Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and work with the individual SOUNDS in spoken word.  Before children learn to read words in print, they need to become aware of how the SOUNDS in words work.  There are several ways children can demonstrate and practice their phonemic awareness skills.

RECOGNIZE
Can a child recognize that words in a given set begin with the same sound?
Ask - "What sound do you hear at the beginning of the words BELL, BIKE, and BOY?"

ISOLATE
Can a child isolate the beginning, middle, or final sound of a target word?
Ask - "Can you tell me the first sound in the word ball?
Can you tell me the last sound in the word red?
Can you tell me the middle sound in the word dog?

BLEND
Can a child take the individual sounds in a word and blend them together?
Ask - "Can you put these sounds together to make a word - /t/ /o/ /p/?"

SEGMENT
Can a child segment the individual sounds in a word?
Ask - "Can you tell me each sound in the word hat (/h/ /a/ /t/)?"