Phonemic awareness is the only aspect of reading that is essential for children to develop before they can begin learning to read. Based in oral language, phonemic awareness serves as not only the foundation for reading it is also the strongest indicator of a child’s potential for learning to read.

What is Phonemic Awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of phonemes or individual units of sound that influence the meaning of the word. For example, the word “drum” is made up of four individual phonemes: /d/ /r/ /u/ /m/. If you change one of these notice how the meaning of the word changes. When /d/ is replaced by /st/ you have “strum”, a verb meaning to run an object (usually one’s fingers) across an object that makes sound. This is very different than “drum”.

Phonemic awareness is not only the recognition that words are made up of small sound units it is also the ability to break down, manipulate and blend phonemes. A reader needs to be able to apply her understanding of phonemes in order to begin learning to read. She must be taught to transfer her knowledge of phonemes used in oral language to written language.

Elements of Phonemic Awareness

There are three main aspects of phonemic awareness: syllables, rhymes and beginning sounds. Children need to be able to identify and manipulate these elements in order to begin reading.

There are several ways that they can be taught to apply these elements to the words they use in spoken and eventually print language. To help children develop skills for working with syllables, adults can teach them to segment syllables by tapping or clapping and counting the sounds in a word. Rhyming and its companion alliteration (repetition of same beginning sounds in a series of words) are developed through categorization, identification and deletion. Categorization involves recognizing differences in sounds in a series of words. For example, a child may be given “bat”, “but” and “hut” to examine. He would need to categorize these words into two collections of similar words (those beginning with a /b/ sound and those ending with /ut/). Similarly, identification asks children to find the similar sounds in a list of words. This activity does not require them to create a set of categories, but rather to simply identify which words sound the same. Deletion allows children to “play” with words to see how they change when a phoneme is deleted. Consider what happens when /d/ is removed from the word “drum”. It has an entirely different meaning. All three of the elements of phonemic awareness are aided through blending. This strategy is one that a reader uses to put all of the “sound pieces” of a word together.

Determining Phonemic Awareness

A child’s phonemic awareness is most often assessed using a rubric fitting a particular language task. Some of the most common tasks used to determine phonemic awareness are: 1) having a child create a list of rhyming words beginning with a “starter” word provided by the teacher, 2) asking a child to segment a word into its beginning, middle and end sounds and 3) having a child count the number of syllables in a word.

Role of Phonemic Awareness in Reading

Young children must come to reading with phonemic awareness. Research has found that this element of reading is the single strongest indicator for a child’s success at learning to read. While the reasons why phonemic awareness is a necessary pre-requisite to reading are not clear many researchers speculate that the understanding that phonemes are sequences of sounds in language makes children aware of how the alphabet works. In other words phonemic awareness helps children realize that words, regardless of their form (oral or print), are made up of sounds.

Phonemic awareness allows young readers to build another important element of reading: phonics. Phonics (the relationship between letters and sounds) builds upon phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness creates a bridge between spoken and written language. When a child understands and can manipulate sounds verbally, they are ready to transfer this knowledge to printed words.

Impact of Phonemic Awareness on Reading Ability

Beyond serving as an indicator of a child’s ability to learn to read, phonemic awareness also impacts other elements of reading. Strong phonemic awareness when used to segment and blend words helps children increase their abilities to decode and comprehend what they are reading.

A focus on phonemic awareness in reading education seems to have the greatest impact on very young readers. Instruction most benefits children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and the beginning of first grade. At-risk readers should receive more intensive phonemic awareness instruction than their non-disabled peers.

As you learn more about reading development and instruction you may come upon two terms that look quite similar: phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. While the two are often used interchangeably there are slight distinctions between them.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize that words are made up of a variety of sound units. The term encompasses a number of sound related skills necessary for a person to develop as a reader. As a child develops phonological awareness she not only comes to understand that words are made up of small sound units (phonemes). She also learns that words can be segmented into larger sound “chunks” known as syllables and each syllable begin with a sound (onset) and ends with another sound (rime).

When measuring a child’s phonological awareness look at his ability to apply several different skills. A child with strong phonological awareness should be able to recognize and use rhyme, break words into syllables, blend phonemes into syllables and words, identify the beginning and ending sounds in a syllable and see smaller words within larger words (ie. “cat” in “catalog”).

Phonemic Awareness

While phonemic awareness also involves an understanding of the ways that sounds function in words, it deals with only one aspect of sound: the phoneme. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that holds meaning. Almost all words are made up of a number of phonemes blended together. Consider the word “ball”. It is made up of three phonemes: /b/ /aw/ /l/ . Each of its sounds affects the meaning. Take away the /b/ sound and replace it with /w/ and you have an entirely different word. Change the /aw/ for an /e/ sound and again the meaning changes.

