What is phonemic awareness?

phonemic awareness

Let me guess...you have no clue WHAT that means? Right?
Well....neither did I....until I did a little research!
There always will be new sayings, theories and things to learn about!
To me that is what makes like worth living....never running out of new things to learn!
AND a mega benefit of homeschooling is that we are always learning!
So...what is phonemic awareness you ask?
According to Wikipedia:

Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning. Separating the spoken word "cat" into three distinct phonemes, /k/, /æ/, and /t/, requires phonemic awareness.
The National Reading Panel has found that phonemic awareness improves children's word reading and reading comprehension, as well as helping children learn to spell.[1] Phonemic awareness is the basis for learning phonics.[2]
Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness are often confused since they are interdependent. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes. Phonological awareness includes this ability, but it also includes the ability to hear and manipulate larger units of sound, such as onsets and rimes and syllables.
Studies by Vickie Snider have shown that phonemic awareness has a direct correlation with students’ ability to read as they get older. Phonemic awareness builds a foundation for students to understand the rules of the English language. This in turn allows each student to apply these skills and increase his or her oral reading fluency and understanding of the text.[3]
Phonemic awareness relates to the ability to distinguish and manipulate individual sounds, such as /f/, /ʊ/, and /t/ in the case of foot. The following are common phonemic awareness skills practiced with students:

• Phoneme isolation: which requires recognizing the individual sounds in words, for example, "Tell me the first sound you hear in the word paste" (/p/).
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This is VERY interesting to me. I have high schoolers now, but my older son had a VERY hard time learning to read. We THEN attributed it to his ADHD and issues with public school in general. Even when we pulled him to homeschool in 6th grade, he still was not a strong reader. BUT, by the end of his 1st year of homeschooling he was a very good reader and actually liked it.
Now...that I have read this on phonemic awareness....I am wondering if early issues were part of this with him.
Like I said, never to old to learn something new!