Final answer:
Phonological awareness is a broad skill encompassing the recognition of sounds in language, phonemic awareness is a niche skill focusing on individual sounds in words, and phonics skills connect sounds with written symbols for reading and writing. Therefore, the correct option is B
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics skills is primarily in the scope and application of these literacy concepts. Phonological awareness is a broad skill set that includes recognizing and working with sounds in spoken language, such as rhymes and syllables. Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness that focuses specifically on phonemes, the individual sounds that make up words. This awareness enables the understanding that words are built from these sounds and includes skills like blending and segmenting phonemes. On the other hand, phonics skills involve the relationship between these sounds and their written letters or letter combinations and are used to read and write words.
The correct answer to the student's question is option b: 'Phonemic awareness focuses on individual sounds in words, while phonological awareness is broader'.