Counting Sounds = The Building Blocks of Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words. This is a vital skill for our students to become successful readers and writers. Listening to words and isolating and counting the distinct sounds they contain is a key part of this process.

This phonics resource requires students to count the number of phonemes in common words. It includes two differentiated sets of worksheets, with five worksheets in each set. Set 1 should be provided to more-confident students. Set 2 provides extra scaffolding that may be required by some students when completing this activity. 

• Set 1: Students say the word that matches the picture, then write the number of sounds they hear in the box.
• Set 2: Students say the word that matches the picture, cut out the number that matches the sounds they hear and paste it into the box.

Tips for Extension and Scaffolding

Check out these suggestions for providing additional support or extension to your diverse range of learners.

Challenge your more-capable learners to practice spelling each word by segmenting and blending the phonemes. Alternatively, have students create a table on the back of their paper and sort each word into 2, 3, or 4 phonemes.

Support your less-confident learners by allowing them to use manipulatives like counters or connecting cubes to help visualize each sound in the word. Support students in doing this with the first few pictures, then have them complete the rest of the words independently. 

A Variety of Ways to Prepare This Resource

Because this resource includes an answer sheet, we recommend you print one copy of the entire file. Then, make photocopies of the blank worksheet for students to complete.

You can also turn this teaching resource into a sustainable activity! Print a few copies on cardstock and slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a dry-erase marker, then erase and reuse them.

Additionally, project the worksheet onto a screen and work through it as a class by having students record their answers in their notebooks.

Download, Print, and Go!

Use the dropdown menu next to the Download button and select the PDF or Google slides version of this resource.

This resource was created by Anna Helwig, a teacher in Arizona and a Teach Starter collaborator.