No. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes. In a Heggerty Phonemic Awareness lesson, students isolate sounds, blend sounds, segment a word into sounds and manipulate sounds in words. The lessons are oral and auditory.

Phonics instruction matches the phonemes or sounds to print, so it is both auditory and visual, as students read and write words and map sounds to print.

In phonemic awareness, students are being taught to hear and manipulate the sounds of language. In phonics, students are being taught which letters are associated with the sounds of the language. Both skills are crucial to reading mastery and are foundational reading skills.  Both phonemic awareness and phonics should be part of classroom reading instruction. 

Andrew Follett

Hi there! I’m the CEO at Heggerty. Prior to joining the team, I was on staff at The Field School where my kids attend, and where I continue to serve on the board. I was also the Founder & CEO at Demo Duck, a video production agency. I live in Oak Park, IL with my wife and 3 children, and enjoy travel, hockey, tennis, and reading (of course).