New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) Early Childhood Practice Test

Phoneme deletion is a phonological awareness skill that requires the ability to recognize the word that remains after a specific phoneme is removed. When a child is asked to delete a phoneme from a word, they must mentally manipulate the sounds to identify what remains. For example, if a child is prompted to say the word "bat" without the initial phoneme /b/, they would need to recognize that the remaining sounds form the word "at." This skill is critical for literacy development as it helps children understand the structure of words and how changing or removing sounds can alter their meanings. By successfully identifying the new word after a phoneme is deleted, students demonstrate their grasp of phoneme manipulation, an essential component of early reading skills.