Which initial phonological skill is among the earliest developing in literacy?

The skill of rime, which refers to the part of a syllable that contains the vowel and any following consonants, is one of the earliest developing phonological skills in literacy. Rime awareness contributes significantly to the development of reading because it helps young children recognize patterns within words. This recognition allows them to predict sounds and establish connections between written and spoken language, which are foundational skills for literacy.

As children progress in their language development, they often first notice the rhyming aspects of words and can identify and produce rimes before mastering more complex phonological tasks such as sound deletion or segmentation. This early awareness facilitates later literacy skills, including decoding and word recognition, which are critical as children learn to read proficiently. Therefore, the development of rime is pivotal in laying the groundwork for more advanced phonological awareness skills.