Which letter-sound relationship refers to the sound a letter makes?

The discussion around the sound a letter makes is aptly captured by the term "letter-sound correspondence." This concept specifically refers to the relationship between written letters and their associated sounds, which is fundamental to reading and writing. Understanding letter-sound correspondence helps learners decode words by recognizing that each letter or combination of letters produces specific sounds.

For instance, when teaching young students, educators emphasize that the letter 'b' represents the sound /b/, demonstrating this correspondence through phonics activities. Mastery of letter-sound correspondence is crucial as it forms the foundation for successful reading.

In contrast, phonics encompasses broader instructional methods that involve letter-sound relationships but is not solely focused on the individual connections. Phonemic awareness pertains to the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words, rather than recognizing the sounds that letters produce. Blending involves combining individual sounds to form words, which is an application of both phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondence but does not specifically define the nature of the letter-sound relationship itself. Thus, the choice that directly addresses the sound a letter makes is indeed letter-sound correspondence.