3 Tips for Introducing the 26 Letters

By Renee on February 20, 2011 in Letter/Word Awareness, Phonemic Awareness

After many years of introducing kindergarten students to the 26 letters and their sounds, I found that 3
simple principles helped all students learn this information quickly and easily.

Introduce the letters in a particular order

When introducing your child to the 26 letters and each letters sound(s), do not simply begin with A.
Working in alphabetical order is not the most effective way for a child to learn the sounds made by each
letter. I recommend the following order instead:

I suggest this order for the following reasons:

Easy sounds first. It is easiest for children to feel, hear, identify and produce sounds that are
formed with the lips, teeth and forward tongue position (where the tongue touches the teeth). This
is because children are able to use their sense of sight when they watch others forming the sound.
Alternatively, sounds that are formed at the back of the mouth (such as the sounds made by the
letters K, G, and Y) are hard for children to mimic as they cannot observe how your mouth and
tongue are moving when you form the sound.

Complex letters last. Each vowel makes numerous sounds (or is even silent) depending on
where in the word the vowel appears. Also, there are only slight differences between the sounds
made by many of the vowels, such as the vowel sounds in the words cat, cut and cot. As a
result, learning the individual sounds each vowel makes is a complicated skill. In fact, some speech
pathologists believe that a childs ear is not developed enough to distinguish vowel sounds until
age 5 or 6. By introducing consonant sounds first, a child will have the opportunity to practice
listening to sounds which are easier to identify before attempting to identify the more subtle
sounds made by the different vowels.

No similar sounds one after another. After rearranging the letters in order of complexity
from least complex to most complex, it is important to avoid introducing two letters around the
same time that make similar sounds. For example, consider the letters P and B. Both letters make
sounds (puh and buh) which are primarily formed by lips. For children still working to develop
their auditory processing skills, it may be difficult to identify and differentiate between similar
sounds when they are introduced shortly after each other.

Plan for the complex

Most children are satisfied with basic instruction about the sound(s) each letter makes. However, some
children, particularly older children, may ask for additional clarification since they may have already
noticed some of the confusing subtleties about the sounds some letters make. If your child is one that
likes to ask follow-up questions, here is a list of explanations seasoned teachers typically provide to
children to help answer their questions:

All vowels can be long or short. When a vowel is long, it sounds like the name of the
letter. For example, the long e in she or the long i in sight. When a vowel is short, it
makes its own sound. For example, the short e in met or the short i in bit.

The letter G can be hard or soft. When it is hard, it has its own sound, which you make
without closing your teeth. An example of a hard G is found in gate. When it is soft, the letter
G borrows the sound made by the letter J, which requires you to close your teeth slightly when
forming the sound. An example of a soft G is found in giraffe.

The letter S can be hard or soft. When it is soft, it has its own sound. An example of a soft
S is found in sat. When it is hard, the letter S borrows the sound made by the letter Z. An
example of a hard S is found in toes.

The letter C can be hard or soft. In both cases, the letter C borrows its sound from other
letters. When the letter C is soft, it borrows the sound made by the letter S. An example of a
soft C is found in race. When the letter C is hard, it borrows the sound made by the letter K.
An example of a hard C is found in cat.

The letter Q does not have its own sound. Instead, the letter Q makes the sound of a K and a W
together, KW.

The letter X makes the sound of a K and an S squished together, KS.

The letter Y has three sounds. One sound is all its own and the other two sounds are borrowed
from other letters. When the letter Y is in the beginning or middle of a word, it makes its own
sound, as in the word yellow. When the letter Y is at the end of a word, it borrows the sound of a
long E, as in the word putty, or a long I, as in the word try. The sound made by the letter Y
is a very complicated concept for children to learn, which is why this letter is one of the last
consonants I suggest introducing.

Let your child set the pace

Many parents often introduce their children to letters and their sound(s) in hopes of helping their children
learn to read. For children who are developmentally ready to read, a parents efforts can lead to very
positive results. However, when children are pushed to read before they are ready, they are set up to fail.
Strong letter and word awareness skills must combine with strong phonemic awareness skills for a child
to be developmentally capable of reading. If a child does not have strong skills in both of these areas, he
will likely become frustrated by the process. When this happens, he runs the risk of beginning a selffulfilling cycle of failure by struggling to match each letter with its sound(s) and incorrectly believing he is
bad at reading.
Exposing your child to letters and their sounds at his own pace will give him an important opportunity to
begin building confidence in his abilities. This confidence will lead to increased perseverance and,
ultimately, an increased incidence of success when he is ready to begin reading. In this way, early
practice with your child, when done at his own pace, will position him to begin a self-fulfilling cycle of
success.

Try this at home

When introducing a letter and its sound(s) to your child, write the uppercase version of the letter at the
top of a large piece of paper. Then, together with your child, draw or glue pictures of words that start
with that letters sound on the same page.

For older children, or those with well-developed phonemic awareness skills, try looking through childrens
magazines and selecting and cutting out the pictures together. They will likely be able to scan numerous
pictures at a time and select only those that begin with the correct sound. They may also be able to think
of a picture that begins with the correct sound and draw it freehand. For introducing a letter and its
sound to younger children, consider cutting out or drawing pictures yourself, because younger children
may be unable to identify pictures as quickly or accurately as older children are able to.
Consider taping these completed letter pages to your childs bedroom wall or refrigerator door (at his
eye level) so your child can review each letter and the corresponding sounds in a casual way as he walks
around your home. Also, having the pages on display encourages your child to share the letters and their
sounds with other family members or visitors, which is another opportunity for him to practice.

What can you share with other parents?

How did you introduce each letter and its sound? Any fun letter activities you can share with us? What
letters sound did your child have the most difficulty learning? Did you develop any shortcuts or tricks to
help your child get over that stumbling block? Please share your experiences with us and readers like you
in a comment below.