Children who master phonemic awareness have a sense of the "architecture" of their language.  They also become more comfortable and familiar with their language.  This understanding paves the way for children to understand the alphabetic principle and letter-sound associations.  This professional article provides a sequence of activities that help children become aware of the structure of their language. The authors emphasize the importance of direct instruction in phonemic awareness.  They also acknowledge the challenges with guiding children toward these understandings due to differences with the co-articulation of phonemes, and differences that occur across words, regions, dialects, and individuals.  This article provides access to a sequence of eight phonemic awareness activities.

Children who master phonemic awareness have a sense of the "architecture" of their language.  They also become more comfortable and familiar with their language.  This understanding paves the way for children to understand the alphabetic principle and letter-sound associations.  This professional article provides a sequence of activities that help children become aware of the structure of their language. The authors emphasize the importance of direct instruction in phonemic awareness.  They also acknowledge the challenges with guiding children toward these understandings due to differences with the co-articulation of phonemes, and differences that occur across words, regions, dialects, and individuals.  This article provides access to a sequence of eight phonemic awareness activities. (author/jlkrause)