What is phonological awareness?

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in spoken language. This skill involves tasks like identifying and isolating sounds, blending sounds together, segmenting words into individual sounds, and recognizing rhymes. Phonological awareness is a crucial foundational skill for learning to read and write, as it helps children understand that words are made up of different sounds and how these sounds come together to form words. By developing phonological awareness, children gain the ability to decode words, which is essential for effective reading.

The other options refer to different literacy skills. Reading with fluency and expression relates to the ability to read smoothly and with appropriate vocal tones, while understanding and interpreting written texts involves comprehending the meanings of words and sentences in reading materials. Producing coherent written sentences pertains to writing skills, focusing on the organization and clarity of thoughts in written form. While all these components are important in literacy development, they do not define phonological awareness.