Understanding consonant sounds is one of the first steps in phonics instruction. Several engaging activities can build recognition of these sounds. After reviewing the sounds particular letters make, play a name game, in which students name words that begin with the sounds of different letters. Set out items and ask students to identify the sounds or letters that each item begins with. Have children glue items that begin with a particular letter onto a cut out of the letter, for example, pasta on "P," seeds on "S" or cotton on "C." Draw three boxes on a piece of paper and have children put a button in the box where they hear a sound of a particular letter in a given word; for example, they might place a button in the third box to indicate that they hear the "T" sound at the end of "cat."
Once children understand individual consonant sounds, they can begin learning about digraphs and blends. Digraphs are two letters that, when combined, create a single consonant sound, such as "sh," "th" and "ch." Blends are groups of letters in which each consonant sound can be heard, for example, "bl," "dr" and "est." Again, use interactive activities to build an awareness of digraphs and blends. Encourage children to think of lists of words that contain a given digraph or blend. Offer lists of words and have children identify the digraph or blend in each one. Print out pictures of items and have the children group the pictures that illustrate words that contain common digraphs or blends.
Understanding the common sounds heard in rhyming words is an important part of phonemic awareness. To teach rhyming, use games and activities that enable children to make connections with words that share common sounds. Draw pictures of items on index cards and have children match the cards that illustrate words that rhyme: a cat with a bat, or a pig with a wig, for example. Say a word and have the children provide another word that rhymes with it; the first child to state a rhyming word earns a point, and the child with the most points wins. Read books that contain rhyming words; after reading each page, have children name the words that rhyme.
Word families indicate words that share common rimes. Unlike rhyming words, which contain sounds that create similar sounds, rimes refer to the initial vowel sound and the consonants that follow. While some rhymes may be rimes, not all rimes rhyme. Teach children common rimes and have them add different onsets, or initial consonant, blend or digraph sounds, to create different words. For instance, when learning the rime "og," children can add an "l" to make "log," a "j" to make "jog" and an "fr" to make "frog." State a series of words that contain the same rimes and one word that doesn't and ask children to identify the word that doesn't fit.