Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify and substitute (swap, delete or add) the smallest units of sound in a spoken word.
Phonemic awareness helps children understand that words are made up of individual sounds (phonemes) and that these sounds are represented by letters. This foundational skill enables children to decode (read) and encode (spell) words, making it easier to sound out unfamiliar words and spell them correctly. Phonemic awareness also supports fluency in reading, as children become more confident in recognising and blending sounds quickly.
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