What is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness can be defined as the ability to hear and pronounce phonemes (spoken sounds), without access to print. 

When your child first starts their educational journey, one  of the most important stepping stones in their education is phonemic awareness.

A child needs to hear and say letter sounds without seeing them. Being aware of sound recognition is  an important part of learning the link between letters and sounds. After phonemic awareness is developed the next stepping stone is phonics, a method of learning reading that connects letters with phonemes (spoken sounds).

E.g.

f - l - a - g

t - a - g

b - ea - s - t

Each letter or group of letters makes a different sound and can be sounded out and then blended back together to read the word. 

 

 

You can find out more about phonemic awareness and the method of phonics by taking a look at our Parent Guide:

Parents Phonics Guide