Which example shows awareness of separate syllables in words?

• A. Puts together pen and cil to say pencil
• B. Claps each syllable of name, 'Tri-na and Chris-to-pher' and counts the syllables
• C. Writes 'cat' with letters
• D. Reads a book

Answer: (B)

Understanding that words can be broken into separate syllable units is a facet of phonological awareness. The best example shows this clearly by clapping each syllable of a name and counting them. That explicit segmentation—Tri-na and Chris-to-pher—demonstrates recognition of distinct syllable parts, which is what syllable awareness is about. The other actions reflect different literacy skills: blending parts to form a word shows blending rather than segmentation; writing a word with letters shows letter knowledge; and reading a book involves decoding and comprehension rather than identifying syllables.