Phoneme Counting Worksheets

This set of three worksheets has been designed to help students develop their phonemic awareness skills by counting the number of phonemes (sounds) in a word. Each worksheet features a series of pictures, and students are asked to look at the picture and then count how many phonemes they can hear in the word that represents that picture.

These worksheets are perfect in the early stages of phonemic awareness and can be used as a standalone activity or as part of a larger lesson on phoneme segmentation. 

The first worksheet features pictures, and here are examples of how these words would be segmented into phonemes:

• Shower (sh-ow-er) – 3
• Spider (s-p-i-d-er) – 5
• Shovel (sh-o-v-el) – 4
• Rooster (r-oo-s-t-er) – 5
• Mouth (m-ou-th) – 3
• Bone (b-o-ne) – 3
• Skate (s-k-a-te) – 4
• Frog (f-r-o-g) – 4
• Bag (b-a-g) – 3
• Clock (c-l-o-ck) – 4
• Lunch (l-u-n-ch) – 4
• Spoon (s-p-oo-n) – 4

An answer key is included with your download to make grading fast and easy!  

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding  

In addition to individual student work time, use this worksheet as a:

• specific rotation or guided group 
• lesson exit ticket
• homework assignment
• whole-class review (via smartboard)

While students won’t need to know the grapheme that represents each of the phonemes – this may be a good activity to extend fast finishers – can they have a go at writing each of the words out once they’ve segmented the word into its phonemes? 

For students who need extra assistance, you might like only to have them have a go at one line at a time, breaking the worksheet into smaller, more achievable goals while having some manipulatives handy, too!

Easily Download & Print

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of 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. 

Turn this teaching resource into a sustainable activity by printing on cardboard and slipping it into a write-and-wipe sleeve. 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. 

This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.