them to 

see how many words there are in each sentence. 

Sentences: 

I feel hot. (3) The orange smells sweet. (4) 

We like school. (3) I am taller than my best friend. (7) 

Boys can cook. (3) I make my bed every day. (6) 

My mum is happy. (4) On the weekend, I played soccer. (6) 

Here is an apple. (4) Dogs like bones. (3) 

I have new shoes. (4) Look at the red truck. (5) 

Mud is wet and squishy. (5) Birds sing loudly. (3) 

My dad bought a new laptop. (6) Here is the bat and ball. (6) 

Today I am going to Mim’s house to play. (9) 

My friend Trevor has a new set of building blocks. (10) 

ACTIVITY 4: Build a sentence from blocks 

Provide children with up to six blocks that interlock. 

Say a sentence aloud and, for each word stated, the children join one block to 

form a tower. Model one sentence first. 

Commence with sentences of two words, then progress to three, four, five or six 

word sentences. 

Count to check the number of blocks after each sentence. 

For more capable children, ask them to make up their own sentences orally, 

and join the correct number of blocks together to show how many words in a 

sentence. 

My dog is big. (4 words) 

EXTENSION: Scribe each word onto paper or 

cardboard and attach each to one of the blocks. The 

children will love trying to make the longest sentence 

and therefore the tallest tower they can. 

My mum is wonderful! 

• Segment sentences into words • Segment sentences into words 

4 




ACTIVITY 5: Counter word count 

Create a series of sentences made up of up to six words. 

Write these onto strips of paper or use those provided on page 19. Laminate for 

durability. 

Children are given one sentence and a collection of six counters, markers or 

plastic bottle tops. 

Children place the sentence on the table and place one counter, marker or 

bottle top on the table beneath the sentence for each word. 

Then they point to and count 

the words and the counters, 

markers or bottle tops to see 

if they correspond. 

It is not necessary for the 

children to be able to read the 

words. They only need to know 

that the letters/print grouped 

together with spaces before 

and/or after them are words. 

ACTIVITY 6: How many words? 

Photocopy the ‘How many words?’ grids on page 21 onto cardboard, cut them 

out and laminate them. 

Give one to each child. Children will also need blocks, counters or markers. 

Say a sentence and ask children to place one block on each square to represent 

each word heard in the sentence. They should repeat the sentence, pointing 

to each block as they say each word. They count them and check the number 

below to see if it corresponds with their answer. 

Wipe-off sheets may also be used with whiteboard markers with the children 

drawing a cross on each square. 

Always start with short sentences of 2 or 3 words and progress to longer 

sentences as children become more capable. 



ACTIVITY 7: Tick each word 

Provide children with activities where they tick or check off each word in a 

sentence. 

Read the sentence and ask children to 

tick off when they hear a word. 

After ticking, children go back and 

point to the words and count them. 

They can count the ticks to see if the 

count is the same. 

EXTENSION: Some children may 

be able to read the words and work 

independently. 

Presenting concepts in a variety of 

ways helps reinforce them and keeps 

children motivated. Certain activities 

may appeal to some children more 

than others. 

The sentences on page 32 may be 

used. 

ACTIVITY 8: Dot the words 

Make words in a sentence more obvious by placing a dot under each one. This 

makes it easier to count the number of words. 

The sentences on page 31 may be used. Children point to the dots underneath 

the words as they read the sentence with an adult. They count the dots and 

write a number in the box at the end to tell how many words there are in the 

sentence. 

This activity can be given to more capable children to work on independently. 

Other children can work with an adult and should not be expected to read the 

words. 

This is my house. 

ANSWERS (FROM TOP TO BOTTOM): 

4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 5, 5 

There is my 

hat. 

My mum went 

to get food. 

I like shopping. 

Today is my 

birthday. 

This is my 

friend’s house. 

Here is the 

orange. 

4 


6 




ACTIVITY 9: We’re the sentence 

Use this activity with more capable children who are 

beginning to read short sentences. 

This activity may be done in small groups of three to 

six children, depending on the number of words in a 

sentence. (One word per child.) 

Write the words of short sentences composed by the 

children onto squares of paper or cardboard. 

Read the sentence with the children until they know it well. 

Shuffle the words and give one to each child. 

Ask children to rearrange themselves into the correct order to make the 

sentence. They can each say their word in order to make the sentence. Then 

they can say the completed sentence together. 

The five-word sentences below can be used. 

Today is a sunny day. 

Mum and Dad like chocolate. 

Cats have very sharp claws. 

Tomorrow is our cake day. 

Our dog has many fleas. 

ACTIVITY 10: Peg the number of words 

This is another activity which is very useful 

for extending more capable children. 

On file cards or squares of cardboard, 

write a simple sentence. Simple repetitive 

sentences may be used that focus on 

common sentence beginnings such as 

‘This is ...’, ‘I am ...’, ‘Here is ...’, ‘I can...’, 

‘We can ...’, ‘Look at ...’, ‘I can see ...’, and 

‘I like ...’. 

Add a picture clue, and beneath the 

sentence write the numbers 1 to 6. 

Yesterday was a windy day. 

With an adult helper, children read the sentence, pointing to each word as it is 

said. 

Children count the words and ‘peg’ the number that tells how many words there 

are in the sentence. 

The examples on pages 28–30 may also be used. 

This is a tree. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 

Photocopy onto cardboard and laminate for durability. Enlarge if desired. 



ACTIVITY 11: Word awareness 

Read familiar nursery rhymes, action rhymes and songs, or big books to the 

children while following the words in print form. 

Point to each word in turn as it is read so the children can see that each spoken 

word corresponds to a written word. 

This activity not only develops word 

awareness, but also the concept that words 

can be printed. It develops awareness of 

left-to-right and zigzag-down tracking skills 

when reading, and reinforces letter–sound 

correspondence for children who are 

getting ready to read. 

ACTIVITY 12: Where does it go? 

Use pages 22–27 to consolidate the words in familiar nursery rhymes. 

Two copies of each rhyme are required. They should be photocopied onto 

cardboard and laminated for durability. Enlarge them if necessary. 

The words in each sentence of ONE COPY of the 

rhyme are cut up and placed onto the completed 

one like a giant puzzle. 

One sentence at a time should be completed 

before progressing to the next one. 

Children are not expected to read the words. 

This is a simple matching activity that reinforces 

the concept that words make up sentences. 

• Segment words in a sentence • Segment sentences into words 

8 



• Segment words into syllables • Segmenting compound words 

ACTIVITY 13: Segmenting compound words 

Display pictures of objects whose name is a compound word. Some are 

provided on pages 33–34. 

Ask children to say the name of the object, then segment the word into smaller 

words and say them separately. Clap each segment. 

Demonstrate how to do the activity first. 

Encourage children to give the names of 

other objects that are compound words, 

but remember that each segment must 

be a proper word and not a suffix or 

prefix. 

Some compound words include: 

grasshopper, airport, upstream, footprint, 

popcorn, afternoon, honeycomb, 

riverbank, snowman, forklift, strawberries, 

cardboard, firecracker, wheelbarrow, 

candlelight, earthworm, starfish, 

sailboard, teaspoon and shortbread. 

ACTIVITY 14: Syllables in children’s names 

Begin with very familiar words when starting to teach 

children about segmenting words into syllables. The 

children’s own names are a good choice. 

Demonstrate with your own name or the name of one of 

the children. Enunciate the name clearly and slowly, and 

clap or click fingers for each syllable, counting each one. 

Ask children to repeat the clapping/clicking and counting 

as they say the name. 

Select children to clap/click and count the syllables in their own name. 

Ensure children are saying their names correctly because this can affect the 

number of syllables. For example, if Katherine says her name as Kath/e/rine, this 

is quite different in the number of syllables than if it is pronounced Kath/rine. 

Consider using the story Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes where the main 

character has an unusual flower name. The story can be viewed on YouTube . 

