Phonological Awareness
By Dana Gomez, Reading & Literacy Specialist
As a literacy coach working alongside teachers across the Central Valley, one of the most common questions I hear in planning meetings or grade-level collaboration is, “What exactly is phonological awareness, and how is it different from phonics?” That confusion is completely understandable—teacher preparation programs often lump everything together under the general umbrella of “early reading skills.” But if we want to address reading gaps and build a solid foundation for all learners, especially our emergent bilingual students and striving readers, we need to start with clarity.
So, what is phonological awareness?
Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sound structures of spoken language. It is an auditory skill—not tied to print—that includes recognizing and working with sounds at the word, syllable, and phoneme (individual sound) level.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the skills that fall under phonological awareness:
Word awareness: Knowing that sentences are made up of individual words.
Syllable awareness: Hearing and clapping out the parts of a word (e.g., “watermelon” = 4 syllables).
Onset and rime: Recognizing the initial sound (onset) and the chunk that follows (rime), like /c/ and /at/ in cat.
Rhyme recognition and production: Hearing and creating words that rhyme.
Phonemic awareness (a subset): The most advanced level—manipulating individual phonemes (adding, deleting, substituting sounds).
These skills are not about letter names or decoding; instead, they’re about the sounds we hear in spoken language. This auditory foundation is essential for learning to read because it helps students connect the sounds of speech to printed words.
Why does this matter in the Central Valley?
In our region, many students come from linguistically diverse homes and may not have had consistent exposure to English phonology in early childhood. Others may arrive in kindergarten with underdeveloped oral language or limited pre-literacy experiences. If we skip phonological awareness instruction or rely on exposure alone, we risk leaving behind students who need explicit, intentional support.
Research is clear: phonological awareness, especially at the phoneme level, is a strong predictor of reading success. If students can’t isolate or manipulate sounds in spoken words, they will likely struggle when we ask them to decode those words in print.
How do we teach it?
The best part? Phonological awareness can be woven into short, daily routines that require no worksheets or fancy materials. Try these examples:
Morning meeting warm-ups: Clap syllables in student names.
Transition activities: “If I take the /s/ off of sun, what’s left?”
Small groups or intervention: Practice blending and segmenting 3-phoneme words with chips or finger tapping.
Read-alouds: Pause to notice rhyming words or ask, “What sound do you hear at the beginning of tiger?”
Keep it engaging and oral. We don’t need students to look at letters to build these skills—just to listen, speak, and play with language.
Final Thoughts
Phonological awareness is not just an “early grade” skill. While most of this instruction happens in preschool through 1st grade, students in 2nd, 3rd, and even beyond may still need targeted support in these areas, especially if they struggle with decoding.
As educators, we know our students bring brilliance, resilience, and diverse language experiences to our classrooms. When we take the time to understand and teach foundational skills like phonological awareness, we’re not just improving reading scores—we’re opening doors to literacy for every child.
If you’re looking for tools, routines, or sample lessons to support this work, I’m always happy to collaborate.
Let’s build it from the sound up.
