3.2 Explicitly Teach Phoneme Manipulation

Now it’s time to teach! Here’s a research-based approach that we recommend, with examples of language you could use if this is new to you. 

In teaching phoneme manipulations we follow this order: first deletion, then addition, then substitution. Each of the three skills of phoneme manipulation needs to be taught in isolation, so we don’t confuse students. Depending on how quickly your students pick it up, we recommend you work on each element for several minutes every day over the course of one week. You’ll start with deletion, then move on to addition, and finally teach substitution.  This lesson teaches students how to delete a phoneme. 

First, review segmenting and blending phonemes. If your students have learned that vowel sounds have both short and long sounds, review these also. 

You might say something like,

A phoneme is the smallest sound we hear when we say words. We have learned to hear the sounds and put them back together to make whole words. Remember?

Let’s stretch and say the word sit:

/s/, /ĭ/, /t/

Sit!

Now, we will learn to change individual sounds to make new words. You’ll listen for where the sounds are: at the beginning, middle, or end of each word.”

Review the meanings of these positional words.

Next, tell students what they'll be learning.

You might explain,

What if I take away the /s/ sound in sit? 

What’s left? 

That’s right! It! 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be learning to take away, add, and change sounds in words.

Explain that you will be using felt squares to learn this skill. Using felt squares instead of printed letters helps the students focus on the sounds in the word. Each square stands for one sound (phoneme) in a word. Let them know that this is an important step on their road to becoming a reader and speller. 

You will use a gradual release approach, or I Do, We Do, You Do, to teach the skill.  First, tell your children that “it’s my turn” and that it’s their job to watch and listen. Then, model how to delete sounds in a word with Tap and Say strategies using felts squares.

Lay out three felt squares on a table or stick them to your board.

You say:

The word is see.

I see a yellow pencil.

See.

Touch each felt square and say each sound in the word see.

You say:

/s/, /ē/

Tell students which sound to remove.

You say:

Now say see without the /s/.

Remove the felt square in that position. Move your finger under the felts as you blend the sounds and say the remaining sound.

You say:

/ē/

Students try deleting phonemes with you (in other words, supported practice).

1. Tell students, “It is now time to try some words together.”  Give them each a set of felts to use on the table in front of them.
2. Dictate additional pre-selected words to children and guide them to use the strategy you just modeled. You can do your own on the table or board as they give it a try. 

After giving children a word, have them repeat the word so you know they heard it correctly. 

Support students as they practice phoneme deletion independently.

1. Tell students that it’s their turn to try some words.
2. Dictate a word and ask them to delete a sound and say the remaining word aloud as a group. It might look something like this:

You say:

The word is mow.

I had to mow the grass.

Mow.

What word?

Students say:

Mow

You say:

Touch and say the sounds in mow.

Students tap each felt and say:

/m/, /ō/

You say:

Now remove the /m/ sound.

Students should slide away the first felt.

You say:

Say mow without the /m/.

Students say:

/ō/

3. Continue presenting words for children to try independently. You will call on individual students to practice with felt squares while other students watch and stand ready to help. Accurately articulating the phonemes is essential.  Watch for added schwas or “vowelization” of the consonants.  For example: Students should say /b/ not /b//uh/.

4. Support any students who may be struggling by modeling the correct answer. Then have those students independently repeat what you demonstrated.

When students can delete the first and last phoneme in a two-phoneme word with continuants (such as see and mow), you can then have them practice deletion with two-phoneme stop words (such as bee and too). After that, they can move on to three-phoneme words, where students will practice deleting phonemes in all three positions: beginning, end, and middle. You can find word suggestions for each step on our Phoneme Manipulation Word List. (opens in new window)

Once your students are confident in deleting phonemes in all three positions (beginning, end, middle), you can move on to teaching phoneme addition using the same I Do, We Do, You Do approach outlined above. Here’s a sample lesson plan for phoneme addition (opens in new window) with three-phoneme words.

And when your students can add phonemes in all three positions, you can teach phoneme substitution in the same way.  Here’s a sample lesson plan for phoneme substitution (opens in new window) with three-phoneme words.

After you’ve explicitly modeled and practiced phoneme manipulation, students should continue to practice independently. This will build accuracy and fluency.  Once students can manipulate phonemes with fidelity, they have mastered phonemic awareness skills and can skillfully apply this understanding to their reading and spelling of words.

Some students may need ongoing review manipulating sounds in words with automaticity. A quick 2-3 minute review daily will likely be all these students need to become fluent with these skills. For students who are already fluent, you do not need to continue phonological awareness instruction. If you are unsure of your students’ proficiency with this skill, you can use the quick assessment (opens in new window) to check their progress.