* As an alternative to clapping syllables, use the song ‘Head, shoulders, knees 

and toes’ instead. When a word/name is segmented, touch each body part in 

order. For example, if the word/name was Jason (a two-syllable word), touch 

the head for Ja and touch the shoulders for son. 



ACTIVITY 15: Syllables in words in stories 

During shared reading of a big book with one or two sentences on a page, 

select a multisyllabic* word and explain that the word has more than one 

syllable (or beat), even though it is still one word. 

Teachers may choose to clap the word, but tap out the syllables to illustrate the 

difference between a word and a syllable. 

Pick other words with two, three or four syllables 

from the story for children to tap out. 

For example, when sharing the book The 

Gingerbread Man by Brenda Parkes and Judith 

Smith, the word gingerbread has 3 syllables, so 

will need 3 taps. The word man is one word and 

also has one tap for one syllable. 

* A list of multisyllabic words can be found on 

page 35. 

ACTIVITY 16: Clip the number of syllables 

Children have a picture clue card with numbers at 

the bottom. 

They say the word, clap/tap the number of syllables 

in the word and clip a peg to the number that tells 

how many syllables there are in the word. 

The cards on pages 36–41 may be used. 

They will need to be photocopied onto cardboard, 

cut out and laminated for durability. 

Pages 36 and 37 are two-syllable words 

ham/mer, glas/ses, mon/key, roc/ket, pump/kin, 

rab/bit, sand/wich, bed/room, neck/lace, ap/ple, ta/ble, ti/ger 

1 2 3 4 

Pages 38 and 39 are three-syllable words 

but/ter/fly, di/no/saur, um/brel/la, straw/ber/ry, mic/ro/wave, ham/bur/ger, 

broc/col/li, bas/ket/ball, bi/cy/cle, pot/a/to, oct/o/pus, grass/hop/per 

Pages 40 and 41 are four-syllable words 

al/li/ga/tor, hel/i/cop/ter, wa/ter/mel/on, mac/a/ron/i, cat/er/pil/lar, mo/tor/cy/cle, 

tel/e/vi/sion, av/o/ca/do, rhi/noc/er/os, bi/no/cu/lars, es/cal/a/tor, a/quar/i/um 

• Segment words into syllables • Segment words into syllables 

10 




ACTIVITY 17: Jump (or hop) the syllables 

Play this syllable game and let children practise 

their physical skills at the same time. 

Press lengths of coloured masking tape 

at intervals along the floor (in a ladder 

formation). The distance apart should 

be comfortable for children to jump 

between. You will need 5 of these. 

Write the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 

between the lines in the tape. 

Hold up a picture card for the child to 

see. 

The child says the word and breaks it up into syllables. The child works out how 

many syllables are in the word and jumps onto each number until they reach the 

one that says how many syllables are in the word. 

Reuse the picture clue cards on pages 36–41 for this activity. 

This activity may also be carried out using hoops with numbers in them, or 

outside on the pavement with the ‘ladder’ and numbers written in chalk. 

ACTIVITY 18: Sort the words into syllables 

Glue pictures onto cookie shapes (or brown cardboard circles) to play a syllable 

sorting game. Any images from pages 36–41 may be used. 

Label three glass cookie jars ‘1 syllable’, ‘2 syllables’ and ‘3 syllables’. Children 

select ‘cookie’ shapes, work out the number of syllables in the word and place 

the ‘cookie’ in the correct jar. 

The children could ‘drum’ out the number of syllables to help them work out 

how many syllables there are in each word. 

* Don’t forget to glue the pieces onto cardboard, laminate and cut out all the 

pieces. 



ACTIVITY 19: Stack syllables 

Use Duplo building blocks for an activity similar 

to Activity 2. Each child needs four large blocks. 

wa/ter/mel/on 

(4 syllables) 

Start with a single-syllable word. (Some single-syllable words 

are listed below. Multi-syllable words are listed on page 35.) 

Say the word aloud and have children repeat it then clap and count how many 

syllables. Children then place the relevant number of blocks in front of them to 

show how many syllables they think are in the word. 

Repeat with a number of words with a different number of syllables. 

Words of more than one syllable have to be represented as a tower of 2, 3 or 

4 blocks. 

EXTENSION: Ask children, ‘Do you think a word with one syllable would be 

shorter or longer than a word with three or four syllables?’ Demonstrate by 

saying a one-syllable and a three-syllable word and making the blocks. Then 

write the words to show the connection between saying words and writing, 

spelling or reading them. 

One-syllable words: pig, key, home, mum, dad, boy, girl, hand, ant, bee, heart, 

day, wolf, fish, man, king, ice, art, green, three, car, duck, ball, sun, cake, moon 

ACTIVITY 20: Picture bag/Be a syllable detective/ 

Word banks/What’s the word? 

Try these different activities to reinforce the concept of syllables make up words. 

1. Picture bag 

Place a number of different pictures of familiar objects in a bag. 

Alternatively, use real, small objects. The names of the objects 

should have a different number of syllables. 

Choose a child to pull out a picture, say the name of the object, and 

segment the word into syllables by tapping or clapping the syllables. 

2. Be a syllable detective 

Throughout the day, say words in syllables and 

have children work out the word. The word can 

be the name of a child or the topic of a story. For 

example, ‘We are going to read a story about a 

ted/dy bear. What is the story about?’ 

3. Word banks 

Have children find words 

with a specific number of 

syllables displayed on word 

lists on the wall. (This activity 

should be used with more 

capable children only.) 

4. What’s the word? 

Once children are proficient in segmenting words into syllables, have them work 

in pairs. One child thinks of a word and the other has to say how many syllables 

are in it. 


12 




ACTIVITY 21: Racetrack game 

Play the game on page 42 with three or four children. 

This game needs the racetrack game board, a dice and counters/small cars. 

Children take turns to throw a dice. When a number appears, children move 

that number of spaces along the track. Whatever picture they land on, they must 

say how many syllables are in the word (name of the picture). If the number of 

syllables is correct, the player stays in place; if incorrect, the child goes back to 

the start. 

The first player to reach the 

finish line wins. 

An adult or very capable child 

may act as ‘Track official’ to 

make sure the number of 

syllables is correct. 

ACTIVITY 22: Sort pictures into syllable groups 

Use real, small objects or labelled pictures to sort words into groups by the 

number of syllables. 

If using real objects make available four tubs or recycled ice cream containers 

labelled with the numbers 1 to 4. 

If using images, pictures may be placed in columns on a plastic pocket chart. 

The columns will be numbered with 1, 2, 3 and 4. The pictures on pages 43–46 

may be used. 

As an alternative activity, children who prefer blackline masters may complete 

the cut and paste activity on page 47. 

WORKSHEET ANSWERS: 

One-syllable words—car, king, cake 

Two-syllable word—turtle, dolphin 

Three-syllable word—triangle, volcano, astronaut 

Four-syllable word—rhinoceros, helicopter 



ACTIVITY 23: Say the word 

Use simple CVC words to help children learn to segment the onset and rime in 

words. 

Segment a series of words into onset and rime parts and say them. Ask the 

children to say the word each pair of onset and rimes makes. 

Word families work well for this activity. For example, b-at, c-at, h-at, m-at; p-eg, 

l-eg, b-eg; b-in, p-in, f-in; but most simple words can be used. 

Use some of the following: 

• p-od, m-an, b-us, t-ub, p-eg, t-op, b-ag, h-am, m-ad, h-ut, n-et, p-it, b-un 

• c-ake, s-ing, f-ive, t-ape, r-ope, s-unk, t-ank, sw-ing, h-ome, tw-inkle 

Remember: Onset refers to any sounds 

before the vowel; rime refers to any sounds 

including the vowel and any following 

sounds. 

ACTIVITY 24: First and last parts of words 

Display images of objects and ask children to say the first or last part of the 

word. 

Use single-syllable words for this activity. 

