TEACHING THE ALPHABET:

Here is a skill we all take for granted. Interestingly enough, there is so much to understand about reading in the alphabet. The alphabet can often be learned quite easily and quickly for many children, but for others, it feels like an impossible thing to decode. I have seen all ranges of alphabet acquisition for children. I will give you ideas for students from all stages of this learning process and provide additional ideas for parents who have struggling students. 

IS IT A LETTER OR A NUMBER?

Often in schools, a teacher will teach one to two letters per week during the kindergarten year. Children practice saying, writing, and distinguishing letters with fun activities.  Slowly, the teacher builds upon their previous knowledge until all the letters are acquired. Often children would come to me (the special education teacher) if they were unable to learn their alphabet within the general time frame given. I would get a child at the end of kindergarten or beginning of first grade who appeared to be lost amongst the letter sounds and names. One letter would get a totally different sound or name than the corresponding letter, or it was a complete guessing game. On occasion, I would have students who could not distinguish between letters and numbers. I recall wondering what I was going to do to help a child who had been working on letters and numbers for months and months, and had only retained one letter and one number (even after hours of intervention in the general education classroom and with the literacy teacher). I determined that I needed to get behind the issue and uncover how to bypass this block.  Here are the steps I took, and the child began to learn the letters and numbers relatively quickly.  

ASSESSING THE TASK AND THE PROBLEM:

Whether your child is mildly struggling or significantly struggling to learn the alphabet, try to take on their perspective by analyzing the Chinese alphabet and trying to determine the letters.  It seems quite daunting if you ask me.  I have never learned that language, and I would feel completely lost for quite some time. Let’s start with the problem for your child. The alphabet is a foreign concept to some children because it seems abstract and sometimes unintelligible.  They sometimes just see squiggly lines that seem similar and different all at the same time. It might also feel incredibly boring (this should not be confused with difficulty as a child could find the alphabet difficult and uninteresting). Let’s remedy these problems with solutions.  

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:

Background knowledge and prior information is the key to learning new material. We are constantly building upon previously learned material. When teaching a new concept try to incorporate something a child is already familiar and/or successful with. In order to teach the alphabet symbols, consider pairing the letters with a familiar object or word. I have used a variety of alphabets with different pictures and symbols to illustrate the letter. Nevertheless, I find animal letters to be the most helpful and the most interesting for children. If your child is obsessed with a certain subject or activity, consider incorporating that interest into learning of the alphabet or counting/numbers.

TEACHING THE LETTERS AND SOUNDS:

In order to help children learn the alphabet, they should be taught the letter, the animal, and the sound. This helps the child incorporate all three components into their reading toolkit. If your child is struggling mightily with learning the letter name and sound, sometimes a lot of practice can be beneficial.  Otherwise, if you need to skip teaching them one thing at first, teach all the letter sounds, and then go back later once those are solid to the letter names. Remember that for the most part, a child does not need to know all the sounds that a letter makes, rather they need to know the first sound (or the sound that letter most often makes). Some curriculums teach that a child should chant all the sounds of a letter each time they see that letter.  Although some children learn fine with this method, for many this just confuses them. Can you remember that most vowels have up to three sounds, and that the phonogram “ough” has six different sounds?  Save them the confusion and teach them the first sound and then teach them the other sounds with the rules as they encounter harder and harder reading material. Think about a kindergartener who tells me that the letter G says the sound “j”.  This is a true statement under certain specific circumstances. Nevertheless, G mostly says another sound.  Will my kindergartener who does not know his alphabet benefit from constantly mixing up the sounds for the letter g? He will likely struggle with the sound and then when he goes to read the word “rug” he will read it incorrectly as “ruj”.    

VISUAL MEMORY:

Children often benefit from learning the alphabet with a visual. I have referred before to the fact that I find animals to be beneficial in teaching the alphabet. The key with whatever you choose, is to recall that a child should be able to hear the first letter sound that corresponds with the letter being taught. For example, with the letter “g” the child should be taught that a “goat” or “goose” or “gecko” starts with the “g” sound and that the letter is G. You should not initially give them a “giraffe” because it starts with the “j” sound even though it is spelled with a G. If your child is obsessed with everything dinosaurs or airplanes, and other animals are not of interest to them, use what you can to capture their interest and follow the first sound rule. Pairing the letter with something of interest helps a child rely on the first sound of the animal (or other object of interest) and teaches phonemic awareness, while supporting the new learning of the alphabet sounds. Likewise, in order for the child to memorize the letter symbol, it is often helpful to use letters that have the animal or object of interest shaped into that letter symbol.  This helps a child visualize the letter better.

KINESTHETIC MEMORY:

It is often said that some people are visual, some are auditory, and some are kinesthetic learners. The fact is that the more methods incorporated into the learning process, the better. All children are kinesthetic and visual and auditory learners, and they benefit from moving and exercising to learn. In fact, a child’s attention span is short.  Generally 15 – 20 minutes is the time for a child to stay focused while sitting. Now with all the distractions and such, children and adults’ attention spans are getting worse. Whenever possible, try to incorporate movement into learning. It is more memorable and healthy for the child’s brain. Sitting still too long can make focusing difficult.  Have children stand up and move around if possible. If your child is struggling a lot with remembering letter sounds, consider utilizing sign language as a good kinesthetic additional symbol. Some children benefit greatly from incorporating this as another area of reference, which can be helpful whenever they need an additional tool in their toolbelt.  Consider making the learning process as interactive as possible by playing letter/sound games, etc. 

AUDITORY LEARNING:

Consider how much reading is an auditory skill. A child will struggle greatly with reading if they are unable to distinguish between sounds in words and such (a child can overcome this, and for more information refer to posts on phonemic awareness). Likewise, some children may have speech difficulty where they are not able to hear specific sounds clearly. This may not manifest in a speech impediment, but having difficulty with hearing sounds, can impact their ability to remember the sounds of letters and hear the first sound in a word. Remember to speak clearly when teaching sounds.  If you find that your child is consistently saying the wrong sound, but it is similar to the one they should be saying, they may be struggling with a speech difficulty. If your child is struggling with a component of language, whether verbal, or written, consider getting support from a speech pathologist. The earlier the intervention for speech, the better.