Children who have not mastered letter-sound knowledge by the end of kindergarten are more likely to be poor readers.
Letter Knowledge can and should be taught in short lessons (5-15 minutes) every day in preschool classrooms. It should also be reinforced throughout the day.
Students learn Letter Knowledge best through frequent exposure and repetition of the letters.
Introducing a letter every 2 to 3 days allows for multiple review cycles throughout a school year. Students who learn letter names and sounds more quickly make significantly greater progress in reading (Blaiklock 2004).
Plan your instruction sequence using Letter Knowledge Instruction chart (below).
1.Teacher must know the letter sounds
Watch and listen this 2 min. video to hear clear
and accurate letter sounds:
For example: For the letter “b”, the sound should be /b/ NOT /b--uh/
2. Plan the week’s lessons and activities
Use this Explicit Instruction Sample Week Lesson Plan for a week’s worth
of activities that promote explicit instruction and literacy rich content
instruction.
See Letter Knowledge Lesson Template (below).
Make connections with letters throughout the day by pointing out and naming letters and saying their sounds in books, around the school, and in other activities.
Some considerations should be taken when teaching Letter Knowledge:
a m t s i f d r o g l h u c b n k v e w j p y T L M F D I N A R H G B x q z J E Q