Some possible words (and pictures) to use are given below: 

w-eb, th-umb, b-ox, r-ibs, sh-ark, d-oor, d-uck, b-all, c-ow, c-ake 

The pictures on pages 48–49 may be used. 

c-ake 

f-ish 

l-amp 

• Segment words into onset and rime • Segment words into onset and rime 

14 



• Segment words into phonemes • Segment words into phonemes 

ACTIVITY 25: Car park sounds 

Use the car park bases on page 50. Photocopy onto 

cardboard and laminate. Each child will need one. 

You will also need three or four cars for each child. 

The aim of the game is for each child to place one car in 

the car park for each sound identified in each word given. 

Say a word and ask the child/children to ‘park’ the right number of cars in the 

car park. The child has to segment words to identify the sounds. 

Remember: Children are identifying the number of phonemes in the words, not 

the number of letters. 

Start with simple words with two phonemes. 

Examples of words to use include: 

2 phonemes—i/t, a/s, o/n, a/t, m/y, t/wo, b/ee, d/ay, kn/ee, t/ea, z/oo, e/gg, 

a/te 

3 phonemes—s/a/t, p/i/n, b/oa/t, b/u/g, m/u/m, b/i/g, h/o/me, p/i/t, b/ea/n 

4 phonemes—n/e/s/t, l/a/m/p, c/r/a/b, bl/o/ck, l/u/n/ch, s/w/ee/t, t/oa/s/t, 

t/r/ai/n 

ACTIVITY 26: Elkonin boxes 

Use Elkonin boxes for this activity. You can use three, four or five boxes 

depending how difficult you want to make the words. Always start with the 

smallest number of phonemes in a words. 

Say a word which children will need to segment into individual phonemes. For 

each phoneme heard, the child places one counter into each box. Children 

can count the number of phonemes. Encourage them to point to each 

counter in order as they say each phoneme in order for the word. 

Templates for Elkonin boxes for up to four 

phonemes in a word are given on page 51. 

3 

4 

5 



ACTIVITY 27: How many sounds? 

Display pictures of words with a variety of 

different phonemes. Up to four phonemes 

is sufficient. 

Ask children to say the sounds they hear 

when they ‘stretch out’ the word. 

The pictures on page 52 may be used. 

ANSWERS 

2-phoneme words 

c/ow, c/ar, b/ee, z/oo, a/pe, e/gg, b/oy, sh/oe 


t/r/ee, h/a/t, b/a/g, m/oo/n, a/pp/le, m/a/t, s/t/ar, d/o/g 


f/r/o/g, h/a/n/d, l/a/m/p, b/r/u/sh, t/oa/s/t, c/r/a/b, b/l/o/ck, 

t/r/ai/n 

ACTIVITY 28: Segmenting into phonemes game 

Use the game board on page 53. Play this game with two players who will need 

a collection of counters each. 

Players take turns to choose a 

picture on the game board. They 

name the picture then segment 

the word into phonemes. Then 

they take counters and place the 

correct number of counters on the 

picture. 

The winner is the player with the 

most counters once all the pictures 

have been chosen and segmented. 

ANSWERS (Word and number of phonemes): 

two (2), snail (4), cheese (3), goose (3), kite (3), 

book (3), nest (4), bow (2), pram (4), mouse (3), 

drum (4), knee (2), nut (3), clock (4), hay (2), 

snake (4), sock (3), sheep (3), key (2), pea (2) 


16 



ACTIVITY 29: Breaking up words 

Reuse the following pictures from pages 36–41: apple, table, tiger, ball, bike; 

and any images from pages 43, 48 and 49. Glue them onto strips of cardboard. 

Stick coloured circles next to the picture for pointing to as children segment 

words into phonemes. The correct number of dots are provided to assist 

children. 

Since this activity is completely aural, words with up to 5 phonemes have been 

included. 


ACTIVITY 30: Word bracelets/Word ball toss 

1. Word bracelets 

Children will need large threading beads for this 

activity. 

Say a word to children, and for each phoneme in 

the word, they thread one bead onto wool, string or 

plastic lengths. 

Compare word bracelets with those in the group to ensure everyone has the 

same answer. 

You can make this activity more difficult by making sure that children thread 

on a different coloured bead for each different phoneme. If the phoneme is 

repeated, the same coloured bead should be used. For example, if the word is 

c-a-t, three different coloured beads should be used. But if the words is p-o-p, 

the first and third beads will be the same colour. 

2. Word ball toss 

For this activity, each child has a small, soft ball. Say a word and, for each 

phoneme in the word, the child throws the ball into the air and catches it. 

A list of two, three and four phoneme words can be found on page 54. 



ACTIVITY 31: Craft stick segmenting 

For more capable children who have 

letter–sound correspondence, write 

simple words onto coloured craft 

sticks using black permanent markers. 

Ensure the words are on the left 

hand side of the craft stick so there is 

plenty of room at the end to peg the 

individual phonemes. 

Write individual phonemes onto 

wooden pegs using permanent 

marker. 

Children sound out the word into individual phonemes and peg the letters 

representing each individual phoneme onto the word craft stick. 

A list of words of different phonemes is provided on page 54. 

This activity is best carried out using simple CVC words and word families. 

ACTIVITY 32: Segmenting phonemes cards 

Use this activity with more capable children. 

Children name the picture and segment the word into phonemes. Then they 

place bottle tops, counters or markers onto each space to represent the sound 

in the word. Small plastic letters may also be placed in the appropriate spaces. If 

using plastic bottle tops, use a permanent marker to write the phonemes on the 

top of each one. 

Cards are provided on pages 55–58. Enlarge them to a suitable size for use if 

necessary. 

b 

a 

bat 

t 


18 



Sentences for segmentation 

Dogs bark. 

Goodbye, Dad! 

I am big. 

Frogs eat flies. 

It is raining. 

Today is Thursday. 

My mum bakes cakes. 

I like watching cartoons. 

It is a sunny day. 

My cat likes jumping around. 

My dog is old and slow. 

Tomorrow I’m going to the zoo. 



Ten frames for segmenting words in a sentence 

20 



‘How many words?’ grids 

How many words? 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 



Where does it go?—1 

Incy Wincy Spider 

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the waterspout. 

Down came the rain and washed poor Incy out. 

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain. 

So Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the spout again. 

22 




Humpty Dumpty 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. 

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men 

couldn’t put Humpty together again. 




Hickory Dickory Dock 

Hickory, dickory dock! 

The mouse ran up the clock. 

The clock struck one. 

The mouse ran down. 

Hickory, dickory dock! 

24 




Jack and Jill 

Jack and Jill went up the hill 

to fetch a pail of water. 

Jack fell down and broke his crown 

and Jill came tumbling after. 




Little Bo Peep 

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep 

and doesn’t know where to find them. 

Leave them alone and they will come home 

wagging their tails behind them. 

26 




Old Mother Hubbard 

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard 

to get her poor dog a bone. 

But when she got there the cupboard 

was bare and so the poor dog had none. 



Peg the number of words—1 

This is a tree. 

This is my 

big cat. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

I am sad. 

Here is my new 

colouring book. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

I like 

ice cream. 

I can see ten flowers. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

I can jump. 

Look at the bees! 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

I like playing 

with my cars. 

We can count. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

28 




Cows moo. 

This is my favourite 

television show. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

I am going 

to the zoo. 

I am happy today. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Here is Scamp. 

I can play 

the piano. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

My mum likes 

gardening. 

Dad likes 

watching the cricket. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

We can hop. 

Look at the 

moon! 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 




I like playing with 

my friends. 

I can see a 

fat worm. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

This is a 

big apple. 

I am little. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Frogs hop. 

We look at 

books. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

My cat sleeps 

on my bed. 

I like walking. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Here is my 

school bag. 

We can sing. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 

30 



Dot the words 

Count the words. Write the number. 

This is my house. 

Today is a sunny day. 

I am going to see Nan. 

I can skip and run. 

Look at the boat. 

I can see a big tree. 

The sky is blue. 

Here is my ball. 

It is a very little dog. 

I like to play with toys. 

I am going to school. 

