Improving Letter Knowledge
· Play games to help children learn the names of alphabet letters6
· Play alphabet bingo (nifl.gov site)4
· Play a game where students have to put letters in order4
· Have lots of alphabet books in the classroom4
Supporting Research:
Letter knowledge is important for developing the skills required to read because
“Based on their review of research on instruction in phonological awareness, Ehri and Wilce (cited in Sulzby and Teal, 1991) reported that young children can be taught phonological awareness prior to formal reading instruction if they have a certain amount of letter knowledge”8
According to Ehri and Sweet, “letter knowledge, which provides the basis for forming connections between the letters in spelling and the sounds in pronunciations, has been identified as a strong predictor of reading success (Ehri and Sweet, 1991) 8
A study has shown that children show better emergent literacy skills when they have been exposed to alphabet books, blocks, and shapes in their environment (Hildebrand and Bader 1992).