All children acquire skills at a slightly different rate. Although we don’t realise it, children are learning early pre-literacy skills from very early in life. Children learn language and pre-literacy skills simultaneously. However children with phonological awareness difficulties will usually start falling behind on these developmental milestones.
– Aware of rhyming words
– Recognising when two words sound the same
– Can play word games with rhyming words
– Aware of syllables in words (e.g. clapping out the beats in a word)
– Can recognise that words are made of different sounds (e.g. m-a-t)
– May clap and stomp out the beats in words, adding or changing first sounds in a word to make different words
– Have phoneme identification skills
– Can identify and say all of the different sounds in a three-letter word. For example, ‘cat’ is made up of the sounds c-a-t
By age 6, children can usually:
– Recognise which word doesn’t rhyme in a group of three (e.g. cat, hat, big)
– Identify the first and last sound in a word (e.g. the first sound in “dog” is /d/, the last is /g/)
– Blend 3–4 sounds together to make a word (e.g. h-a-n-d becomes “hand”)
– Break a 3–4 sound word into its separate sounds (e.g. “hand” becomes h-a-n-d)
By age 7, children can usually:
– Take a syllable away from a word and say what’s left (e.g. “cupcake” without “cup” is “cake”)
– Take a sound away from a word and say what’s left (e.g. “feet” without the /f/ is “eat”)
– Swap one sound for another to make a new word (e.g. change the /h/ in “hat” to /c/ to make “cat”)
Firstly, we know all children develop at slightly different rates. As a result, it can be difficult to decide when it is time to seek help. Current research recognises the significant risk to literacy development caused by speech sound disorders and language disorder [8].
Consider speaking with a Speech Pathologist if your child:
– Struggles to rhyme, clap syllables, or blend sounds by age 4–5
– Has trouble recognising the first sound in a word, or thinking of other words that start the same way
– Has speech sound difficulties or unclear speech, which can make it harder to hear and learn individual sounds
– Is falling behind the milestones above for their age
Research shows that phonological awareness therapy works best when it starts before school entry, or during Kindergarten, rather than in the later primary years [9]. This means early identification is essential. If you’re unsure, it’s worth checking in early.
We begin assessment on phonological awareness and from the age of four years old. Although it is never too early to start working on these important pre-literacy skills.
Simple ways to practise phonological awareness at home
You don’t need special resources to build these skills — just everyday moments:
– Sing nursery rhymes and songs together, and pause before the rhyming word to see if your child can guess it
– Read picture books with rhyme or repetition, and point out words that sound alike
– Clap out the syllables in names, foods or toys (“ba-na-na” — three claps!)
– Play “I Spy” using sounds instead of colours (e.g. “I spy something that starts with /b/”)
– Talk about sounds during daily routines — bath time, car rides, or the supermarket are all easy opportunities
Keep it playful. These games work best when they feel like fun, not formal practice.
