What skill does phonemic awareness focus on?

Phonemic awareness is a crucial component of early literacy development that specifically focuses on the ability to manipulate sounds in spoken words. This skill involves recognizing and playing with the individual sounds, or phonemes, that make up words, such as identifying, blending, segmenting, and deleting sounds. For instance, a child may be asked to take the word "cat," identify its three phonemes (/k/, /æ/, /t/), and blend them to say the word. By engaging in such activities, children develop the foundational skills necessary for decoding and spelling, which are vital for future reading and writing success.

The focus on spoken sounds distinguishes phonemic awareness from other skills like reading fluency, writing skills, and understanding written texts, which involve different capacities such as speed in reading, composing written language, and comprehending the meaning of text, respectively. Phonemic awareness is an essential precursor to these other skills, serving as a building block for effective literacy instruction.