We played in the park. 


Tick each word 


Draw one tick for each word in the sentence. 

There is my 

hat. 

My mum went 

to get food. 

I like shopping. 

Today is my 

birthday. 

This is my 

friend’s house. 

Here is the 

orange. 

32 



Segmenting compound words—1 

butterfly 

jellyfish 

basketball 

firefighter 

fingernail 

sunflower 

sandcastle 

moonlight 



Segmenting compound words—2 

snowball 

fingerprint 

whiteboard 

teapot 

wheelbarrow 

ladybug 

dragonfly 

wheelchair 

34 



Lists of multi-syllable words 

Two-syllable words Three-syllable words Four-syllable words 

jacket grasshopper macaroni 

winter dishwasher watermelon 

necklace umbrella caterpillar 

garden butterfly helicopter 

number ladybug alligator 

teacher potato dictionary 

doctor spaghetti information 

paper microwave binoculars 

water hamburger rhinoceros 

cartoon dinosaur television 

table computer celebration 

pencil elephant calculator 

ruler bicycle avocado 

napkin basketball February 

zebra octopus invisible 

tiger broccoli photography 

monkey strawberry motorcycle 

rabbit ponytail preparation 

apple telephone aquarium 

hamster magician stegosaurus 

zipper dragonfly deodorant 

scissors kangaroo escalator 

needle banana electrician 

window gingerbread exercises 

rocket alphabet operation 

magnet lemonade available 

pocket neighbourhood certificate 

spider hospital everybody 

glasses porcupine decoration 

slipper fingernail competition 

baby important chrysanthemum 



Clip the number of syllables—1 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

36 




1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 




1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

38 




1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 




1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

40 




1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 



Racetrack syllable game 

42 



Sorting pictures by syllables images—1 

peg 

key 

hat 

cup 

star 

hand 

ant 

bee 

sun 

tree 




zebra 

winter 

teacher 

doctor 

tiger 

rabbit 

window 

glasses 

ruler 

needle 

44 




chocolate 

bicycle 

hospital 

spaghetti 

fingernail 

computer 

microwave 

basketball 

alphabet 

dishwasher 




television 

watermelon 

binoculars 

motorcycle 

orangutan 

aquarium 

escalator 

alligator 

calculator 

caterpillar 

46 



Sorting pictures by syllables—Worksheet 

Cut out the pictures. 

Glue them in the correct column. 

1 2 3 4 

car turtle king dolphin cake 

triangle volcano astronaut rhinoceros helicopter 

www.ricpublications.com.au ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) 47


Onset and rime segmentation pictures—1 

v-an 

qu-een 

d-og 

p-ig 

fl-ag 

c-ap 

b-un 

r-ake 

c-ard 

b-ook 

48 



Onset and rime segmentation pictures—2 

d-oll 

r-ing 

l-amp 

n-et 

f-ish 

b-ee 

c-ar 

c-ake 

m-oon 

b-oat 


Car park base 


50 



Elkonin boxes for segmenting phonemes in words 



How many sounds? 

four phonemes 

three phonemes 

two phonemes 

C 

B A 

52 



Segmenting into sounds game board 

2 



Phoneme word lists 

two-phoneme words three-phoneme words four-phoneme words five-phoneme words 

am bird snail rabbit 

is whale globe button 

at mouse drum garage 

on duck snake machine 

ape web nest carrot 

bay bone wolf woman 

boy kite pram blind 

egg sock flag wizard 

go hut clock swarm 

shoe ant crab kitten 

tea bat flag safety 

pea bed band crayon 

two bake mask birthday 

zoo sun class stable 

up bean lamp native 

ate bike sand reindeer 

see big brick carport 

odd chick stick barbecue 

oak chin clip market 

key dad block banner 

she mum drum cabbage 

so/sew dog brush chicken 

lie fan lunch carpet 

each feet flame friend 

doe road train leopard 

chew fin bride pharmacy 

ace teeth drive twenty 

ate foot toast chimney 

bee goose/geese black donkey 

buy glue pant monkey 

owl ham cast sardine 

off home snack recipe 

day jail slid female 

hay cap twig circus 

eat hut skip brother 

oat hat drip number 

knee cat flip slipper 

new mat skip spider 

pay cave frog garlic 

bow kiss flop muffin 

an cone spot sniffle 

it cup club officer 

out lake truck trifle 

tie moth plug window 

pie pig dust hammock 

eye net rust kitchen 

me bug brain mobile 

toe night skate kiosk 

cow sheep dream trolley 

54 



Segmenting phonemes cards—1 

owl 

egg 

shoe 

pie 




bird 

bat 

fan 

sheep 

56 




truck 

mask 

brick 

sand 




rabbit 

crayon 

donkey 

chicken 

58 

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS SKILLS (Book 2) ISBN 978-1-925698-53-4 www.ricpublications.com.au

Segmentation and syllabification ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 

games and activities 

1. Say these instructions to the child: 

I am going to say a sentence and I want you to repeat it after me and clap the words. 

Use one of the sentences below as an example to show the children what they are 

expected to do. 

Choose from the following sentences and have the child repeat them. They clap out 

the words as they say them. 

Three-word sentences 

I am big. My dog digs. Birds build nests. I like chocolate. 

Today is Tuesday. Look at him. I play soccer. Dad likes swimming. 

Four-word sentences 

My cat is little. I can jump high. That is my book. It is hot today. 

Mum bakes chocolate cakes. I have blue boots. I saw a spider. 

Yesterday, I had pancakes. 

Five-word sentences 

I like going to school. Look at the funny clown. I can see a kitten. 

I loved my old dog. Today I am visiting Gran. I have five red pencils. 

Six-word sentences 

Tomorrow we are painting at school. 

We saw tigers at the zoo. 

My cat sleeps on my bed. 

Watch how quickly my sister runs. 

Children may be asked to place a counter or marker on the table (or in an Elkonin 

frame), count how many there are and tell how many words are in the sentences. 


I am going to say some long words that are made up of little words. I want you to 

listen carefully and tell me the little words that were joined together to make the 

bigger words. Use one of the words below as an example to show the child what 

they are expected to do. 

Say the following compound words one at a time while the child listens. Repeat if 

necessary. Then, ask the child to segment the words into two smaller words. 

fruit/cake snow/ball moon/light rain/coat rain/bow bed/room 

news/paper ear/ring base/ball hand/bag hair/brush star/fish 

Select words the child is most familiar with and stop when it is obvious they can 

segment compound words into smaller ones. 


Segmentation and syllabification ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 

games and activities 


I am going to say some words. I want you to break them into syllables. Use one of 

the sentences below as an example to show the children what they are expected to 

do. 

Say the following words. Then the child says the word and breaks it into syllables. 

ba/by ti/ger rab/bit tea/cher app/le roc/ket spi/der 

mon/key nee/dle hos/pit/al ex/er/cise in/vis/i/ble 

Children may click, clap or tap out the syllables. 


I am going to say some words and I want you to break them up into onset and 

rime—the first and second part/ending of a word. Use one of the words below as an 

example to show the children what they are expected to do. 

Say the following words, one at a time. Ask the child to say the word and segment it 

into onset and rime. Repeat the word if necessary. 

m-an p-eg h-at n-et h-am s-un c-ake 

tr-ee c-oat m-ug k-ey b-ack h-ot h-ut 

b-ag w-ig b-ed p-in l-id d-og s-ad 


I am going to say some words. I want you to break them up and tell me the sounds 

you hear in the words. Say the sounds in the order you hear them in the words. Use 

one of the words below as an example to show the child what they are expected to 

do. 

Say the following words. The child repeats them and breaks them up into 

phonemes. 

b/i/g t/o/p s/i/t a/n/t d/a/d f/ee/t f/i/n 

i/t a/m d/u/ck h/u/t w/e/b c/a/p o/n 

RECORDING 

1. Segments sentences into words. YES NO 

2. Segments compound words into smaller words. YES NO 

3. Segments words into syllables. YES NO 

4. Segments words into onset and rime. YES NO 

5. Segments words into individual phonemes. YES NO 

60 


TEACHER NOTES 

What is phoneme blending? 

