Counting Sounds with Phonics Worksheets

Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words. This is a vital skill for our students if they are to become successful decoders (readers) and encoders (writers). Listening to words and being able to isolate and count the distinct sounds they contain is a key part of this process.

This phonics resource includes a set of five worksheets. Answers are also included in this resource. Each worksheet contains six pictures. Students are required to:

• look at the picture
• say the word aloud
• count the number of phonemes they hear
• colour in the corresponding number of circles.

As an alternative, students may like to use stamps or thumbprints to ‘dab’ over the top of the circles.

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 have a go at encoding (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 them visualise 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 thick card and slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse.

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 Download button to select between the PDF or Google slides version of this resource.

This resource was created by Anna Helwig, a Teach Starter collaborator.