Knowledge and Practice Examination for Effective Reading Instruction (KPEERI) Practice Test

Phoneme categorization is an important phonological awareness skill in which children listen to a set of words and identify which one has a different sound from the others. This activity requires them to compare the sounds in the words to determine which one does not belong based on its phonetic characteristics, such as initial or final sounds.

For example, if children are given the words "cat," "cap," and "dog," they can recognize that "dog" has a different initial sound than "cat" and "cap," thus identifying it as the "odd" word out. This skill is crucial for developing phonological awareness, which in turn supports reading development by helping children break down and manipulate the sounds they hear in spoken language.

While other activities like phoneme identity, manipulation, and blending focus on different aspects of phoneme awareness—such as recognizing the same sounds, changing sounds within words, or breaking them into parts—they do not specifically involve identifying a word that stands out because of its unique sound.