Categorizes the various phonemic awareness training tasks (i.e., tasks that require the ability to perceive a spoken word as composed of a sequence of individual sounds) according to their probable usefulness in the early stages of reading-readiness training. The tasks of blending and oral phonemic segmentation are singled out as most closely associated with reading and, therefore, most clearly deserving of inclusion in a reading-readiness program. The potential of the other phonemic awareness tasks for aiding mastery of blending and segmentation is evaluated with the help of experimental evidence about relative difficulty of tasks; where available evidence is insufficient, appropriate experiments are suggested. Current knowledge about how to teach segmentation and blending is surveyed, and areas needing further research are suggested. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)