- Definition
Phonemic awareness is understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds, like knowing the word "cat" has three distinct sounds: /c/, /a/, and /t/. It's being able to play with these sounds, like taking them apart or putting them together.
Knowing that the word 'mat' is made of three separate sounds — /m/, /a/, and /t/ — is an example of phonemic awareness.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Phonemic awareness is like breaking apart a spoken word into its single sound bricks.
Ask your child: What's the first sound you hear in the word 'sun'?
Common mix-up: Kids might think this is about letters. Phonemic awareness is all about hearing and playing with the sounds in spoken words, without seeing any letters.
Examples
- Changing 'cat' to 'at' by taking away the first sound.
- Changing 'mop' to 'top' by swapping the first sound.
- Hearing that 'fish' and 'fun' start with the same sound.
phonemic awareness is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
