Phoneme Counting Cards

Phoneme. Kind of sounds like a foreign word, doesn’t it? Basically, a phoneme is an individual sound in a word. Some phoneme sounds are simple, like /b/, while others are a little more complicated, like /sh/. Learning to listen for and manipulate phonemes {also called “phonemic awareness”} is a vitally important skill needed for reading. It’s actually one of the biggest predictors of success in learning to read!

Listening for and counting phonemes in words can be difficult because you can’t see phonemes. You only hear them. Until now! These phoneme counting cards, like our syllable counting cards, help kids SEE the phonemes as hear them. Then kids are ready to count how many are in each word! {Note: our download link can be found at the END of this post.}

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Phoneme Counting Cards

Counting phonemes can be confusing even for adults, as the number of phonemes is not always equal to the number of letters in a word. For example, block has 5 letters, but only 4 phonemes because the ck makes one sound {or one phoneme.} You can read more about phonemes in our 7-day pre-reading series. We also have a Phoneme Counting Activity Pack that includes clip cards and pictures for counting phonemes. But today, we’re sharing our NEWEST addition: Phoneme Counting Cards.

 

I pulled a few LEGO bricks from our HUGE collection for my son {Kindergarten} to use as he counted the phonemes in words. For example, rabbit has five phonemes. /r/-/a/-/b/-/i/-/t/.

 

If you don’t have LEGO bricks, you can substitute them with things like snap cubes, transparent counters, small pom-poms, pony beads, foam cubes or even pennies! Here we are counting the two phonemes in zoo – /z/-/oo/.

 

Make them Self-Checking

First, what does “self-checking” even mean? In a setting where you are teaching multiple children this is key! Often times, we ask kids to do an activity independently. And just a side note: independent activities should NOT be teaching kids new information; independent means that it is something they can do with independence, like reviewing what you’ve already taught them.

But when we can, we want to give kids a way to quickly check their answers so they are able to gauge their answers. A SIMPLE way to make these cards self-checking is to write the number of phonemes on the back of each card. That way the child can then turn them over and check their answer. Easy peasy!

 

 

 

More Resources:

• 3 Important Skills Needed for Reading {7-day series}
• Counting Sounds in Words Pack
• Syllable Counting Cards
• Beginning Blend BINGO
• Beginning and Ending Sounds Activities

 

 

>>Download these FREE Phoneme Counting Cards HERE.<<

 

 

 

 

~Becky