What is it called when a child identifies the first sound in a word, such as '/v/' in "van"?

The process described in the question—where a child identifies the first sound in a word, like '/v/' in "van"—is known as phoneme isolation. This skill involves recognizing and isolating individual sounds within a word. It is an essential component of phonemic awareness, which helps children understand how words are constructed from sounds.

Phoneme isolation allows children to develop their reading and spelling skills, as recognizing sounds in isolation is foundational for decoding words. By mastering this skill, children can better manipulate sounds when learning to read.

This concept is distinct from phoneme identity, which focuses on identifying the same sounds in different words, phoneme segmentation, which involves breaking a word into its constituent sounds, and phoneme blending, where individual sounds are combined to form a word. Each of these related terms pertains to different aspects of phonemic awareness, highlighting the nuanced skills involved in understanding and manipulating sounds in language.