10 Fun Phonics Awareness Activities for Preschoolers

Imagine it’s story time. Suddenly, your child reads aloud unfamiliar words from their favorite storybook. That small recognition can spark your whole day. Right!

Well, every child can decode sounds and letters into words. You just need effective phonics awareness activities to unlock the potential.

These activities help kids decode letters into sounds, sounds into words. And, these words are stepping stones to being an independent reader.

These activities make learning a fun and engaging experience. Also, every small win builds confidence and boosts love for reading.

In this blog, you’ll discover what are the fun ways to teach kids phonics. Along with efficient phonemic awareness activities for kids.

What are the fun ways to teach kids phonics?

Teaching phonics shouldn’t be limited to boring lessons. It can be games, play, and fun activities.

Explore the 10 most engaging phonics awareness activities you can try.

1. Jump on the Right Letter Game

Write different letters on the floor. Say a letter, and ask your child to jump on the correct letter.

2. Arrange the Letters

Provide different objects to your kid. Ask them to arrange those objects in alphabetical order.

3. Sound Hunt

Hide different objects at different places. Then, ask children to find something that starts with /p/ or /s/. Your child will bring a pencil or a shoe.

4. Preparing a Sound Collage

Pick any letter. Your kid will draw or stick the picture of that letter. For example, the letter ‘t’, tree or torch.

5. Play Board Games

You can play phonics board games with your child. Like, Race to the Spaceship or Junior Scrabble.

6. Create Word Cards

Prepare word cards with three-letter words. Such as cow, bag, pin, and cat. Ask your child to pick a card. Read words together. Hold up three fingers and ask all the sounds individually.

7. Sing Songs & Rhymes

Rhymes help children understand, every sound has a certain meaning and pattern. Sing along with them to make learning fun. And highlight words to teach them different sounds.

8. Encourage Daily Practice

You should encourage a daily reading habit. Even 10-15 minutes a day is enough to be fluent in reading.

9. Play ‘I Spy’ Game

You can say, ‘I spy something starting with /r/. Your child will bring objects starting with that letter. Such as, ring or a ruler.

10. Word Families

Pick an ending from the word families. For example, ‘et’, let your kids write different first letters to this. Like, pet, bet, or meet.

Hence, make your kids practice phonics with fun activities.

Let’s take a look at the definition of phonological and phonemic awareness. In addition, find enjoyable phonological awareness activities & games.

What is phonological and phonemic awareness?

1. Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. It includes sound awareness of syllables, rhymes, and words.

Let’s understand with an example:

• Syllables: ‘but–ter–fly’ – Jumping or clapping out 3 times.
• Rhymes: ‘cat, bat, or hat’ – Identifying rhyming words.
• Words: ‘I love my cat’ – 4 words; Counting words in a sentence.

Phonological Awareness Activities for Preschoolers

Discover 5 engaging phonological awareness activities for kids:

1. Identifying Syllables: Say a word, and your child will identify the syllable and make a move. Such as clap, tap, or jump for each syllable. For example, ‘ba–na–na’ – clapping 3 times.
2. Rhyming Words: Give a word to your kid and ask them to think of words that rhyme. For example, cat: bat or rat.
3. Sorting Sounds: You can place different pictures on the floor. Your child will collect them in alphabetical order. For example, ‘a’ – ant, ‘b’ – bat or ball.
4. Word Counting Activity: Say short sentences, ask your child to count words in that sentence. For example, ‘My favourite ice cream is chocolate’. – Total 6 words.
5. Matching Similar Sounds: You can ask your child to match objects or pictures, starting with the same sound.

Phonological Awareness Games for Preschoolers

• Put toys, cards, or small objects in the basket. Pull one out and ask your child to find another that rhymes.
• Mark small boxes on the floor. Say a word, and your child will jump one box for each syllable identified.
• Play a sound treasure hunt with your kid. Hide objects in the room. Give a sound clue: Bring me something that starts with the letter ‘s’.
• Say different words, and your kid will clap for syllables and jump for rhymes.

2. Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds. These help children understand, words are made up of these smallest sounds. Moreover, they learn the relationship between letters and their respective sounds.

Phonemic awareness teaches kids:

• Blending: /h/ /a/ /t/ – ‘hat’
• Segmenting: ‘bat’ – /b/ /a/ /t/
• Manipulating Sounds: Swap sounds, the /k/ in kite to bite – /b/.

Phonemic awareness for preschoolers is crucial to building a strong foundation. Gradually, with practice, your child will become a confident reader.

Final Thought

Phonics awareness activities are not restricted to worksheets. Instead, it is playtime filled with sounds, stories, games, and laughter. These phonics activities are easy to include in daily chores. Whether you want to incorporate it in schools or at home.

From identifying syllables to rhyming words and learning decoding, every game helps kids learn phonemic awareness. That too in a joyful way.

Just a few minutes of daily practice is required to achieve reading success. After all, your child will be a confident, independent reader.

You can explore Learn2Read learning resources. They offer interactive books and activities that keep children engaged while building strong reading and phonics skills.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is an example of phonics awareness?

Phonics awareness is when your kid can connect the letters to their sounds. For example, look at the word ‘hat’ and identify its sounds: /h/ + /a/ + /t/. Then, they blend the sounds to read it as ‘hat’.

2. What are the 6 phonemic awareness games?

Here are 6 enjoyable phonological awareness games:

1. I Spy a Sound
2. Rhyme Words
3. Syllable Jump Game
4. Rhyme Basket Hunt
5. Sorting Sounds
6. Phonics Board Games

3. What is the difference between phonological and phonemic awareness?

Phonological and phonemic awareness are both crucial to being fluent in reading. They are different in scope. Phonological awareness is a broader skill. It includes all parts of spoken words. Such as syllables, sounds, beginning sounds, and rhyming words. Whereas phonemic awareness is a smaller skill. That focuses only on the smallest sounds: phonemes. For example, /r/ /a/ /t/.