Blending is the process of combining individual spoken 

sounds/phonemes, in correct order, to make a word. Phonemes 

may be individual letters such as h/a/t or groups of letters such 

as th/i/ck. 

Young children are exposed to blending early through 

rhyming. In essence, rhyming is the process of blending a new 

onset (everything before the vowel sound in a word) to an old 

rime (the vowel sound and everything after it in a word). 

SKILL 5: BLENDING 

Teachers should demonstrate the process often before 

expecting children to attempt blending. 

Phoneme blending and phoneme segmentation are best 

taught together. 

Why is phoneme blending important? 

Saying and blending individual phonemes makes children 

aware that a series of sounds make up a word. 


word 

syllable 


phoneme 

Blending is an important skill for reading. As children 

encounter unfamiliar words, they can see letters in words, say and blend the individual 

sounds the letters make and this will help them to work out and read the word. As time 

progresses and children become more competent using this skill, blending becomes 

smoother and faster and children read more fluently. 

Children with good blending skills develop better literacy skills than those without. 

What does phoneme blending involve? 

Phoneme blending may include the ability to: 

• blend syllables in a word. For example, snow/ball, rain/bow, un/der, pen/cil, out/side. 

(Begin with two then three syllables.) 

• blend onset/rime in a word. For example, br/ush, t/alk etc. 

• blend individual phonemes. (Begin with two phonemes to make words, then progress to 

three and four phonemes.) 

• blend individual phonemes such as ‘s’ and ‘m’ to generate consonant blends for more 

difficult words. For example, s/m—smile, dr/ess, l/a/mp. (Consonant blends include both 

those at the beginning and those at the end of words.) 

The use of phonemes to make nonsense words will indicate whether children fully grasp the 

process of blending. 


SKILL 5: BLENDING 

What is the best way to support children as they learn about blending? 

As always, the most effective instruction method for any reading skill is modelling. Model 

blending in a number of different ways, always being slow, clear and correct. Increase the 

speed of the sounds delivery until the children become proficient. 

Teachers need to say phonemes clearly and correctly, even exaggerated, without adding 

unnecessary additional sounds, so that it is easier for children to hear and blend sounds; and 

understand the process. 

Visit to read about body–coda blending 

which some experts believe is easier than onset/rime blending, especially for older children 

writing and spelling words. 

What things do I need to remember when modelling blending? 

• Some letter sounds can be lengthened and held for a length of time. Others, however, 

when lengthened, may change the sound. 

Sounds that can be elongated 

and held continuously 

Sounds that CANNOT be 

elongated and held continuously 

a, e, f, i, l, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, y, z b, c, d, g, h, j, k, p, q, t, x 

These sounds are easier to blend so 

instruction should commence with these. 

Use words such as fan, sum, fuzz etc. 

Hold for 1 or 2 seconds and blend 

smoothly with the next sound. 

These sounds are more difficult to 

blend without changing the sound, 

so introduce these gradually. 

Say the sound once only, pause for 1 

or 2 seconds, then say the next sound, 

elongating this sound for 1 or 2 seconds 

• Always use plenty of visual support, pointing to pictures when learning blending. Visual 

representations aid memory of sounds. 

• Introduce letters for sounds only when you feel the children are ready to grasp the 

concept. 

• When slowly sounding out a word such as ‘rrrruuunnnn’, point to each letter as each sound 

is pronounced. 

• Ensure that all senses are engaged, as children will benefit from hands-on activities. 

Counters and markers should be used, or the children can ‘run’ a small plastic car over the 

letters on a card as they say the sounds slowly. 

62 


PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS PRE-TEST 

Onset-Rime Blending 


I’m going to say a word in a strange way and I want you to tell 

me what the word is. 

Use the following as examples, saying each word and pausing 

between the onset and the rime: 

Say: d/og How should I have said it? – dog 

m/at How should I have said it? – mat 

l/ook How should I have said it? – look 

Say the following words divided into onset and rime: 

1. b/ook – book 

2. S/am – Sam 

3. m/ess – mess 

4. f/un – fun 

5. w/in – win 

Comments 

Total: 

Syllable blending 


I’m going to say a word in a broken way and I want you to tell 

me what the word is. 

Use the following example, saying the word and pausing 

between each syllable: 

Say: to/day What should it be? – today 

Say the following words divided into syllables and ask the 

child to respond with the word that it should be: 

1. un/do – undo 

2. pur/ple – purple 

3. pan/da – panda 

4. chick/en – chicken 

5. jack/et – jacket 

Comments 

Total: 


BLENDING games and activities 

ACTIVITY 1: Immersion in playing with sounds 

Read books with the children like the ones below that manipulate sounds and 

blend them in interesting, and often funny ways. 

ACTIVITY 2: Sound train 

Equipment required: Wooden train set and coloured blocks, or beads and 

string 

Instructions: Decide on simple two-sound words such as on, at, is or a CVC word 

such as box, hat or cap to demonstrate the process. 

Say the individual sounds that make up the word, and as each sound is stated, 

place one coloured block on the train (or thread one bead on the string). Use 

different coloured blocks or beads for each different sound. 

Repeat the sounds and ask, ‘What word do those sounds make?’ 

With each successive blending, the train rolls around the track and a selected 

child can make train noises. 

• Demonstrate the process of blending • Immerse children in sound play 

64 



• Demonstrate the process of blending • Demonstrate the process of blending 

ACTIVITY 3: Feed the monster 

Materials required: Large cardboard cutout of a monster, firmly attached to 

the end of a shoebox; blank squares of different coloured 

cardboard (one for each different sound used) 

Instructions: Decide on a simple two-sound word such as on, at, is or a CVC 

word such as box or hat or cat to demonstrate the process. 

Say the individual sounds that make 

up the word, and as each sound is 

stated, ‘feed’ one coloured square 

of cardboard into the monster’s 

mouth. 

Refer to page 80 for an example of 

a monster outline to use. 

* For those children who are 

developing letter–sound 

correspondence, individual 

sounds written on cards may be 

used. 

ACTIVITY 4: What word is that? 

Materials required: Pictures of simple, familiar objects 

Instructions: Place three different picture cards face up on the floor and ask 

children to name each one. Explain that you are going to say the 

sounds that name one picture. Say each sound in the chosen 

words, stretching out the sounds then blending them to make the 

word. 

The children have to point to the picture that 

matches the word. 

Encourage children to repeat the sounds 

and ‘run them together’ to make the word. 

Repeat a number of times using different 

pictures. 

This activity is best carried out in small 

groups. 

Refer to page 81 for pictures to use. 



ACTIVITY 5: Blending sounds and animals book 

Visit to watch a 

demonstration of how to use a split board book to 

create crazy animals and blend three phonemes. 

The teacher flips over the sections of the book to 

create an unusual animal. 

A counter, marker or plastic animal is placed on the 

initial, middle and final sections of the picture while the 

teacher says each sound. Then the sounds are blended 

together to generate a word which the children repeat. 

To be more explicit, each new sound should have a different object to represent 

it. If the sound is repeated, as in pop, the same object should be repeated in the 

initial and final positions to create a better visual representation of the sounds in 

the word. 

The site above provides a free sample to download and the book can be 

purchased quite cheaply. 

Blending books are similar in concept to Elkonin boxes (but more motivating). 

Some examples of animal pages are provided on pages 82–89. 

ACTIVITY 6: Compound words 

Say pairs of small words, then blend them together to make compound words. 

For example, in/side, snow/ball, cross/walk, out/side, grass/hopper, basket/ball, 

butter/flies, rattle/snake, sun/flower, moon/light, tooth/brush, back/bone etc. 

Use picture card clues where possible to assist children. 

