Ace the California Teacher Credential Test 2026 – Elevate Your Classroom Game!

Segmentation in phonemic awareness refers to the process of breaking down words into their individual phonemes, which are the smallest units of sound in speech. This skill is crucial for developing reading and spelling abilities. By being able to recognize and isolate these phonemes, children can better understand the sound structure of words, allowing them to decode unfamiliar words and enhance their reading fluency.

The other options present different aspects of phonemic awareness but do not accurately describe segmentation. For instance, blending of sounds to form words involves combining phonemes to create a word, which is different from separating them. Recognizing written words pertains to sight recognition rather than phonemic manipulation. Lastly, the pronunciation of letters in isolation relates to articulating individual letters rather than focusing on the sounds that make up whole words. Thus, the description of segmentation aligns perfectly with the ability to separate words into their constitutive phonemes.