- Definition
Phonemic awareness is understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds, like how the word "cat" has three distinct sounds: /c/, /a/, and /t/. It's about being able to hear and play with these tiny sounds in words.
When your child says the word 'mat' is made of the sounds /m/ /a/ /t/, they are using phonemic awareness.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Phonemic awareness is like hearing the separate little sounds that snap together to make a word, just like snapping together Lego bricks.
Ask your child: What sounds do you hear in the word 'cat'?
Common mix-up: Many people think this is about letters or the alphabet. Phonemic awareness is purely about hearing and playing with the individual sounds in spoken words.
Examples
- Putting together the sounds /s/ /u/ /n/ to make the word 'sun'.
- Changing the first sound in 'dog' to /f/ to make the word 'fog'.
- Saying 'pan' without the /p/ sound to get 'an'.
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 ↗
