Phonemic awareness is the ability to HEAR the individual sounds within a word.  Phonemic awareness is the foundation for reading development and is a strong predictor of future reading success. While some students seemingly acquire phonemic awareness naturally, many do not.  Therefore, implementing explicit phonemic awareness instruction will enhance the reading outcomes of all students.  Phonemic awareness is a subcomponent of phonological awareness and more than 90% of students with significant reading problems have a deficit in phonological processing (Blachman 1995).  The importance of establishing phonemic and phonological awareness as early as possible cannot be overstated.