Phonological Awareness and Phonics for Preschoolers with Speech Sound Disorders
Phonological Awareness and Phonics for Preschoolers? You Bet!
Do preschoolers need to work on phonological awareness and phonics? You bet! And working on these skills is even more important for our preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSDs). Why? Because we know children with speech sound disorders have an increased risk for poor phonological awareness and literacy skills later in life! We also know that children with SSDs who received an intervention that simultaneously targeted speech production, phonological awareness, and letter-sound knowledge development showed improved literacy measures immediately and long-term. As speech therapist, we see these children EARLY and first. We have the ability to help mitigate some of these later literacy issues, so why wouldn’t we?
The Difference Between Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonics
phonological awareness activities for preschool and kindergarten
Let’s first talk about the difference between phonological awareness and phonics.
Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structures of spoken language. It involves skills such as identifying rhymes, segmenting words into syllables, and recognizing individual sounds in words, or phonemes.
Phonemic awareness, a subset of phonological awareness, specifically focuses on the smallest units of sound in speech. For example, identifying the individual sounds /c/, /a/, and /t/ in the word "cat" requires phonemic awareness. These foundational skills are critical for developing strong reading and spelling abilities, as they help children understand the sound-letter relationships essential to decoding and encoding words.
Phonics is a method of teaching reading and writing that focuses on the relationship between the sounds of spoken language (phonemes) and the letters or groups of letters (graphemes) that represent those sounds in written language.
Phonics Includes:
Sound-Letter Correspondence: Phonics emphasizes how sounds map onto letters or combinations of letters.
Example: The sound /k/ can be represented by "c" as in "cat," "k" as in "kite," or "ck" as in "duck."
Decoding: Learners use their knowledge of phonics to sound out and read unfamiliar words by breaking them into phonemes.
Example: Reading "hat" involves identifying /h/, /a/, and /t/ and blending them together.
Encoding: Phonics also helps learners spell words by segmenting sounds and matching them to their corresponding letters.
Example: To spell "dog," a child might identify the sounds /d/, /o/, and /g/ and then write the letters.
Blending and Segmenting:
Blending: Combining individual sounds to form words (e.g., /s/ + /i/ + /t/ = "sit").
Segmenting: Breaking words into their individual sounds (e.g., "cat" = /k/ /æ/ /t/).
Phonemic Awareness: While phonics focuses on the relationship between sounds and letters, it also depends on on phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words
Phonological Awareness Activities for Preschoolers
Preschoolers benefit most from playful, developmentally appropriate phonological awareness tasks. Rhyming activities, such as matching words that rhyme or generating rhyming words, help children tune in to the sounds within words. Syllable segmenting, where children clap or tap out the beats in words, builds awareness of larger sound units. Identifying initial sounds in words, such as recognizing that "sun" starts with /s/, and identifying final sounds, like noticing that "dog" ends with /g/, are also valuable tasks for this age group! These activities should be fun and engaging, incorporating games, songs, and hands-on materials to keep young learners motivated and focused. Segmenting and blending are later developing phonological awareness skills. However, if you feel your preschooler is ready for these tasks, absolutely go ahead and do them. (Click here for the best phonological awareness activities for preschoolers.)
phonological awareness activities for preschool speech therapy
Introducing Sound-Grapheme Correspondence to Preschoolers…or “Phonics”
Foundational phonics skills can also be taught as young as preschool! A great way to do this is to start with basic sound-grapheme pairings - that is, have the child match the sound to the written letter that represents that sound. To introduce sound-grapheme correspondence to preschoolers, it’s best to start with the most common and straightforward sound-letter relationships. Begin by focusing on high-frequency consonants and short vowel sounds. Or, use the sounds that your child is working on in speech therapy. Use multi-sensory techniques, such as showing the letter, saying its sound, and associating it with an action or picture (e.g., "S" for snake with a hissing sound). Incorporating magnetic letters, simple writing activities, and songs can make the process more engaging. Keep lessons short and dynamic, ensuring children have ample opportunity to connect sounds to their written representations in meaningful ways!
The Speech Language Pathologist’s Role
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play a critical role in fostering phonological awareness and early phonics skills in children with speech sound disorders. Yes, even with our preschoolers! For these children, challenges with articulating specific sounds can impact their ability to recognize and manipulate those sounds in spoken words. SLPs can provide targeted, individualized support by integrating phonological awareness tasks into therapy sessions using the sounds the child is working on in speech therapy! For example, an SLP might pair articulation practice with activities like identifying initial sounds or blending phonemes. By tailoring strategies to each child’s unique needs, SLPs help bridge the gap between speech production and phonological processing, setting a solid foundation for literacy development.
Make Phonological Awareness Easy
phonological awareness and speech sound disorders, phonological awareness worksheets and activities
You know that children with speech sound disorders are at greater risk for poor phonological awareness skills, and incorporating these activities into your therapy sessions is key to setting them up for success. But figuring out how to seamlessly integrate phonological awareness tasks with speech sound targets can feel overwhelming. That’s why I created this resource! Designed specifically for speech therapists, this resource is packed with activities to help you blend articulation/speech sound practice and phonological awareness seamlessly. With engaging tasks like rhyming, syllable counting, sound sorting, initial sound identification, blending, and segmenting—all tailored to your clients’ specific speech sound targets—you’ll have everything you need to boost progress in both areas. Save time, stay organized, and watch your clients thrive as they master critical speech and literacy foundations. Don’t wait—transform your therapy sessions with this all-in-one solution today
SOURCES:
Gillon G. T. (2000). The Efficacy of Phonological Awareness Intervention for Children With Spoken Language Impairment. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 31(2), 126–141.
Gillon G. T. (2005). Facilitating phoneme awareness development in 3- and 4-year-old children with speech impairment. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 36(4), 308–324.
Hesketh, A., Dima, E., & Nelson, V. (2007). Teaching phoneme awareness to pre-literate children with speech disorder: a randomized controlled trial. International journal of language & communication disorders, 42(3), 251–271.
