Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Awareness is a subset of phonological awareness and includes the ability to identify, isolate, and manipulate phonemes in spoken words. These are sound level activities​.​ Phonemic Awareness is the most important part of phonological awareness for reading and writing. It is one of the most important elements for decoding and one of the most robust predictors for future reading success​.

Because these skills are all about the sounds we hear (not the letter names that connect to these sounds), these activities can be completed anywhere and everywhere - in the car, in the bath, during game play or reading, or even in the dark! As children develop the ability to isolate, blend and segment individual sounds in words, we can begin to help them learn which letters represent those sounds. 

Phonemic Awareness is the most important part of phonological awareness for reading and writing. It is one of the most important elements for decoding and one of the most robust predictors for future reading success​.

You can practice building phonemic awareness skills, encouraging your child to practice squishing together and pulling apart sounds in words, and show them how sounds and words can be manipulated or changed. 

Click each skill to see a selection of activity ideas for each of the different skills. Remember, even if your child has mastered some of the earlier developing / easier skills, reviewing these together can still be lots of fun!​