Some picture card examples are provided on pages 90–91. 

toothbrush 

• Blend small words to make compound words • Demonstrate the process of blending 

66 



• Blend syllables to make words 

ACTIVITY 7: Blending syllables 

Select a two-syllable word and say each syllable separately. 

For example, un/der, pen/cil, ap/ple, un/til, mar/ket etc. 

Then ‘run’ the syllables closer together. 

Ask children, ‘What word is that?’ 

Commence with two-syllable words and progress to three- and four-syllable 

words. 

Possible words to use: 

Two-syllable words 

let/ter, box/er, lad/der, tur/nip, pur/ple, Thurs/day, sil/ver, piz/za, a/gain, 

wa/ter, hap/py, o/ver, a/ble, na/ture, cit/y 

Three-syllable words 

ba/nan/a, pi/a/no, cel/e/brate, an/i/mal, Sat/ur/day, po/ta/to, el/e/phant, 

a/maz/ing, ad/ven/ture, im/por/tant, dan/ger/ous, hol/i/day, to/geth/er 

Four-syllable words 

Jan/u/ar/y, in/for/ma/tion, in/ter/est/ing, al/li/ga/tor, wa/ter/me/lon, 

tel/e/vi/sion, in/vis/i/ble, a/quar/i/um, cat/er/pil/lar, hel/i/cop/ter, 

a/dor/a/ble 

wa/ter/mel/on 

• Blend onset and rime to make words 

ACTIVITY 8: Blending onset and rime 

Onset: The first sound before the vowel in a word 

Rime: The last part of the word which includes the vowel. 

For example, b (onset), ug (rime) 

Use picture cards of common objects of one syllable like those on pages 92 

and 93. For example, mug, cup, dog, mat, lamp, hat, peg, door, bed, milk, 

bread, sock, tree etc. 

Place a set of three or four picture cards on the floor and say a word segmented 

into onset and rime. 

Ask children to blend the parts of the words and to point to the picture that 

indicates the word. 

Increase the number of picture cards to choose from to increase the difficulty 

level. 

pl/ate 

plate 



ACTIVITY 9: I spy (An onset and rime blend) 

Play a version of ‘I spy’ with objects around the room, using onset and rime. 

Say, for example, ‘I spy with my little eye something that has “cl” and “ock”. What 

did I spy?’ 

The children have to blend the onset and rime to make the word and work out 

the object. 

Examples may include: b/ook, p/en, br/ush, ch/air, t/ap, m/at, ch/alk, b/oard, 

fl/oor, w/all, b/ag, l/unch, dr/ink etc. 

This activity may also be used 

in conjunction with books such 

as the one shown. Children 

search for blends for other 

objects such as animals. 


ACTIVITY 10: Letter/sound onset–rime blending 

Use onset–rime word chunks with more capable children who can match the 

letter to the sound to make word families. Plastic letters or letters on cards 

should be manipulated while completing this activity. 

Place a written rime such as ‘–at’ on the table or floor in front 

of the child or small group of children using plastic letters. 

Sound and blend ‘a’ and ‘t’ with the children to make ‘–at’. 

Say ‘Let’s add another letter at the front (the onset) to make a new word.’ 

Demonstrate how to add ‘c’, ‘m’, ‘s’ etc. to the rime ‘at’. Say the onset and rime 

and blend to make each word. Have children repeat the blending process and 

word created. 

Select children to create other ‘–at’ words until a word family is created. 

Other word families to create include: –ack, –ame, –ell, –ight, –ink, –op, –ump, 

–all, –an, –ate, –est, –ill, –ip, –ore, –unk, –ain, –ank, –aw, –in, –it, –or, –ake, –ap, –ay, 

–ick, –ine, –ock, –uck, –ale, –ash, –eat, –ide, –ing, –oke and –ug. 

The cards on pages 94–97 can be used with children adding a plastic letter to 

the front of the rime. If words are created that make nonsense words, ask ‘Is this 

a real or nonsense word?’ (Scrabble® pieces may also be used.) 


68 



ACTIVITY 11: Sound riddles 

Say these instructions to the children: 

‘I am going to say the separate sounds that make up a word. I want you to blend 

the sounds together and tell me what the word is.’ 

Select a word, such as t/r/u/ck and say the separate sounds. 

The children listen to the sounds, blend them to make the word, and give their 

answer. 

Use shorter words to begin, and progress to longer, more difficult words. (See 

examples below.) 

Children should be encouraged to think of their own words and share them as 

individual sounds for others to blend. 

• Blend individual phonemes • Blend individual phonemes 

One-syllable word examples Two-syllable word examples 

dog d/o/g window w/i/n/d/ow 

cat c/a/t necklace n/e/ck/l/a/ce 

truck t/r/u/ck jacket j/a/ck/e/t 

house h/ou/se teacher t/ea/ch/er 

road r/oa/d monkey m/o/n/k/ey 

bed b/e/d paper p/a/per 

ACTIVITY 12: Robot talk 

The teacher acts as the robot leader and repeats the rhyme in a robot-like 

voice. 

‘I am a robot. Can you help me? 

When I say the sounds, can you tell me what I 

see?’ 

Then the teacher says two or three sounds such 

as /m/ /a/ /n/. 

The children repeat the rhyme in their own 

robot voice and after repeating the sounds, 

blend the sounds to make a word. 

The children then say, ‘I can help you. I know 

what you see. You see .’ 

(blended word) 

When children are proficient playing the game 

this way, they may be chosen to be the robot 

leader. 



ACTIVITY 13: The sound-blending song 

Sing this song to the tune ‘If you’re happy and you know it ...’ 

If you think you know this word, shout it out! 


If you think you know this word, 

Then tell me what you’ve heard, 


After singing, the teacher says a segmented 

word such as /h/ /u/ /t/ and the children 

provide the blended word hut. 

• Blend individual phonemes 

ACTIVITY 14: Blending names 

Use the children’s names to practise blending. This activity may be used at 

various times during the day—to allow children to go to lunch or recess, or to an 

activity. 

Say, for example, ‘The person to go is J/a/ck.’ 

The children blend the sounds and say the name of the child. Children should 

be encouraged to provide the answers and think about how their own name 

can be segmented into individual sounds and blended. 


70 




ACTIVITY 15: Elkonin boxes 

Provide each child with an Elkonin box card which has been photocopied, 

laminated and cut out. Use the examples on page 103. They will also need three 

counters of different colours. 

Select a picture of a familiar object. (The cards on pages 92–93 may be used.) 

The names of the objects should be made up of three sounds or less. For 

example, c/oa/t, b/a/t. Place the card so the child cannot see what it is. 

Say to the child, ‘I am going to say the sounds that make up the name of the 

object.’ Ask them to repeat the sounds that make up the name of the object. 

Then for each sound, the child places one counter in each box. 

Say ‘Can you blend/run the sounds together and tell me what object I chose?’ 

Children blend the sounds and give an answer. 

Check to see if they are correct by displaying the 

picture. 

Letters for sounds are not used at this stage but 

may be included for more capable children. 

ACTIVITY 16: The take away game 

Say the individual phonemes for a word, such as ‘log’—l/o/g, then blend them 

and, with the children, work out the word. 

Then say, ‘Let’s take away a sound. We’ll take away the “l” sound. What do we 

have left —“o/g”? Let’s blend them and see what the sounds make—“og”. Is that a 

real or nonsense word?’ 

Repeat with other CVC words, commencing with the initial sound then the final 

sound. Initial consonant sounds such as ‘bl’, ‘cr’ etc. may also be used. 

log – l = og 

dress – dr = ess 

This activity may also be used for phoneme addition. 



ACTIVITY 17: Four blends in a row 

Play this game with up to six children. 

This game requires the set of segmented word cards on page 98 and the 

game boards on pages 99–101, which should be cut out and laminated prior to 

playing. Each child needs a game board and counters or markers. 

Select one segmented word 

card and say the sounds. 

