Phonological awareness develops gradually, beginning in the preschool years and continuing through elementary school. Understanding how these developmental phonological skills typically unfold helps parents and educators recognize when children are progressing as expected—and when additional support may be needed.
It is important to note that the information below serves as a general developmental guide, not an official scope and sequence. Nor do all of these skills need to be explicitly taught. Children develop at different rates, and high-quality instruction can significantly influence how quickly and successfully these skills emerge.
At every stage, blending and segmenting remain the most critical developmental phonological skills for reading and spelling development.
Age 4: Enjoying Rhyme and Sound Play
Around age four, children typically demonstrate enjoyment of:
- Nursery rhymes
- Songs with alliteration
- Repetitive sound patterns
Examples include laughing at rhymes like cat, hat, bat or enjoying playful language such as “Sally sang silly songs.”
At this stage, children are not yet expected to analyze sounds deeply. Instead, they are developing ear training—the ability to notice that language is made up of sounds.
Age 5: Recognizing Rhyme and Counting Syllables
By age five, many children can:
- Identify rhyming words
- Clap or count syllables in words
- Recognize that words can be broken into parts
For example, a child may correctly identify that bat and hat rhyme or recognize that turtle has two syllables.
These developmental phonological skills set the stage for later blending and segmenting, even though phonemes are not yet fully isolated.
Age 5½: Blending Onset and Rime
At approximately five and a half, children often begin:
- Blending onset and rime (c-at → cat)
- Producing rhyming words
- Isolating beginning sounds in words
This is an important transition point. Children start moving from general sound awareness to more precise phonemic awareness—essential for decoding.
Age 6: Blending and Segmenting Simple Phonemes
Around age six, phonological skills become more refined. Many children can:
- Blend 2–3 phoneme words (s-u-n)
- Segment simple words into individual sounds
- Delete syllables from words (say tulip without tu)
This is where blending and segmenting truly take center stage. These developmental phonological skills directly support learning to read and spell.
Age 6½: Segmenting Longer Words and Phoneme Substitution
By six and a half, children may:
- Segment words with up to four phonemes (including blends)
- Substitute sounds to make new words (cat → bat)
This flexibility with sounds allows children to decode unfamiliar words and supports spelling accuracy.
Age 7: Phoneme Deletion (Initial and Final Sounds)
At age seven, children often demonstrate the ability to:
- Remove initial sounds (seed without /s/ → eed)
- Remove final sounds
These tasks require strong internal sound representations and are closely tied to spelling and reading fluency.
Age 8: Phoneme Deletion With Blends
By age eight, children may:
- Delete initial sounds in words with blends (sled without /s/ → led)
- Manipulate sounds more efficiently
These advanced phonemic developmental phonological skills support automatic word recognition and comprehension.
Age 9: Complex Phoneme Manipulation
Around age nine, children may:
- Delete medial or final sounds in blends
- Perform complex sound manipulation tasks
These developmental phonological skills reflect a highly developed phonological system, which supports fluent reading and advanced spelling.
Why Blending and Segmenting Matter Most
While phonological awareness includes many developmental phonological skills, blending and segmenting are the most essential for literacy success.
Blending and segmenting:
- Teach children to hear and combine individual sounds (phonemes)
- Enable decoding of unfamiliar words
- Support accurate spelling
- Improve reading fluency and comprehension
- Allow children to read and write independently
Without strong blending and segmenting developmental phonological skills, children struggle to connect sounds to letters. This disconnect makes reading slow, effortful, and frustrating—even with exposure to phonics instruction.
A Note on Instruction and Development
This developmental outline reflects what 80–90% of typically developing children may achieve at various ages under quality instruction. However, it is not a prescribed scope and sequence and should never be used as a diagnostic tool.
High-quality, explicit instruction—especially instruction that prioritizes blending and segmenting—can accelerate progress and close gaps for students who struggle.
Final Thoughts
Phonological awareness is the foundation of reading and spelling with Aligned Academics. When instruction focuses intentionally on blending and segmenting within a developmentally informed framework, children are far more likely to become confident, fluent readers.Understanding development helps guide instruction—but effective teaching changes outcomes.
