This study was undertaken to explore ways to assist at-risk African American students in phonemic awareness skills using their cultural vernacular. African American, at-risk preschoolers typically lag behind their peers. Teachers typically do not use culturally responsive methods to instruct them. For these reasons, these children struggle with literacy. Research questions were as follows: (1) Do African American at-risk preschoolers' phonemic awareness increase after exposure to AAVE instructional strategies? (2) Do African American at-risk preschoolers' rhyming and alliteration increase after exposure to AAVE language instructional strategies? and (3) Do African American at-risk preschoolers' blending, manipulation, and segmenting increase after exposure to AAVE language instructional strategies? The theoretical framework of this study was African American at-risk preschoolers and all children must be taught in a manner in which they can learn and this would include using their vernacular. The methodology used was a quantitative study involving two groups of 20 randomly sampled preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start Preschool for All program. The study took place for twelve weeks with a control group of 20 and a treatment group of 20. Data analysis included an independent T-test, followed by a paired dependent T-test. Results indicated there were insufficient data to indicate significant differences in phonemic awareness. Recommendations include further research regarding culturally responsive teaching.