Alphabetic Principle

The understanding that there are "systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds." Children who are learning the alphabetic principle may apply their knowledge of predictable relationships to familiar and unfamiliar words.

The progression of acquiring alphabetic knowledge is as follows: letter names, letter shapes, and finally letter sounds.

Texas Education Agency. (2002). "The Alphabetic Principle." ReadingRockets.org.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/alphabetic-principle