At the beginning of first grade a significant portion of literacy based instruction addresses phonological and phonemic awareness skills.  Phonological awareness is often thought of as an umbrella term encompassing a variety of sound related skills supporting developing readers.  Phonemic awareness is one aspect of phonological awareness, addressing how phonemes, or a single unit of sound functions in a word. Phonological awareness skills addressed in first grade at The Summit include a review of general word awareness, identification of rhyme and alliteration, syllable awareness, onset and rime manipulation, and phoneme manipulation.  Throughout the school year, most specifically the first few months, these skills will be addressed naturally through discussion and classroom read alouds.  Today, this included watching a BrainPop Jr. video on rhyming words and enjoying the read aloud Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.  Station work incorporating phonological awareness skills will include a variety of books, poems, games, and activities.   The following article from Reading Rockets provides more information about phonological awareness and developmental milestones.  The Development of Phonological Skills