Phoneme Substitution Task Cards for Focused Auditory Learning

This set of phoneme substitution task cards provides students with an excellent auditory-based approach to phonemic awareness. Students will listen as their teachers read various prompts, such as, “Say hat. Change the /h/ to /c/.” They then say “cat” and find an image of a cat on their task card, marking it with a whiteboard marker or placing a token on it. 

This activity effectively fosters both listening and phonemic awareness skills.

Auditory Phoneme Substitution Activities

These task cards are perfect for a variety of phoneme substitution activities. Here are some great examples from our resident teacher team:

• After reading out the phoneme substitution prompts (e.g., “Change the ‘h’ in ‘hat’ to ‘c’”), have students quickly raise the corresponding image card (e.g., “cat”), encouraging active listening and fast thinking.
• Play a phoneme substitution version of bingo, where students try to fill up their boards by matching substituted words with the correct images.
• Set up a phoneme substitution station where students listen to different prompts and find the matching image on the boards, reinforcing phonemic awareness.
• In small groups, read out the phoneme substitution prompts and have each group race to find the correct image card. The group with the most correct matches wins!

Download and Substitute Phonemes Today!

Help your students substitute phonemes like pros with this engaging classroom resource. Use the dropdown menu to choose between the easy-to-print PDF version or the editable Google Slides version, giving you flexibility in how you use it!

For durability, we recommend printing on card stock or laminating the materials to ensure the longevity of this phoneme substitution activity.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Other Phoneme Manipulation Activities for Sound Recognition

Phoneme substitution falls under the broader category of phoneme manipulation. If you’re seeking more engaging phoneme manipulation activities, you’re in the right place—we’ve got you covered!

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