These stages indicate the approximate age your child should be doing the following:

 

1. Awareness of Rhyming Words (around 3-4 years)

Your child is able to identify words that rhyme. For example, "Do these two words rhyme pail-tail?" or "Finish this rhyme, red-bed, cat- ____."

 

2. Awareness of Syllables (around 4-5 years)

Your child realises that words are made up of syllables. For example, "Can you clap the syllables (or word parts) in elephant?" (3 syllables).

 

3. Awareness of Onsets and Rimes - Sound Substitution (around 6 years)

Your child is aware of onsets and rimes in words. For example, "What rhymes with /at/ and begins with /f/?" (fat)

 

4. Sound Isolation - Awareness of Beginning, Middle and Ending Sounds (around 6 years)

Your child identifies the beginning, middle and ending sounds in words. For example, "What is the beginning sound in pack?" "What is the ending sound in big?”, "What sound do you hear in the middle of button?"

 

5. Phonemic Blending (around 6 years)

Your child is able to blend (‘put together’) phonemes/sounds presented verbally. For example, after hearing /c/ /a/ /t/ said in a stretched pronunciation, the child says 'cat'.

 

6. Phoneme Segmentation (around 6-7 years)

Your child is able to segment (‘pull apart’) the sounds in a word. For example, "How many sounds do you hear in the word dog?" or "What sounds do you hear in the word man?"

 

7. Phoneme Manipulation (around 7+ years)

Your child is able to omit or substitute phonemes/sounds to make new words. For example, "What word would you have if you changed the /b/ in book to a /t/?" (took) or "What word would you have if we took away the /t/ in stand?" (sand).