The children must blend 

the sounds to work out the 

words. If they have the picture 

relating to that word on their 

card, they place a counter/ 

marker on their board. The 

first child to get four counters/ 

markers in a row wins the 

game. 

m/o/p c/a/t m/a/p p/i/g 

t/o/p b/u/g s/u/n j/e/t 

r/a/n h/a/t p/a/n w/i/g 

f/i/n d/o/t n/e/s/t l/o/g 

p/i/n t/e/n t/u/b f/a/n 

l/i/p s/a/d v/a/n c/a/n 

h/a/n/d t/a/p n/e/t p/o/t 


ACTIVITY 18: Online blending games 

The following list of online games vary 

from simple introductions to more 

complicated games. 

• 

practise blending sounds for reading 

CVC words 

• 

blending sounds word builder game 

for kids (Educational learning video) 

• The 

Reading Machine 2 

• 

Phonics | phase 2 | set 2 words | learn 

to blend | letters and sounds | cvc 

words s a t p i n m d 


72 



ACTIVITY 19: Blending board 

Create a blending board to use when blending letters to make simple CVC 

words. 

Visit to find 

the instructions. 

Arrows on each letter indicate the direction of blending. 


Commercially-made blending boards are also available. 

ACTIVITY 20: Blending flip book 

For more capable children who have a good grasp of letter–sound 

correspondence, consider creating a ‘flip book’ in a large binder. The individual 

phonemes can be ‘flipped’ over to create a wide variety of words and 

consolidate sounds already taught. 

A binder with side clips or spirals may be used. Teachers can make their own flip 

book as easy or difficult as they like. 




ACTIVITY 21: Craft stick blending 

Use pictures and letters for vowels glued onto craft sticks to practise blending. 

The children manipulate and blend consonants and vowels to make their own 

words. 

Completed words can be ‘stuck’ in a lump of flattened playdough or some 

florist foam for display. 



ACTIVITY 22: Blending flip game 

Write consonants on blank playing cards. Write the number ‘1’ at the bottom. 

Write consonants on another set but label these ‘3’. Write vowels on another set 

of 5 cards. Label and number these ‘2’. 

The cards are numbered so children know where to place them. 

Place all the cards in piles as shown on the diagram. Children ‘flip’ the cards 

over to create real or nonsense words. 

The game is for two children but an adult helper assists. 

74 



ACTIVITY 23: Race car blending 

This activity uses plastic racing cars to play a blending game. 

Write CVC words on pieces of black card using a white crayon. Write ‘Start’ and 

‘Finish’ at the beginning and end of each track. 

The children blend sounds to make a word as they move a car along the track. 


ACTIVITY 24: CVC word board games 

Use the game board on page 102 to practise short vowel sounds in CVC 

words. 

A dice is required to play the 

game. 

Each player sounds out and 

blends to read each word they 

land on. The first to the end wins. 



ACTIVITY 25: Introducing consonant blending 

Children are not ready to blend consonants until they have a thorough 

knowledge of all individual letter sounds. 

Introduce consonant blends in the following manner. 

Say ‘I am thinking of a blend that uses two sounds. Can you tell me what it is?’ 

Say the sounds ‘b’ and ‘l’. ‘What blend does it make?’ 

Have children say the sounds and blend them to make ‘bl’. 

Repeat with c + l = cl, f + l = fl, p + l = pl, g + l = gl and s + l = sl. 

Ask children to say any words they know that have those blends at the front of 

the word. 

Begin with two-letter consonant blends at the beginning of words before 

progressing to three-letter blends and those at the end like ‘mp’. 

A table listing all major consonant blends can be found on page 104. 

(If children are capable, write b + l = bl on the board and get them to write it on 

individual whiteboards.) 

• Blend consonants 

ACTIVITY 26: Clip the blend 

Glue images of everyday objects beginning with consonant blends onto file 

cards. 

At the bottom write consonant blends and beginning sounds. 

Images may include: 

street, tree, grass, block, flag, crab, plant, 

clap, fly, glasses, play, sleep, brick, creek, 

crook, dress, frog, pram, drum, smile, 

snack, stick, swim, twins, cream, clip, 

snake, spoon etc. 

Children use a peg to clip the beginning 

sound of the word from choices given 

below each picture. The choices include 

single consonants and two-consonant 

blends. 


76 




ACTIVITY 27: Which consonant blend? 

Write constonant blends onto cardboard 

grids to make bingo boards as shown in 

the picture. Images like those suggested 

in ‘Clip the blend’ are glued onto small 

cards. 

Counters or whiteboard markers are 

needed to play the game. 

Players choose a game board each on 

which blends are written. The picture 

cards are placed face down and players 

take turns taking a picture, naming the 

object and stating the beginning blend. 

All players then place a counter or use the 

marker to cross that blend on their game 

card. Players continue in this way until one 

player has three blends in a row or has 

completed the whole board. 


ACTIVITY 28: Learning about blends 

Use the game board on page 105* for this activity. Players need a counter, 

marker and a dice. 

Players throw a dice and move that number of spaces from the mouse at the 

start. 

Players say each consonant blend and name the picture to hear the blend 

relating to the image they land on. 

The first player to the cheese 

wins. 

Any images ‘missed’ while 

playing should be identified by 

the players when the game is 

finished. 

* This resource is titled ‘Help 

the mouse find the cheese’ 

blending game—1 

fl 

fl 



ACTIVITY 29: Word slider for blends 

Use a large paper plate and a strip of cardboard to make a word slider to 

practise blending beginning consonants for word families. 

Write the word ending/word family in large print slightly to the right of the 

plate’s centre. 

Cut a strip of cardboard, and, with even spaces between 

them, write consonant beginnings. Some consonant 

blends or digraphs may be included if children are 

familiar with them. Otherwise single sounds should be 

used. The strip of paper should be a little narrower than 

the width of the slits cut in the paper plate. 

On the plate, to the left of the word family ending, 

cut 2 slits slightly wider than the width of the strip of 

cardboard on which the word beginnings have been 

written. 

Insert the cardboard strip through the slits and slide 

it through until the word beginning lines up with the 

endings. Blend to say a word. 


ACTIVITY 30: Help the mouse find the cheese 

This game should be played with more capable students. Play with two or more 

players to practise consonant blends. You will need a dice. 

Enlarge and print the game 

board on page 106. Laminate 

before using. 

Players take turns to throw 

a dice and move that many 

spaces around the board. 

When players land on a space, 

they say the blend and name a 

word beginning with the blend. 

If a player lands on a smiley 

face, they take another turn. 

The first player to reach the 

cheese wins. 


78 




ACTIVITY 31: Blends toss 

Use this game with very capable children. 

You will need: 5 or 6 paper cups; coins, buttons or small, foam balls; tape; 

markers; pencils and paper for recording words; large muffin 

tray in which to stand cups for stability (optional); large sheet 

butcher’s paper 

Using a permanent marker, write a blend on each 

paper cup at the top on the inside. Select those the 

children are familiar with. 

Place each paper cup in the muffin tin to keep it 

secure. 

Draw a table on the butcher’s paper and write the 

consonant blends at the top of the columns. 

The children take turns tossing a coin/button/ball 

into a cup. When it lands, the child must think of a 

word that begins with that blend. The word is then 

written in the correct column of the table. 

Tally the words at the end of a specified time frame. 


ACTIVITY 32: Blends and digraphs bingo 

Make bingo boards with images 

of objects beginning with blends 

or digraphs. 

Images may include any objects 

mentioned in Activity 26, plus 

others like sheep, church, wheel 

and thread. 

Write the blends and digraphs 

onto blank playing cards. 

Players will need counters or 

markers to place on the bingo 

cards. 

The blend and digraph letter cards are placed face down in a pile. A card is 

chosen and the player sounds out and blends the consonants. If players have a 

picture that starts with that blend, they place a marker on it. 

The winner is the player who covers their bingo card first. 

Bingo cards with more images for more blends may also be used. 



