Children’s performance in learning to read is strongly predicted by their understanding of letter names and shapes. Children’s ability to treat words as sequences of letters and their memory of printed word shapes are closely correlated with their knowledge of letter names.
Children’s difficulties acquiring letter sounds and word recognition are linked to their ignorance of letter names. Until they are able to identify and name a number of letters, children are unable to comprehend and apply the alphabetic principle, which states that spoken sounds and written letters have systematic and predictable links.
Sensibly structured teaching is necessary to enable children who are not yet proficient in the alphabet recognize, name, and write letters. Children can start learning letter sounds and spellings if they can easily recognize and name letters.
Letter names, followed by letter shapes, and then letter sounds, seem to be the order in which children learn the alphabet. Youngsters can learn letter names by reciting rhymes and singing songs like the “Alphabet Song.” As kids play with blocks, plastic letters, and alphabetic books, they pick up letter shapes. Effective letter learning results from planned, informal education that gives kids lots of chances to examine, handle, and compare letters. Activities that teach kids to recognize, label, and write both capital and lowercase letters should be a part of this curriculum.
The “alphabetic principle”: what is it?
Children’s comprehension of the alphabetic principle—the notion that letters and letter patterns correspond to spoken language sounds—is essential to their development as readers. Children may use these patterns to both familiar and unfamiliar words and start reading fluently once they understand that sounds and letters have predictable associations.
Helping kids understand and apply the Alphabetic Principle is the aim of phonics education. The knowledge that written letters and spoken sounds have systematic and predictable links is known as the alphabetic principle. Children who receive phonics training are better able to understand the connections between spoken and written language sounds.
The principle of alphabetic instruction
Clearly and separately teach the relationships between letters and sounds.
Throughout everyday classes, provide kids the chance to learn the relationships between letters and sounds.
Offer chances for practice that cover both newly taught sound-letter relationships and a cumulative review of previously taught relationships.
Give kids the chance to read phonetically spelled words with recognizable meanings early and frequently so they can use their growing understanding of sound-letter relationships.
Instructional pace and order
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to introducing letter-sound correlations. The performance of the group of students with whom the lesson is to be utilized is a clear and significant issue to take into account when establishing the rate of introduction. Additionally, there is no set sequence for introducing the relationships between letters and sounds. However, it is widely accepted that the relationships that allow youngsters to start reading words as soon as feasible should be introduced first.
In other words, the relationships that are selected should be highly useful. High utility spellings include m, a, t, s, p, and h; low utility spellings include x, as in box; gh, as in through; ey, as in they; and a, as in want.
Choosing consonants like f, m, n, r, and s, whose sounds may be uttered in isolation with the least distortion, is also a smart way to start teaching sound-letter correlations. Children find it more difficult to integrate stop sounds at the start or middle of words than continuous sounds.
Additionally, the introduction of sounds for letters that are visually or auditorily ambiguous, such /b/ and /v/ or /i/ and /e/, should be separated in the instruction.
One or two short vowel sounds and two or more single consonants may be introduced at the beginning of instruction. After that, it may add one long vowel sound along with more short vowel sounds and single consonants. Consonant blends may then be added, followed by digraphs (such as th, sh, and ch), enabling kids to read everyday words like chair, this, and she. To prevent misunderstandings, single consonants and consonant blends or clusters should be introduced in different lessons.
The key idea is that the introduction sequence should make sense and align with the pace at which kids can pick things up. Additionally, youngsters should be able to work with words as soon as possible thanks to the sound-letter correlations selected for early introduction.
Rules regarding the pace and order of instruction
Acknowledge that kids pick up sound-letter correspondences at varying speeds.
Between two and four letter-sound associations per week, introduce sound-letter relationships at a manageable pace.
Early on, teach high-utility letter-sound correspondences.
Introduce vowels and consonants in a way that will help the kids read words more rapidly.
Steer clear of introducing letters and sounds that are comparable visually or aurally at the same time.
In distinct courses, introduce both single consonant sounds and consonant blends/clusters.
Give students blending lessons using terms that incorporate the letter-sound correspondences they have learnt.
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