Building Strong Readers: What To Do When a Student Struggles with Phonological Awareness

(Note: This is Part 3 of an 8-week blog series called Building Strong Readers. If you haven't read the rest of the series click HERE)

When it comes to building strong readers, phonological awareness is where it all begins. Long before kids are ready to tackle books, they need to develop the ability to hear and play with sounds in spoken language. Skills like rhyming, blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds may seem simple, but they form the foundation for decoding, spelling, and fluent reading later on.

Without this solid groundwork, many children struggle to make sense of print no matter how much phonics instruction they receive. That’s why teaching phonological awareness isn’t just an “extra”—it’s essential.

In this post, we’ll explore why these skills matter so much, how to spot gaps, and practical ways to weave phonological awareness into your everyday teaching.

What Is Phonological Awareness?

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language. It's an umbrella term that includes:

Word Awareness: The ability to recognize individual words within a sentence. Skills include:

• Rhyming
• Alliteration
• Segmenting sentences into words

Syllable Awareness: The ability to identify and manipulate the larger sound units (syllables) within a word. Skills include:

• Counting syllables
• Blending syllables to make a word
• Segmenting words into syllables

Onset-Rime Awareness: Understanding that words can be broken down into the initial consonant sound(s) (onset) and the rest of the syllable (rime). Example: In the word "cat," "c" is the onset and "at" is the rime. Skills include:

• Recognizing rhymes
• Identifying words that share the same onset or rime

Phonemic Awareness: The most complex level, focusing on the individual sounds (phonemes) within words. Skills include:

• Isolation: Identifying a specific sound within a word (initial, medial or final)
• Blending: Combining individual sounds to form a word (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/ becomes "cat").
• Segmenting: Breaking a word into its individual sounds ("fish" = /f/ /i/ /sh/)
• Manipulation: Adding, deleting, or substituting sounds in words to create new words (change /m/ in “mat” to /s/ → “sat”)

What is the Difference Between Phonological & Phonemic Awareness?

Phonological awareness is an umbrella category that includes awareness at multiple levels. Phonemic awareness is a specific skill under that umbrella.

It's really that simple!

 
Signs of Weakness in Phonological Awareness

If a student struggles with sound awareness, you may notice things like:

• Difficulty identifying beginning or ending sounds in words

• Inability to recognize rhymes or generate rhyming words

• Trouble blending sounds together to form a word

• Struggles with segmenting (can’t break a word apart into individual sounds)

• Cannot manipulate sounds, such as changing the first sound in “cat” to make a new word

To truly understand where your students have gaps in PA (and where to start with instruction), you will need to assess them individually.

How Do I Assess Phonological Awareness?

There are several different assessments for PA skills, some formal and others informal. The assessment that we use and really like is the PAST (Phonological Awareness Screening Test) by David Kilpatrick. This assessment is given one-on-one and determines which levels of phonological awareness the student has already mastered, and which levels the student hasn't.

And the best part? It's available for FREE! You can download and print the assessment and directions HERE.

The PAST assessment starts at the syllable level and moves to the onset-rime level and finally the phoneme level. After the assessment, you will have a very clear understanding of which levels your students need explicit instruction.

Basic Recommendations for PA Instruction

Here are some quick tips to keep in mind for phonological awareness instruction:

1. Progress from Simple to Complex Tasks

According to the continuum of phonological awareness, skills should be taught in this general order:

1. Rhyming & alliteration

2. Sentence segmentation

3. Syllable blending and segmenting

4. Onset-rime (e.g., /c/ + at = cat)

5. Phoneme blending & segmenting

6. Phoneme deletion, substitution, and reversal

Move from easy to more difficult, always modeling and providing support before introducing a new level of phonological awareness activities.

2. Don't Wait for Mastery Before Moving On

This may seem contradictory to the previous tip, but you don't need to wait for mastery at a specific level before moving on to another. It's important to continuously review older skills while introducing new ones.

3. Don't Be Afraid to Use Letters for Modeling

As David Kilpatrick states, "For readers with basic letter-sound knowledge, using letters (at first) may help them understand the phonological awareness task you are trying to teach." If your students are struggling to understand what you're asking them to do (and they have basic letter-sound knowledge), it's okay to introduce the activity by showing them the written word and then changing it to reflect the task (deletion, substitution, etc.)

An example of this might be if you have a group of students struggling with deleting the 2nd sound in an initial consonant blend. This is a fairly challenging task and they may need a little more support at first. You could write the word "clap" on the board and then explain that you're going to remove the 2nd sound by erasing the letter <l>. Then, ask them what the new word is-- cap. Once they understand the activity, then move to sound-only.

(It's important to note that this activity isn't phonemic awareness, but is instead phonics. It is simply using a written example to illustrate an oral activity. Once students understand the task using letters, then you can focus solely on sounds.)

