Alphabet Knowledge

THE NEFEC REACH PROJECT

was funded by a grant through Early Reading First 2007-2011. The

information in this PowerPoint is provided by the NEFEC REACH
Workshop Series Website. The information is a consolidation of
professional learning presentations, current research and teacher
contributions.

The ERF REACH Lead Team

is providing this early literacy information for early learning
educators and professional leaders. We have provided the most
current research as well as practical application ideas and suggestions
for early learning educators to use in their classrooms. Please preview
and adjust the information as needed for the purposes of your
audience.

Why is Alphabet Knowledge

Important ?
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)

Without firm knowledge of letters,

children will have difficulty with all other
aspects of early literacy.
Bradley & Stahl (2001)

Alphabet Knowledge is
Important

What Does it Mean to Know a

Letter?

Letter-name knowledge
What letter is this?
Letter-shape recognition
Point to the letter a.
Letter-sound knowledge
What sound does this letter make?
Ability to print letters
Write the letter a.
Rapid letter naming
Name these letters as quickly as you can.

Bradley & Stahl (2001)

Attending to Features of
Print
Children need to know that . . .
Letters have features such as sticks, curves,
circles, tails, and tunnels.
Orientation of letters is important.
There is a specific way to form each letter.
Each letter has a name and two forms
(uppercase and lowercase).
Each letter is connected to at least one
sound.
Pinnell& Fountas (1998)

How Should the Alphabet be

Taught?

Alphabet knowledge is one of the least studied areas of

literacy.
We know why its important, but there is limited agreement
about what constitutes effective alphabet instruction (Piasta
& Wagner, 2010).

Children can benefit from using their names as a

springboard for learning the letters of the alphabet .
Children recognize, read, and write their names earlier than
other words (Bloodgood, 1999).
Children are familiar with the letters that make up their own
name and are able to recognize the first letter of their name
more easily than other letters of the alphabet. This concept
has been termed own-name advantage (Treiman & Broderick,
1998).

How Should the Alphabet Be

Taught?
Children appear to use letter names to help learn
and remember letter sounds (Treiman, et al., 2006).
Handwriting practice helps young children learn
and recall letter shapes (Ehri & Roberts, 2006;
Beringer, 1999).

Children learn alphabet letters most readily

when the letters appear in meaningful settings
(Neuman et al., 2000).

Writing Letters
Learning to form a letter is great support in
learning the letter shape.
Forming letters does not have to be a pencil and
paper task.
Air writing
Forming the letter in sand, rice, or shaving
cream
Tracing sandpaper letters or outlined letters
Sidewalk chalk may be easier for writing
before fine motor skills are ready for pencils

Writing Letters
The point is learning the correct way to form a
letterwhere to start, which direction to move,
and where to end.
Instruction in letter formation should be about
the process, not about the product.
Learning to form the letters correctly promotes
handwriting fluency, which is linked with the
quantity and quality of written expression.
Handwriting vs. Penmanship

Pre-Writing Center

The goal of a pre-writing center is to

help children develop fine motor
skills.

Letter Sounds
Children need to learn the sounds of letters so
they can use them as they decode words.
As they decode, they need to be able to blend
the sounds of letters.
So, we need to be sure the letter sounds we are
teaching are blendable!

Embedding Alphabet Knowledge

Throughout the Day

Small Group: Shared Reading

Experience

Chanting story refrains

Reading keywords
Filling in predictable parts and phrases
Echo reading

Morrow, Freitag, & Gambrell (2009)

Welcome

Daily News

Sign-In

Transitions: Center Song

Tune: "Where is Thumbkin?

Teacher: Where is __________? Where is ________?

Child : Here I am. Here I am.
Teacher: How are you today, _________?
Child:Very well, I thank you.
Teacher: Choose a center. Choose a center

Recess

Without firm knowledge of letters, children will have

difficulty with all other aspects of literacy (Bradley &
Stahl, 2001).

Whole Group: Shared Writing

Experience

Turns into

Centers: Dramatic Play

Alphabet Center

Children need multiple opportunities

to manipulate and practice letters
(NCFL, 2009, 19).

Child Made Alphabet Books

References
Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and ;earning about
print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bloodgood, J. W. (1999). What's in a name? Children's name writing and
literacy acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(3), 342367.
Bradley, B. A., & Stahl, S. A. (2001). Learning the alphabet. Presented at
the National Reading Conference.
http://www.ciera.org/library/presos/2001/2001nrc/01nrcstahl/01nrcst
a.pdf
Gibson, E. P., Gibson, J. J., Pick, A. D., & Osser, H. (1962). A
Developmental study of the discrimination of letter-like forms.
Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 897-906.
Justice, L. M., Pence, K., Bowles, R. B., & Wiggins, A. (2006). An
investigation of four hypotheses concerning the order by which 4year-old children learn the alphabet letters. Early Childhood
Research Quarterly, 21(3), 374-389.

References
Lane, H. B., Pullen, P. C., Hudson, R. F., & Konold, T. R. (2009).
Identifying essential instructional components of literacy tutoring
for struggling beginning readers. Literacy Research and
Instruction, 48, 277-297.
Lonigan, C. (2004). Emergent literacy skills and family literacy. In
Handbook of Family Literacy, edited by Barbara H. Wasik, 57-81.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
McGee, L. M. (2007). Transforming literacy practices in preschool:
Research-based practices that give all children the opportunity to
reach their potential as learners. NY, NY: Scholastic.
McGee, L. M., & D. J. Richgels. (1990). Literacys beginnings:
Supporting young readers and writers. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon.

References
National Research Council. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young
children. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Neuman, S. B. (2006). N is for nonsensical. Educational Leadership, 64(2),
28-31.
Phillips, B. M., Clancy-Menchetti, J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2008). Successful
phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons
from the classroom. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28(1),
3-17.
Piasta, S. B., & Wagner, R. K. (2010). Developing early literacy skills: A meta
analysis of alphabet learning and instruction. Reading Research
Quarterly, 45(1), 838.
Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I. (1998). Word matters. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Schickedanz, J. A., & Casbergue, R. M. (2004). Writing in preschool: Learning
to orchestrate meaning and marks. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.

References
Morrow, L. M., Freitag, E., & Gambrell, L. B. (2009). Using childrens literature in
preschool to develop comprehension. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Stahl, S. A., & Murray, B. A. (1994). Defining phonological awareness and Its
relationship to early reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(2), 221234.
Treiman, R., & Broderick, V. (1998). Whats in a name: Childrens knowledge about
the letters in their own names. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 70,
97116.
Treiman, R., Kessler, B., & Pollo, T. C. (2006). Learning about the letter name
subset of the vocabulary: Evidence from U.S. and Brazilian preschoolers.
Applied Psycholinguistics, 27, 211227.
Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. (1998). Child development and emergent Literacy.
Child Development, 69(3), 848-872.
Whitehurst, G.J., & Lonigan, C.J. (2001). Emergent literacy: Development from
prereaders to readers. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickenson (Eds.), Handbook of
Early Literacy Research (pp. 11 - 29). New York: Guilford Press.