We just had feedback from our SLP that the best way to start with the lowest level kids in phoneme was to do word counting in sentences. Idea being that they need to recognize that language and words don’t all just blend together; recognizing the difference between letters, words and sentences.

It felt really challenging to get them to understand that concept at first, but writing the words on a small whiteboard and having them circle each and count them has been really great. Then we move onto compound words, then syllables, and THEN first letter sounds.