Which example illustrates explicit phonemic awareness instruction?

Explicit phonemic awareness instruction involves teaching students to recognize and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words. The use of Elkonin boxes is a prime example of this kind of instruction because it requires students to break down words into their component sounds or phonemes visually and kinesthetically. By placing a token in each box that represents a distinct sound, students can focus on isolating sounds, blending them, or segmenting them, which helps them develop their phonemic awareness in a structured and intentional manner.

Other options such as reading a story aloud, using flashcards for vowels, or discussing phonological skills do not focus specifically on manipulating individual sounds in the way Elkonin boxes do. These activities might support literacy development in a broader sense but do not explicitly teach the skills needed to identify or manage phonemes.