What is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the specific skill that involves the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds, known as phonemes, in spoken words. This foundational skill is critical for developing reading and writing abilities because it enables learners to connect sounds to their corresponding letters and to blend, segment, and manipulate sounds for effective decoding of words.

For example, when children demonstrate phonemic awareness, they can recognize that the word "cat" consists of three sounds: /k/, /æ/, and /t/. They might also be able to combine these sounds to say the word or split them apart to identify how many sounds are in the word. This skill is crucial for understanding how sounds work together in spoken language and for advancing to reading and spelling in written language.

The other choices focus on different aspects of literacy development. While reading fluency, writing skills, and comprehension of written language are all important, they are not specific to phonemic awareness and do not capture the essence of breaking down and manipulating sounds in speech.