Chapter 4: Letter

Knowledge
Brittany McHargue

What?
Letter Names
Letter Shapes
Letter Sounds
Letter Formation
(handwriting)
Children

often begin by learning the name

of the first letter of their own first name.
Treiman et al.,. 2006

What?
Letter Name Iconicity - the names of the

letters contain the sound that the letter

represents
For ex: the name of the letter b contains /b/
Pronounced /b/ //
- In English, there are only 2 totally noniconic letter
names (h & w)
Pronounced // /ch/ & /d/ // /b/ // /l/ /yoo/
Quiz:
1: What English consonant letter names begin with
the sound that the letter frequently stands for?
2: Which English consonant letter names end with
the sound that the letter frequently stands for?

1: b,d,j,k,p,t,v,z
f,l,m,n,r,s,x

2:

What?
Letter Shapes
Visually Similar (the more alike the
appearance of 2 letters is the more likely
students will confuse them)
For ex:
- Letter Shape (identical when rotated, flipped,
reversed)
bdpq
- Letter Case (identical pairs) Cc, Oo, Ss, Xx
A lowercase letter that is a smaller version of
the
uppercase letter is easier to
recognize than one that
is different

What?
Letter Sounds
Phonologically Similar (the number of
phonemes that pairs of letter names share in
the same position)
For ex: the letter name p shares a phoneme //
with the letter b but does not share any
phonemes with the letter name f
Letters that are both Phonologically &
Visually Similar are especially likely to
confuse students
For ex: (b d)

What?
Use of Letter Names to Learn Letter
Sounds
Children appear to use letter names to help learn
and remember letter sounds.. Treiman et al.,

2006
- Studies have shown that students are better at
identifying a letters sound when it was at the
beginning of the letter name than at the end or
not at all
(like h & w)
For ex: when spelling /win/ some Kindergartners
spelled it with the letter y because they said the
letter y makes the sound /w/

What?
Letter Handwriting
Introduces primary-grade students to the
letter forms found in printed text
- Is linked to the basic reading and spelling
achievement
-

Technological

advances do not eliminate

the need for explicit teaching of
handwriting. Spear-Swerling, 2006

Why?
Letter knowledge has a foundational role in
literacy
- Learning letters fosters phonological awareness
- Knowing the names of letters helps the mastery of

sound/spelling correspondences for decoding.

- Fluent letter naming leads to word -reading accuracy
- Handwriting practice aids letter recognition
development
- Fluent handwriting leads to better composition skills.
A childs ability to identify the letters of the alphabet by
name is one of the best predictors of how readily he or
she will learn to read. Treiman, Kessler & Pollo, 2006

When?
To Teach:
Through Informal Experience
- Alphabet songs
- Alphabet books
- Manipulating alphabet letters
When Children start school
- They need formal instruction that will help
them name, recognize, & write the letters
- Theres no consensus on the best
sequence for teaching letters as some
letters may take more time than others

When?
To Assess:

Letter Naming Fluency

- Kindergarten: Fall, Winter, Spring & 1st grade: Fall
Students are assessed on the speed and
accuracy of their letter knowledge to show how
thoroughly they were learned by identifying
letters in & out of sequence with automaticity
Handwriting Skills
- Observation of execution, legibility , & speed of
writing
Execution (pencil hold, posture, letter
formation)
Legibility (readability of letters & spacing
within
& between words)
Speed (ability to complete tasks efficiently)

How?
Uppercase (Teach 1st in Kindergarten
because its more distinguishable)
Letter Recognition (Names & Shapes)
- Sing Alphabet Song to different tunes
For ex: Mary Had a Little lamb
- Teach/Model
- Activities for Cumulative Review
For ex: Alphabet Center

How?
Uppercase (continued)

Handwriting
Students should learn a highly consistent
way to form a letter every time they write it.
Spear-Swerling, 2006
- - Continuous stroke
- - Teach/Model
Posture
Paper Position
Pencil Grip
- Guided Practice
Trace with finger/pencil
Copy with finger/pencil

How?
Lowercase (Teach 1st for 1st grade as its

more predominant in reading text)

Letter Recognition (Names & Shapes)
- Read an Alphabet Big Book
- Letter matching
For ex: Alphabet Concentration
Handwriting
- Review habits
- Teach/Model
- Guided Practice

How?
Letter-Sound Strategy - Letter names &
sounds can be taught together
Review Letter Naming Automaticity
Initial Sound in Letter Names
- Teach/Model
- Guided Practice
Final Sound in Letter Names
- Teach/Model
- Guided Practice

Conclusion!
Letters

are the components for written

words. They represent sounds
systematically in the spelling of words.
Learning letters requires becoming familiar
with 26 uppercase and 26 lowercase shapes
and associating these letter shapes to their
letter names. Handwriting practice helps
young students learn and recall letter
shapes.
Ehri and Roberts 2006; Beringer 1999