The Alphabetic Principal. It sounds so fancy, right? It’s talked about in the Science of Reading. What does it mean? It is knowing that oral sounds (phonemes) in spoken words are represented by letters in print. We know, once children develop the alphabetic principle, their ability to read improves.
How do I support students with the Alphabetic Principle?
You can support students by explicitly teaching them the letter sound relationship. When I introduce a letter, I always create a circle map. Then, give students the opportunity to practice the letter-sound relationships in daily lessons. Once a student has learned a letter, practice it daily. Show them a letter card for Aa, apple, /a/. Then, you want to give students the opportunity to practice the sound-letter relationship by phonetically spelling words. For example, teach them the letters a, m, and t. Then teach them to write am, mat, tam.
How many letters should I introduce at a time?
In case you haven’t heard, the days of teaching letters a week are over. This pace is too slow and it teaches the letters in isolation. By teaching multiple letters in a week, you can start teaching students how to blend those letters into words right away. This helps students to understand that words are made up of sequential letters, not random letters, based on their sounds. You want to start with high-utility letters first so that kids are writing and reading words right away.
Student Support
Children come into Kindergarten with a variety of letter knowledge. You probably have students who already know all the letters, and other students who do not know the difference between letters and numbers. It is important to remember that not all students learn at the same pace. Some students need more time, with multiple exposures. Think about kinesthetic learning. Air write letters with large motions. Write letters in sand trays. Use playdough. These are all ways to support students with the Alphabetic Principle.