4. Use Short, Intentional Practice Sessions

Five to ten minutes daily of phonological awareness training is more effective than one long session. Consistency is key, so build PA instruction into your daily routine. Here are some ideas:

• Whole Group- Model and practice phonological awareness tasks with your whole class gathered at the carpet or while they are all at their seats with manipulatives.
• Small Groups- Use the first 3-4 minutes of your small group time to practice PA activities. This is a great time to teach a new skill using laminated Elkonin boxes, dry erase markers, and counters. Then, once your students have the hang of it, tell them they're going to use their ears only and go around the table giving everyone a turn with a different word.
• Transitions- Practice PA skills with your entire class when lining up, in the hallway during a whole-class restroom break, before lunch, etc... 
  
  

5. Monitor Progress Regularly

Use quick checks to see if students are mastering each level of PA after you teach it. Keep track of your students' progress on a class tracking sheet and continually assess and update the sheet.

What Are Some Engaging Phonological Awareness Activities I Can Use with My Students?

Building strong phonemic awareness takes intentional, structured practice—but the good news is that it doesn’t require fancy materials or a lot of time. Below are 3 activities you can easily implement with your students to help build their PA skills.

Elkonin Boxes with Manipulatives

Once students are working on phoneme segmentation, Elkonin boxes (also known as sound boxes) are a simple and powerful tool. Research shows that pairing oral phonemic tasks with visual supports like Elkonin boxes improves sound awareness and prepares students for mapping sounds to letters.

You can use Elkonin boxes with or without letters, depending on if you want to focus solely on phonemic awareness, or if you want to incorporate phonics as well.

How to use WITHOUT letters (so it's strictly a PA activity):

• Say a word (example: ship)

• Have students push a counter into each box as they say each sound: /sh/ /i/ /p/

• You can also extend this activity to include phoneme deletion or substitution by having students remove a counter (deletion) or identify which counter needs changed (substitution).

How to use WITH letters (to incorporate phonics):

• Say a word (example: ship)

• Have students push a counter into each box as they say each sound: /sh/ /i/ /p/

• Have students write the letters that match each sound in the boxes below.
• For phoneme deletion or substitution activities, students can erase a letter and/or change a letter to make a new word.

If you're looking for dry erase Elkonin boxes and other small group materials that you can use with your students, be sure to check out our Small Group Reading Toolkits! 

To make Elkonin box activities even more engaging for students, let your students use fun manipulatives! Instead of counters, you can use sparkly gems, LEGOs, buttons, mini erasers, etc. You can even find seasonal items such as mini pumpkins or spiders to use for segmenting sounds!

Word Chains

Word chains are one of our favorite activities for working on phonemic awareness. Basically, it’s a string of words where only one sound (phoneme) changes at a time. Just like with Elkonin boxes, you can do this activity with or without letters. 

Kids start with a base word, and then you guide them through a series of small sound shifts. Sometimes it’s just one letter that changes, but other times it might take two letters to spell the new sound—for example, moving from bat to chat. Both words sound almost the same, but that little change makes a big difference! We like to keep our chains to around 5-6 words.

Here’s a quick example: bag → bat → at → fat → fan → man

You can mix up where the change happens—in the beginning, middle, or end of the word—depending on what your students need practice with.

The MOST important thing when it comes to using word chains with your students is to have your chain already prepared before starting! There's nothing worse than trying to think of a word change when your mind is blanking and you have 6 little sets of eyes staring at you! (We speak from experience 😉)

If you'd like an already done-for-you resource of word chains, be sure to check out our Word Chains by Phonics Concept. Three word chains are provided for each of the 52 total phonics concepts, plus a student recording sheet is included as well!

(Note: This resource is also included in the growing library of literacy resources inside our Launching Literacy membership for teachers!)

Kilpatrick's One Minute Activities

In David Kilpatrick's book, Equipped for Reading Success, there is an entire section in the back dedicated to one-minute practice activities. These quick activities are great for using during transition periods. (I would often be found carrying this book around in the hallway while I walked my students to and from their reading groups! 😉)

Wrap Up

Phonological awareness may feel like a small step in the journey to reading, but it truly lays the foundation for everything that follows. When we take the time to intentionally teach and practice these skills, we’re giving students the tools they need to become confident, successful readers. Whether it’s through playful activities, quick daily routines, or targeted interventions, strengthening phonological awareness pays off in the long run. By closing gaps early and building a strong sound foundation, we set our students on the path toward becoming strong readers!

Building Strong Readers Reference Sheet (FREE DOWNLOAD!)

If you would like a printable version of reading skills and strategies to apply when you spot a weakness in each one, click the image below to download our free Building Strong Readers Reference Sheet!

The Resources You Need, All in ONE Membership!

We understand that purchasing resources one by one adds up fast—and as teachers, we know every dollar matters. That’s why our K-2 membership, Launching Literacy, is a smarter and more cost effective option. Our membership gives you everything you need for small group instruction—all in one place—so you can save time, money, and stress.

No more weekends wasted hunting for Science of Reading–aligned heart word resources, phonics lessons, and decodable texts. With Launching Literacy, you simply log in, choose the skill you want to teach, and instantly download detailed, ready-to-use lesson plans and activities.

In just a few clicks, your small group lessons are prepped and ready to teach—so you can spend less time planning and more time making an impact in your classroom. It’s planning made simple, effective, and affordable.

We hope that you found this blog post helpful! Whether you choose to join the membership or not, we are always here to help you in any way we can. Send us an email at: [email protected] with any questions you have!