What would a child's ability to change the 'm' in 'mat' to 'h' to form 'hat' demonstrate?

A child's ability to change the 'm' in 'mat' to 'h' to form 'hat' demonstrates phoneme substitution. This phonemic skill involves recognizing that individual sounds (phonemes) within words can be altered to create different words. In this case, the child identifies the first phoneme ('m') and substitutes it with another phoneme ('h'), resulting in a new word. Phoneme substitution is a crucial component of phonemic awareness, as it highlights a child's understanding of the individual sounds in language and how they can be manipulated to form new meanings.

Understanding phoneme substitution is essential for literacy development, as it lays the groundwork for decoding and spelling skills, helping children become more proficient readers and writers. This skill is often practiced in phonics instruction where children learn to recognize how varying sounds can lead to different words.