Outline for ‘Feed the monster’ 

80 


‘What word is that?’ picture cards 


bell book fan 

duck boat mug 

cat key shoe 

bee bike road 


Blending sounds and animals book—1 


82 







84 







86 







88 






Blending to make compound words picture cards—1 

butter 

fly 

jelly 

fish 

basket 

ball 

fire 

man 

90 



Blending to make compound words picture cards—2 

tooth 

brush 

sun 

flower 

sand 

castle 

moon 

light 


Onset–rime blending picture cards—1 


mug cup dog 

lamp mat hat 

pet door bed 

milk cat sock 

92 


Onset–rime blending picture cards—2 


sun chair wall 

hen fork jam 

cap shoe mop 

pen egg pin 


Onset–rime blending word family cards—1 


at an in 

it ap ip 

op ug ill 

ell all ack 

94 




ump ock uck 

ick ink est 

ame ate ank 

unk oke ake 




ide ing ine 

ice ight aw 

ay ale ash 

eat or ain 

96 




b c d e f g 

h j k l m n 

p r s t v w 

y 

z 



Segmented word cards 

m/o/p c/a/t m/a/p p/i/g 

t/o/p b/u/g s/u/n j/e/t 

r/a/n h/a/t p/a/n w/i/g 

f/i/n d/o/t n/e/s/t l/o/g 

p/i/n t/e/n t/u/b f/a/n 

l/i/p s/a/d v/a/n c/a/n 

h/a/n/d t/a/p n/e/t p/o/t 

98 


‘Four blends in a row’ game board—1 





100 






CVC word board game 

102 



Elkonin boxes 



Consonant blends lists 

Two-letter consonant blends—beginning of words 

bl 

as in 

black 

cl 

as in 

clap 

fl 

as in 

fly 

gl 

as in 

glad 

pl 

as in 

play 

sl 

as in 

slip 

br 

as in 

brick 

cr 

as in 

creek 

dr 

as in 

dress 

fr 

as in 

frog 

gr 

as in 

grab 

pr 

as in 

pram 

tr 

as in 

trip 

sc 

as in 

scale 

sk 

as in 

skunk 

sm 

as in 

smile 

sn 

as in 

snack 

sp 

as in 

span 

st 

as in 

stick 

sw 

as in 

swim 

tw 

as in 

twin 

Three-letter consonant blends—beginning of words 

str 

as in 

strike 

scr 

as in 

scream 

spr 

as in 

spring 

shr 

as in 

shrug 

thr 

as in 

three 

spl 

as in 

split 

Two-letter consonant blends—end of words and others 

nk 

as in 

sink 

lk 

as in 

milk 

nt 

as in 

went 

nd 

as in 

and 

mp 

as in 

lamp 

ft 

as in 

left 

sk 

as in 

mask 

ch 

as in 

chicken 

ck 

as in 

clock 

gh 

as in 

laugh 

ng 

as in 

sing 

sh 

as in 

fish 

th 

as in 

with 

wh 

as in 

when 

The bottom row, although consonants, are digraphs and 

must be taught individually. 

104 


‘Help the mouse find the cheese’ blending game—1 




‘Help the mouse find the cheese’ blending game—2 

pr st cl fl 

sc fr 

cr 

sl str dr sk br 

fl 

gl sw fr sm pr gl 

sn 

pl fl 

dr bl sp sl gr cr tr 

sc squ br cl bl 

106 



I am going to say two little words. I want you to tell me the big word they make when 

they run together/are blended. 

Say the following pairs of words. Then the child says the big word made when they 

are blended. 

sun/flower skate/board out/side table/spoon cow/boy 

wheel/barrow head/ache week/end court/yard tool/box 

sea/shore air/port bed/room birth/day match/stick 

tea/cup gold/fish eye/ball finger/print light/house 


I am going to say some words, but I am going to break them up into syllables. I want 

you to put the syllables together and tell me what the word is. 

Say the syllables of some of the following words. Ask the child to blend the syllables 

and state the word. Repeat the syllables if necessary. 

Two-syllable words 

ba/sket mon/key kit/ten nap/kin gar/den wag/on 

ca/mel piz/za let/ter ci/ty lad/der yel/low 

Three-syllable words 

pho/to/graph lem/on/ade py/ja/mas el/e/phant 

rad/i/o ban/a/na neigh/bour/hood furn/i/ture 

Four-syllable words 

cat/er/pil/lar al/li/ga/tor hel/i/cop/ter wa/ter/mel/on 

un/der/wa/ter al/to/geth/er Feb/ru/a/ry av/o/ca/do 


BLENDING ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 

I am going to say the beginning and end of a word. I want you to run them together/ 

blend them and tell me what word it makes. 

Say the following onsets and rimes. The child repeats them and says the word each 

makes. 

m/ug p/it h/am r/at p/en t/in 

m/ad s/ad c/ab b/ed r/od h/ut 

d/og f/ix g/oat j/ar l/id n/od 



I am going to show you three pictures. Then I am going to say some sounds. I want 

you to blend the sounds together and point to the picture that matches the word. 

Use the pictures on page 81. 

Say the following sounds while the child listens. Repeat if necessary. Then ask the 

child to blend the sounds to make a word and point to the picture that matches the 

word. 

b/e/ll—bell b/oo/k—book f/a/n—fan d/u/ck—duck 

b/oa/t—boat m/u/g c/a/t—cat k/ey—key 

sh/oe—shoe b/ee—bee b/i/ke—bike r/oa/d—road 


I am going to say two sounds and I want you to tell me what word they make when 

they run together. 

Choose from the following groups of sounds. The child blends the sounds and 

states the word. Begin with two phonemes and progress to three or four for more 

capable children. Once it is obvious that the child can blend successfully, there is no 

need to proceed. 

Two-phoneme words 

o/n—on a/t—at i/s—is i/t—it u/p—up a/m—am 

b/ee—bee e/gg—egg d/ay—day h/e—he z/oo—zoo a/te—ate 

Three-phoneme words 

a/n/d—and a/n/t—ant f/i/n—fin d/o/g—dog f/oo/t—foot 

r/ea/d—read r/i/p—rip l/a/ke—lake r/oa/d—road s/ai/l—sail 

b/u/g—bug j/o/b—job k/i/ss—kiss t/ee/th—teeth s/u/n—sun 

Four-phoneme words 

BLENDING ASSESSMENT—INDIVIDUAL 

l/a/m/p—lamp m/i/s/t—mist s/n/a/ck—snack t/r/u/ck—truck 

s/t/i/ck—stick f/r/o/g—frog t/oa/s/t—toast s/l/i/m—slim 

RECORDING 

1. Blends small words to make compound words. YES NO 

2. Blends syllables to make a word. YES NO 

3. Blends onsets and rimes to make a word. YES NO 

4. Blends individual phonemes and identifies the picture of the word. YES NO 

5. Blends individual phonemes to make a word. YES NO 

108 


Phonological Awareness Skills Assessment 

Name: 

Teacher: 

Date: 

Class: 

Segmentation and syllabification 


I am going to say some words. I want you to break them into syllables. 

Use one or more of the words below as examples to show the children what they are 

expected to do. 

spi/der mon/key nee/dle rul/er car/toon tel/e/phone 

Say the following words. The child says the word and breaks it into syllables. 

1. baby (ba/by) 

2. tiger (ti/ger) 

Comments: 

3. rabbit (rab/bit) 

4. teacher (tea/cher) 

5. apple (app/le) 

6. rocket (rock/et) 

Total: 

BLENDING 


I am going to say the beginning and end of a word. I want you to run them together 

(blend them) and tell me what word the word is. 

Select one or more of the words below and give them as examples to show the child 

what to do: 

d/og f/ix g/oat j/ar l/id n/od 

Say the following onset and rimes. The child repeats them and says the word each 

makes. 

Comments: 

1. m/ug 

2. p/it 

3. h/am 

4. r/at 

5. p/en 

6. t/in 

Total: 


CLASS RECORDING SHEET 

Student name 

Segmentation and 

syllabification 

Blending 

Comments 

110

RIC-6973_Phonological_awareness_skills_Book_2

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