In this week’s Talking Together, Hermione and Georgia unpack the foundation of reading: phonological awareness (PA)—all the sound play that comes before letter–sound correspondence. You’ll get simple ways to practise PA in everyday routines (no worksheets, no apps), plus a quick chat about the rise in sensory needs and why more outdoorsy, heavy-work play still matters.
What You'll Learn:
PA: what it is and why it sits under early reading and spelling.
The core skills (in order): rhyming → alliteration → syllables → first/last/middle sounds → sorting sounds → segmenting → blending.
How to model it naturally: book time, car time, line-up games, “sound hunts”, name play.
Teacher/parent traps to avoid: don’t lean on letters too soon; skip tricky clusters for sound sorts (e.g., tr- in “tree”).
When progress stalls: meet kids where they’re at, shrink the step, then level up.
Sensory link: why less outdoor play can show up as attention/“rough play”—and what to add back in.
Show notes:
Grattan Institute: Australia’s reading fail — https://grattan.edu.au/news/australias-reading-fail/
Nkurunziza, Sheila. (2024). The Role of Phonological Awareness in Early Reading Development. European Journal of Linguistics, 3, 15–26. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382213485_The_Role_of_Phonological_Awareness_in_Early_Reading_Development