Demonstration
How to Teach a Phonics Lesson (opens in a new tab)
Reading Universe · F-2 · USA
A series that shows a strong phonics lesson routine and teaches you how to deliver it.
FreeOpens at readinguniverse.org
Literacy
Phonological and phonemic awareness
How children learn to hear and work with the sounds in spoken words, from syllables and rhyme down to single phonemes, and why phoneme awareness grows fastest when it is taught alongside letters. I've gathered classroom videos and reading on phonological and phonemic awareness, from blending and segmenting to phoneme manipulation, and on why it grows fastest when it is taught alongside letters.
Practices in this area:Syllables, onset and rimePhoneme blendingPhoneme segmentingElkonin boxesSound chaining
Watch 8
Lesson footage
Identifying syllables (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 1:14 · F-2 · Australia
A short clip of a teacher and a small group on the carpet practising the phonemic awareness skill of identifying syllables.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Phoneme isolation and manipulation (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 1:55 · F-2 · Australia
A teacher works with a small group on isolating and changing the sounds in spoken words, a quick oral routine with no letters needed.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Videos: See phoneme segmentation and blending in the classroom (opens in a new tab)
Reading Universe · F-2 · USA
Six short classroom clips, most from Atlanta schools. Teachers lead spoken blending and segmenting games, and a kindergarten teacher builds words with letters and blends the sounds to read them.
FreeOpens at readinguniverse.org
Lesson footage
Phoneme isolation and manipulation 2 (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 1:16 · F-2 · Australia
A second short clip of a teacher leading students through phoneme isolation and manipulation, seated in a circle on the floor.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Manipulation of sounds (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 1:03 · F-2 · Australia
A Foundation class on their feet playing with the sounds in words, a lively whole-class phonemic awareness warm-up.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Video: See phoneme manipulation in the classroom (opens in a new tab)
Reading Universe · F-2 · USA
Ashley Powell, a first grade teacher in Oklahoma, works with a small group. Students touch a felt square for each sound, say the phonemes, then swap one sound to make a new word.
FreeOpens at readinguniverse.org
Lesson footage
Rhyming activity (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 0:32 · F-2 · Australia
Thirty seconds of a whole-class rhyming routine, a quick model of how brisk and simple phonemic awareness practice can be.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Learn 3
Explainer
PaTTAN Literacy Snippets (opens in a new tab)
PaTTAN · F-6 · USA
Short videos that each introduce one literacy topic.
FreeOpens at sites.google.com
Talk
Susan Brady: Phoneme awareness: What we now know (opens in a new tab)
Oregon RTIi, with Susan Brady · About 1 hour 15 minutes · USA
Susan Brady presents on phoneme awareness and what is now known about it, in a session of about 75 minutes shared by Oregon RTIi.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Explainer
What is phonemic awareness? (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · 1:53 · Australia
A two-minute animation on what phonemic awareness is and why it matters for learning to read.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Read 6
Should we do phoneme awareness activities without letters? (opens in a new tab)
Alison Clarke, Spelfabet · Blog post · 2022 · Australia
Weighs up the debate about oral-only phonemic awareness. The evidence favours using letters, though short spoken blending and segmenting games still have a place before school and in intervention.
FreeOpens at spelfabet.com.au
Phonemic Awareness: Widely Accepted, But Misunderstood (opens in a new tab)
Jen O'Sullivan · Substack · 2025 · International
Explains what research says about teaching phonemic awareness, including why short, focused practice linked to letters works better than long oral-only sessions before children see print.
FreeOpens at readwritejen.substack.com
What the research says about phonemic awareness instruction (opens in a new tab)
Liana Loewus, Reading Universe · Article · USA
A short summary of the research, from the National Reading Panel's findings to the current advice that most children do best when phoneme awareness is taught with letters.
FreeOpens at readinguniverse.org
Educators Were Sold a Story About Phonemic Awareness (opens in a new tab)
Karen Vaites (The Curriculum Insight Project) · Substack · 2026 · USA
Karen Vaites traces how a stand-alone oral phonemic awareness program became widespread in US schools, and why recent research favours linking sounds to letters instead.
FreeOpens at curriculuminsightproject.substack.com
Phonemic awareness (opens in a new tab)
Five from Five · Guide · Australia
Five from Five's teacher guide to phonemic awareness, covering what it is, why it matters for reading and spelling, and how to teach it.
FreeOpens at fivefromfive.com.au
Beyond Memorising Whole Words (opens in a new tab)
Jen O'Sullivan · Substack · 2025 · International
Explains why skilled readers recognise words through orthographic mapping rather than visual memory, and the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in building that store of words.
FreeOpens at readwritejen.substack.com
Research 1
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (opens in a new tab)
What Works Clearinghouse · Practice guide · USA
A practice guide with four recommendations for teaching early reading. The second is to develop awareness of the sounds in speech and how they link to letters, with steps for putting it into practice.
FreeOpens at ies.ed.gov