Phonemic awareness is just one aspect of phonological awareness. While phonological awareness encompasses a child’s ability to recognize the many ways sounds function in words, phonological awareness is only her understanding of the most minute sound units in words. Because phonemic awareness is a sub-skill under the phonological awareness “umbrella” not all of the measures for determining a reader’s skill level are applied when assessing it. A reader with strong phonemic awareness will demonstrate the ability to hear rhyme and alliteration (the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several different words used in a sentence or paragraph), find the different sound in a set of words (ie. “bat”, “ball”, “wet”) and blend and segment phonemes.

Using These Two Terms

Though there is a distinction between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness the two terms are often used interchangeably. For the most part both are used to refer to what is technically phonological awareness. The more common term used to encompass both skill sets is phonemic awareness. In most literature on reading you will see “phonemic awareness” used. Know when you see this term usually the writer is actually referring to “phonological awareness”.

Because phonemic awareness is a necessary pre-requisite to reading, it is important that it is included in early reading or pre-reading instruction. While there are many ways to teach, the following proven strategies should be considered when teaching phonemic awareness to young children.

Timing and Grouping

Phonemic awareness should be a priority in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and early first grade reading instruction. Studies have found that young children benefit the most from short instructional sessions (up to 30 minutes long) offered in small group settings. Teachers working with small groups should focus on between 2 and 3 phonemic awareness skills at a time to help children solidify these important pre-reading abilities.

>Teaching With or Without Letters?

While phonemic awareness is not dependent on print, children seem to benefit the most from instruction presented with written words. At its very core phonemic awareness is a listening and speaking skill rather than a reading skill. Phonemes are, after all, sounds. Still, research shows that teaching phonemic awareness using letters helps children solidify their skills. Print words allow them to see and apply the connection between sound and letters necessary for reading. Adults working with young readers on developing their phonemic awareness should make explicit connections between sounds and letters by not only including print words in instruction but also drawing the children’s attention to sounds by saying and pointing to letters simultaneously.

Individualized Approach to Instruction

Children come to school with different phonemic awareness levels. Some may have a strong understanding of and ability to apply knowledge of how phonemes function in words while others may have little to no phonemic awareness.

Because it is the primary pre-requisite for reading and is such a strong indicator of future reading ability, the greatest attention should be paid to those students with little or no phonemic awareness.

Clapping and Tapping

One of the easiest ways to help children realize that words are made up of several sounds and syllables is to allow them to “break up” words by clapping or tapping out their syllables. Tapping can be performed with fingers, hands or an object such as a stick. When first introducing this concept, adults should model clapping or tapping. For example, a teacher can show a child that the word “balloon” has two syllables by clapping twice while reciting the word (/ba/ -clap- /loon/ -clap-). Once children understand the activity they should be encouraged to perform it independently on a regular basis. This kinesthetic connection allows children to become actively engaged with words.

Keyword Substitution

This activity aids children in developing an understanding of the role that phonemes play in the meaning of words. When a phoneme is changed in a word, more often than not, the meaning changes. Keyword substitution activities use familiar songs as a basis for “playing” with words. Adults can take the lyrics of a familiar song and create new lyrics that substitute words with small phonemic variations. For instance, the chorus of “Pop Goes the Weasel” could be changed to “Hop Goes the Weasel”. After singing the song with the new lyrics adults should discuss how changing a phoneme shifted the meaning of the song.

Picture Flashcards

Picture flashcards are excellent tools for helping children who do not have strong phonics skills work on their phonemic awareness. Adults should create a series of flashcards featuring pictures that are familiar to the child. When using the flashcards the adult should ask the child to name the picture featured on each card. After saying the word the child should be asked to identify the first and second sounds (or phonemes) in the word. This activity helps children realize that words are made up of a series of independent sounds or phonemes.

Home-School Connection

Because phonemic awareness precedes actual text reading, it is most often developed at home. Parents play an important role in their children’s phonemic awareness. Research has shown that children exposed to print-rich environments at home prior to entering school show much higher levels of phonemic awareness. A print-rich environment is one where reading and writing are evident and important. Parents can model phonemic awareness by reading aloud to their children and allowing their children to see them reading in authentic ways. They can also give their children opportunities to practice language by talking, singing, reciting nursery rhymes, playing guessing games and engaging in early writing activities. Almost any activity involving spoken or written language that parents engage in with their children benefits their development of phonemic awareness.