Phonemes are individual sounds within a word. For example, in English, the letter "n" makes a "na" sound: this sound is a phoneme. Before students can combine phonemes to form words, they must understand the distinctive sounds that each of these phonemes creates. Teachers commonly instruct students in phoneme sounds in early elementary grades, focusing on them right from the start in kindergarten.
After developing an understanding of letter sounds separate from each other, students continue their development of phonological awareness by learning how these letters combine to form words. This requires developing an understanding of how letters interact with each other. For example, students must learn that though the letter "p" makes a "pa" sound and the letter "h" makes a "ha" sound, when combined they can make a "fa" sound.
As students learn word pronunciation, they also begin to develop an understanding of syllables. Syllables, or the natural breaks in words created by vowel sounds, are necessary for proper pronunciation. If students to not properly attend to syllable breaks, they will muddle their words and likely be unintelligible. Because this level of phonological awareness requires an understanding of both phonemes and words, it must come third in the process.
When students are nearing the end of their development of phonological awareness, they learn to recognize and identify rhyme patterns. During this study, students learn common rhyme combinations, such as "bed" and "head." This topic helps students better understand how words relate to each other, including how they are similar and different.