Phonemes are the smallest part of spoken language that makes a difference in the meaning of words. English has about 41 phonemes. Most words have more than one phoneme. For example, the word if has 2 phonemes (/i/ and /f/) and check has 3 phonemes (/ch/ /e/ /k/). Sometimes one phoneme is represented by more than one letter.
Graphemes are the smallest part of written language that represents a phoneme in the spelling of a word. A grapheme may be just one letter, such as b, d, f, p, s; or several letters, such as ch, sh, th, -ck, ea, -igh.
Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between phonemes and graphemes, the spoken and written word.
Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds-phonemes-in spoken words.
Phonological Awareness is a broad term that includes phonemic awareness. In addition to phonemes, phonological awareness activities can involve work with rhymes, words, syllables, and onsets and rimes.
Syllables are word parts that contain a vowel or, in spoken language, a vowel sound (news-pa-per, ver-y).
Onset and Rimes are parts of spoken language that are smaller than syllables but larger than phonemes. An onset is the initial consonant(s) sound of a syllable (the onset of bag is /b/; ofswim, /sw/). A rime is the part of a syllable that contains the vowel and all that follows it (the rime of bag is -ag; of swim, -im).
Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. It frees the student to understand what they read. I tell the children to "read like they speak."
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know the meaning of to communicate effectively.
Comprehension is the reason for reading! You need to understand what you read.
Used with permission from Mrs. Doyle.