Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness are foundational literacy skills, with the latter residing under the umbrella of the former. One encompasses a broad understanding of the sound structure of language. It involves the ability to identify and manipulate units of oral language, such as words, syllables, onsets, and rimes. For example, recognizing that “sunshine” is composed of two parts (“sun” and “shine”) demonstrates competence in this broader sound awareness. On the other hand, the other focuses on the smallest units of sound in a language. It is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. For example, recognizing that the word “cat” is composed of the sounds /k/, //, and /t/ demonstrates proficiency in this specific skill.
Developing competence in recognizing and manipulating the sounds of language is crucial for reading and spelling success. Skills in this area are highly predictive of later reading achievement. Explicit instruction in these skills can significantly improve a childs ability to decode words and comprehend text. Historically, educators have recognized the importance of these skills in early literacy development, leading to the development of various instructional approaches and assessments. These approaches and assessments seek to foster and measure these abilities in young learners.
