Letter Naming
Topic 4
1
Chapter 6
2
Permissions
Contents of the ELRP resource book are adapted with permission from:
Anderson, K. L. & Scanlon, D. M. (2014). Participant Resources for Book Study: ISA/RtI Professional Development. State
University of New York, University at Albany: Child Research and Study Center.
Contents of the ELRP PowerPoints are adapted with permission from:
Scanlon, D. M. & Anderson, K. L. (2014). Facilitator’s Guide for Book Study: ISA/RtI Professional Development. State University of New York, University at Albany: Child Research and Study Center.
3
Letter Naming
Instructional Goal:
The child will be able to accurately and fluently
name all 26 letters of the alphabet, both upper and lower case versions.
3
4
Letter name knowledge at kindergarten entry
is a good predictor of later literacy acquisition.
5
Alphabet Knowledge Snapshot (EIRD pg. 125)
What does it mean to “know”
the alphabet?
What does it mean to “know”
a letter?
5
6
For children who know very little about the alphabet, the font used in instructional materials is important:
T t T T T T T T T T T T
T T T T T T
Avoid Fancy Fonts!
6
Singing an Alphabet Song
In viewing this video, notice and discuss the potential advantages of slowing down the pace of the song*.
Video 1 (1:28) (Pre K, Whole Class, Spring)
* Written and performed by: Andy the Music Man
ABC Practice
In viewing this video, notice how the children use their knowledge of the sequence of letter names to support their ability to connect letter names to their printed forms.
Video 2 (3:38) (Kindergarten, Small Group, October)
9
Teaching about Individual Letters
Which letters should be taught first?
Begin with:
Letters that are used more frequently
Letters that are important to the children
9
10
A B C D E F G H I J K L a b c d e f g h i j k l
For the first few letters, begin with uppercase letters.
10
11
a b c d
b c d g p t v a j k
s f m n
Early on, avoid similar letters.
11
12
Teaching the Name of an Individual Letter:
For children who know little about the alphabet:
Explicitly teach the names of individual letters.
Focus initially on recognition (the ability to find the letter named by the teacher).
Then focus on identification (the ability to name the letter).
Avoid talking about the letter sound until the child is at least somewhat familiar with the letter name.
12
13
Dd Bb
Providing a ready reference can help to reduce letter confusions.
13
14
Teaching about Specific Letters
14
Pause here to read pp. 115-116 and discuss the value of using emergent level texts to teach about specific letters.
14
Provide Practice Using a Letter Hunt
In this video the teacher engages the students in a hunt for the letter C.
Notice and discuss:
The thinking that the children must engage in while conducting the “letter hunt”.
How many times the children connect the name of the letter to the letter’s form.
Video 3 (:48) (Kindergarten, Small Group, December)
16
Letter Formation
Learning to form a letter helps children to attend to the letter’s shape and to how it is different from other letters.
Practice with printing letters can help children:
Develop fluency with letter names if the name is used a lot while practicing.
Become better writers if they become fluent enough with letter formation that they don’t have to think about it.
K becomes F
16
Aa Letter Terminology
As the children begin to learn the upper and lower case versions of letters, it is important to be explicit about which letter is which and the contexts in which each is used.
Explicit instruction relative to case is illustrated in this video.
Video 4 (:50) (Kindergarten, Whole Class, late September)
18
Letter Formation Activities
Demonstrate letter formation – explicitly.
Have (unembellished) models of the letters readily available for reference.
Have the children practice the formation of
individual letters multiple times – naming the letter every time.
Play games such as Tic Tac Toe with letters the children are learning.
Use different media for practice.
Fluency with letter formation should be a goal.
18
19
Letter Naming
When the child can readily recognize a letter he will soon be able to name it.
Games that require the children to think of the name of the letter can help to promote
automaticity with letter naming.
Concentration (Memory)
Go fish
Beat the clock
See pp. 119-120 in the EIRD book for more details.
19
20
Note: The teacher writes a lower case b while describing what she’s doing and then points to the b on the class alphabet chart to model the utility of the chart.
Shared and emergent writing are contexts for learning letter names.
Shared Writing: The teacher writes a passage on chart paper or other surface using print that is large enough for the children to see. As she writes she talks about what she is doing -
“I want to write ‘Good morning boys and girls.’ So far we
have ‘Good morning…’ The next word I want to write is ‘boys.’
‘Boys’ starts with a B. To make a b, I make a straight line down and then a round part on this side of the line – just like the
lower case b on our alphabet chart.”
20
21
Shared and emergent writing are contexts for learning letter names.
Emergent Writing: Students write daily to produce a message
Letter-level instruction helps students move from scribbling to more conventional printing.
Printed models of the alphabet support children in learning how to print the letters and may help to reinforce letter names.
21
22
B T M
Y R D
F J A
S
Game for Letter Recognition Practice:
Parking Lot
22
23
A
A
A
A A A
Game for Letter Formation Practice that
Supports Letter Name Learning: Tic Tac Toe
23
24
A
S C T M
S A T
T S B
C M
M A T
Letter Recognition and Formation Practice:
Sticky Note Bingo
24
25
Important Points Related to Letter Names
Being fast and accurate on letter identification ensures that the child can devote her cognitive resources to the higher-level aspects of reading and writing.
For children who know few if any letters:
Early instruction needs to involve both whole alphabet activities and explicit instruction on individual letters.
Instructional materials should consist of unembellished font.
25
© 2014 Scanlon, Anderson and the Child Research and Study Center, The University at Albany
26
Important Points Related to Letter Naming
For many letters, the letter name provides an
important clue about the sound that the letter makes.
Children are more likely to learn the names of letters when they use the name often in instructional and
game-like activities.
Providing models to allow children to self-check
confusable letters (b/d, n/u, q/p, etc.) will help them to overcome their early confusions.
26
27
Reflecting on Your Teaching Practices
Across instructional settings,
Do children experience consistency in the approach to letter name instruction and terminology used?
Are the instructional materials which are available supportive of teaching letter names?
Are children provided with many opportunities to use the letter names in instructional and game-like activities?
Are children provided with models for self-checking confusable letters?
What, if anything, would you like to change with
respect to your instruction pertaining to letter names?
27
Reflections/Thoughts/Questions?
28
29
K becomes F: Kevin’s successive attempts at forming the letter K.
Return
29
