At Sounds good to me we want to ensure that all children are ready to learn when they arrive at school. Children who are prepared and are ready to learn will thrive at school!
Sound awareness or phonological awareness is a big part of being ready to learn to read. Sounds awareness is when children understand that words are made up of separate sounds. They can hear these sounds and understand that letters and sounds can go together. Children who can hear individual sounds in words – for example that chair starts which the ch sound – are going to have an easier time learning how to read than children who don’t have sound awareness skills.
You can learn more about sounds awareness skills by becoming a member of Sounds good to me. In our programs we show educators and parents how to teach children sound awareness through games and books.
This month I am talking about rhyming, which is an early sounds awareness skill. Rhyming is a really fun way for children to start to learn sound awareness. Let’s take a moment to look a little deeper at rhyming. There is more to it than meets the ear!
Rhyming words sound the same at the end. Don’t worry about how they are spelt. Rhyming is all about how words sound. For example, words that rhyme end with the same vowel and consonant sound (but can have different spellings).
stay – prey – weigh – bouquet.
rain – vein – lane
who – moo – flue
Songs and games with rhyming words are an important part of any early childhood program. Children’s books use rhyme to create rhythm and interest. This is one way that children begin to be able to hear that words contain smaller parts. They can hear that last sounds in the words are the same! Clever aren’t they?
As educators and parents, we can teach children rhyming songs and stories. Rhyming skills are an early sound awareness skill and most children will learn how to recognise rhymes, so it is not a strong predictor of later reading success. Rhyming activities are fun and engaging and most children are good at rhyming and they love it. If a child can’t rhyme, it may indicate a need for more focused assessment and intervention of their sound system.
Not all rhyming activities are equal and some are more difficult than others. Recognising a rhyming word is easier than thinking of a rhyming word. That’s why children will often make up nonsense words that rhyme. It is important to build on early skills.
Anne
Are you interested in a new way of supporting training and development for you and your team?
For educators
The Sounds good to me course is designed for early childhood services and centres. It provides excellent professional development for your team as well as everything you need to implement a fun, play based program of lessons and activities suitable for your 3-5 year group.
For parents
Would you like to learn simple and effective ways you can help your child be ready for school?
Sounds good to me – for parents created by Speech Pathologists, covers all aspects of early literacy (language and reading) skills that your child needs before they start school. Each video lesson comes with downloadable games, activities and information.
Does this sound good to you?