CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.2

ELA1st GradePhonological Awareness

The Standard

Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students listen closely to spoken words and identify syllables and individual sounds. They blend sounds into one-syllable words, segment words, and name beginning, middle, and ending sounds.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can blend separate sounds to say a word and break a spoken word into all its sounds. The student can identify beginning, middle, and ending sounds and hear short and long vowel differences.
Common Misconceptions: Students may confuse letters with sounds or count letter names instead of phonemes. They may treat consonant pairs such as sh as two sounds or miss the middle vowel sound.
How to Assess It: Give each student four oral prompts: clap the syllables in sunset, blend /m/ /ă/ /p/, segment fish, and name the middle sound in map.

Lesson moves

Give students counters and sound boxes, then have them push one counter for each sound they hear in spoken words.
Ask, "What sound changes between ship and shop, and where do you hear it?"
Play Sound Switch: say map, ask students to change /m/ to /t/, and have them answer tap.
Read items from the lunch menu, then have students clap each word's syllables and sort the words by first sound.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.2, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Learning progression

If students are struggling here, check these first.

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