Test Your Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Knowledge

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| By Marnie Ginsberg
Marnie Ginsberg, Teacher
Dr. Marnie Ginsberg is the founder of Reading Simplified, whose mission is to support busy, overwhelmed teachers learn a research-based system of effective and efficient instruction that accelerates all students’ reading achievement.
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Questions: 15 | Attempts: 17,910

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Test Your Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Knowledge - Quiz


Questions and Answers
  • 1. 

    When you were in your teacher education classes, were you taught about the phonemic properties of language (i.e., phonemic awareness)?

  • 2. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "run?"

    • A.

      2

    • B.

      3

    • C.

      4

    • D.

      5

    Correct Answer
    B. 3
    Explanation
    /r/ /u/ /n/

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  • 3. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "laughed?"

    • A.

      3

    • B.

      4

    • C.

      5

    • D.

      6

    Correct Answer
    B. 4
    Explanation
    /l/ /a/ /f/ /t/

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  • 4. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "grass?"

    • A.

      3

    • B.

      4

    • C.

      5

    • D.

      6

    Correct Answer
    B. 4
    Explanation
    /g/ /r/ /a/ /s/

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  • 5. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "Christmas?"

    • A.

      9

    • B.

      8

    • C.

      7

    • D.

      6

    Correct Answer
    C. 7
    Explanation
    /k/ /r/ /i/ /s/ /m/ /uh/ /s/ (The spelling "st" is just /s/ in "Christmas.")

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  • 6. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "through?"

    • A.

      2

    • B.

      3

    • C.

      4

    • D.

      5

    Correct Answer
    B. 3
    Explanation
    /th/ /r/ /oo/ (The spelling "ough" represents the /oo/ sound in this word. But it can represent a lot of other spellings, too, such as the /oa/ in "though.")

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  • 7. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "psychology?"

    • A.

      8

    • B.

      9

    • C.

      10

    • D.

      11

    Correct Answer
    A. 8
    Explanation
    /s/ /ie/ /k/ /o/ /l/ /oa/ /j/ /ee/

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  • 8. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "scratch?"

    • A.

      3

    • B.

      4

    • C.

      5

    • D.

      6

    Correct Answer
    C. 5
    Explanation
    /s/ /k/ /r/ /a/ /ch/ (The "tch" is another spelling for the /ch/ sound.)

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  • 9. 

    How many sounds (i.e., phonemes) in the word, "exit?"

    • A.

      3

    • B.

      4

    • C.

      5

    • D.

      6

    Correct Answer
    C. 5
    Explanation
    /e/ /k/ /s/ /i/ /t/ (The "x" actually represents 2 sounds--/k/ and /s/. Tricky! Bonus: think about how many sounds are represented by "qu.")

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  • 10. 

    Which of the following words contains a schwa sound?

    • A.

      Baited

    • B.

      Through

    • C.

      Found

    • D.

      Happen

    Correct Answer
    D. Happen
    Explanation
    The word, "happen," looks like /hap en/, but we say /hap un/. The "e" in "happen" is the schwa sound. The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound. It occurs in multi-syllable words on the un-accented chunk or syllable. We put our stress on one syllable (i.e, "hap") then we are sloppy with our pronunciation and say /uhn/ in the next syllable.

    Notice where you place the stress in the following words and notice the schwa sound in the un-stressed syllable:

    about
    elephant
    impolite
    around

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  • 11. 

    Which of the following words is irregularly spelled? 

    • A.

      The

    • B.

      Crunch

    • C.

      Energy

    • D.

      Fact

    Correct Answer
    A. The
    Explanation
    The word "the" is usually spoken as /thuh/, which is an unexpected vowel sound at the end of word or syllable.

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  • 12. 

    Which of the following words is irregularly spelled? 

    • A.

      Drop

    • B.

      Dive

    • C.

      Dog

    • D.

      Done

    Correct Answer
    D. Done
    Explanation
    The "o_e" spelling in "done" would usually be the sound /oa/, so the /uh/ sound in this word does not follow the typical pattern in our language for that spelling of "o_e."

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  • 13. 

    Which of the following words is irregularly spelled? 

    • A.

      One

    • B.

      Three

    • C.

      Five

    • D.

      Seven

    Correct Answer
    A. One
    Explanation
    The word "one" sounds like this: /wun/, but the "o" is almost never the /w/ sound.

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  • 14. 

    Which of the following words is irregularly spelled? 

    • A.

      Can

    • B.

      What

    • C.

      How

    • D.

      Flutter

    Correct Answer
    B. What
    Explanation
    The "a" in "what" would be expected to sound like the "a" in "cat" but it's the /uh/ sound. Not a typical spelling pattern.

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  • 15. 

    Which of the following words is irregularly spelled? (Just 1 more after this!)

    • A.

      Sneak

    • B.

      Take

    • C.

      Give

    • D.

      Grab

    Correct Answer
    C. Give
    Explanation
    The "i_e" pattern is usually the /ie/ sound as in "tie," but in "give," it is the short "i" sound as in "sip." [The "ve" is really the big player in the word, "give." Since English words don't end in "v" the "e" is added to make all things right with the world. Same thing occurs with "have."]

    Rate this question:

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Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

  • Current Version
  • Mar 22, 2023
    Quiz Edited by
    ProProfs Editorial Team
  • Oct 30, 2017
    Quiz Created by
    Marnie Ginsberg
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