PHONEMIC AWARENESS

One of the challenges of teaching children to read written languages that have phonemes (sounds) as the basis of their code is that they must learn to identify phonemes in words. This is made all the more challenging by the fact that the idea of physically discrete phonemes within words is an illusion. In reality, the sounds within a spoken word are continuous, and the recognition of individual phonemes within them is a skill required for reading and developed by reading.

The ability to discern discrete phonemes within words is called phonemic awareness. (The ability to recognise units of sound within speech more generally - be they phonemes, syllables, whole words, etc. - is called phonological awareness. Thus phonemic awareness is an aspect of phonological awareness.)

(The Art & Science of Teaching Primary Reading, Christopher Such)

Early Phonological Awareness

These skills usually develop in preschoolers, with appropriate experiences, and include rhyming, alliteration, syllable segmentation, and first-sound matching in words that are found in alliterative phrases (e.g., 'Whose names starts like brown bear? Bobby, that's right.') These skills facilitate early matching of printed letters to letter names and letter sounds.

(LETRS, Louisa Moats & Carol Tolman)

Basic Phonemic Awareness

This level typically develops in Kindergarten and first grade. They include phoneme segmentation and blending of single syllable words without consonant blends. Orally blending and segmenting simple words is critical for basic decoding and phonetically accurate spelling, or achievement of Ehri's (2014) later alphabetic phase of reading development. Beyond first grade, however, these skills are not as useful as predictors as they occur earlier in development and lose their power to explain good and poor reading.

(LETRS, Louisa Moats & Carol Tolman)

Advanced Phonemic Awareness

These skills continue to develop through about fourth grade in a normally progressing student. Advanced skills include the ability to substitute sounds for one another in a spoken word, reverse the order of sounds (e.g., 'Say sigh, Now say the last sound first and the first sound last. What word?'), and insert or delete sounds to make new words.

Problems with advanced phonemic awareness may go undetected by teachers once students are past first grade. It is recommended that any student who is less than proficient in reading and spelling, no matter what age, should have his or her phonological skills tested with a screener that includes advanced phoneme manipulations and that accounts for the automaticity of student response.

(LETRS, Louisa Moats & Carol Tolman)