Phonemic & Phonological Skills Handout Teaching phonological and phonemic awareness skills is such a critical component in helping our little learners acquire the necessary building blocks to become proficient readers and writers. Understanding the sequence of phonological/phonemic development and the approximate ages of mastery helps us to know which skills to emphasize in our instruction. Download the free printable handout! Click the following link to download this free handout. Developmental Sequence of Phonological Skills What is Phonemic and Phonological Awareness? Phonological awareness is an encompassing understanding that speech can be broken into smaller segments of sounds. Great readers can recognize different parts such as words, syllables, onsets and rhymes, and phonemes. So, teaching these skills through age-appropriate activities is critical