What might be a sign that a child is developing phonemic awareness?

Blending sounds to form words is a key indicator of a child's developing phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to recognize and manipulate the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When a child can blend sounds together—such as merging /c/, /a/, and /t/ to form the word "cat"—it demonstrates an understanding of how phonemes work together to create meaning in language. This skill is fundamental to reading, as it lays the groundwork for decoding words. While reciting the alphabet, writing their name, or identifying letters are important skills in literacy development, they do not specifically reflect a child's ability to manipulate sounds, which is the essence of phonemic awareness.