Chapter 4: Letter Knowledge Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2 nd Edition

Letter Knowledge Letter knowledge is a complex process that involves learning letter shapes; associating these shapes with their letter names; learning the sound of each letter. Part of the difficulty for children who are learning letter names is that many letter shapes are similar. The phoneme that a letter represents is usually heard in its name; therefore, knowing the names of the letters makes it easier for students to learn the letter sounds.

Letter Knowledge Students often confuse letters that have similar names as well as similar shapes. (e.g. The letters Mm and Nn are similar in both name and shape and are often interchanged by children.) English, like other letter-name systems is iconic, meaning that the letters contain the sound that the letter represents. Learning letter-sound correspondence is easier once students realize that most letter names contain their sounds. (e.g. The letter name b begins with its sound /b/.)

Letter Knowledge Instruction Most children learn to sing or recite the alphabet by age 5. However, children need systematic formal instruction to help them name, recognize, and write the letters. There is not a strong consensus on the best sequence for teaching letters, but students appear to acquire letter knowledge in a sequence that begins with letter names, then letter shapes and formation, and finally letter sounds. Students require more time to learn the sounds of some letters than others, therefore, the common practice of spending the same amount of instructional time on each letter (“letter of the week”) may not be effective.

Letter Knowledge Research Letter knowledge has a foundational role in literacy development. The ability to identify the letters of the alphabet in and out of sequence, with automaticity, is one of the best predictors of how readily a child will learn to read. One way young students learn and recall letter shapes is through handwriting practice. Knowing the names of letters makes it easier for students to master the sound/spelling correspondences necessary for efficient decoding.

When to Assess and Intervene The speed and accuracy with which students identify letters, not only measures whether they can identify the letters, but how thoroughly they have learned them. One minute letter naming fluency assessments are administered in the fall, winter and spring in Kindergarten. Formal assessments for letter knowledge may be used for screening, progress monitoring, and diagnostic assessments. See the Letter-Knowledge Assessment chart on page 95.