Which term means 'separating phonemes in words'?

• A. blending phonemes to make a word
• B. separating phonemes in words
• C. substituting one phoneme for another
• D. rhyming words

Answer: (B)

This question targets phonemic awareness, specifically segmenting. Segmenting means breaking a spoken word into its individual sounds, or phonemes. For example, saying “cat” slowly and identifying its three sounds: /k/ /æ/ /t/. That separating of sounds is exactly what the prompt describes, so the term is phoneme segmentation (segmenting). This skill is the counterpart to blending, where you combine sounds to form words (like /k/ /æ/ /t/ back into “cat”). Substituting changes one sound for another, and rhyming focuses on matching ending sounds.