When a teacher asks students to say the word "stop" without the /t/ sound, what is this called?

The scenario described involves students being asked to say the word "stop" without the /t/ sound. This exercise illustrates phoneme deletion, which is a type of phonological awareness skill where a particular sound (or phoneme) is removed from a word to create a new word. In this case, when students omit the /t/ from "stop," they are left with "sop."

Phoneme deletion is an important aspect of phonological awareness as it helps students understand that words can be manipulated by removing sounds, thereby enhancing their reading and spelling abilities. This skill is a foundation for developing deeper literacy skills, as it encourages students to become more aware of the sounds that make up words.