Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify individual sounds in a language. In particular, phonemic awareness concerns identifying the smallest units of sounds in one’s native language, which are called phonemes. Phonemic awareness is the best predictor for early reading success as it helps those who are learning to read understand the alphabetic principle. This is the understanding of the concept of letters and words representing sounds and spoken language. Once emerging readers have these understandings, they will be able to make sense of alphabetic orthography, the study regarding the letter sequence in words. As students are guided by familiar PBS characters, this site provides them with a fun, animated, and interactive opportunity to practice phonemic awareness. Also, this site teaches children how to navigate around a website. I would definitely use this activity as a way to introduce, primary to early elementary school students to and provide them with opportunities to practice phonemic awareness. I may put them in small groups and then have them practice individually "Fuzzy Lion Ears." PBS Kids. Web. http://pbskids.org/lions/games/ears.html As shown here, for example, students are given the spoken word “cat” and a picture. When they hold the mouse over the letters, the corresponding sounds are heard. Children are to choose the correct letter to complete the word. The other letters do spell out real words that are not pictured. This activity also fosters semantic development. I pledge on my honor that I have not given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment. – Erica Green