Alphabetic Principle

We have been talking about phonemic awareness, and now we are going to dive into what I like to call phonemic awareness’ best friend! The alphabetic principle. Without the alphabetic principle, students will not be able to decode the words they see on the page into spoken words. 

What is the alphabetic principle? 

The alphabetic principle is having knowledge of letters and the sounds that make up those letters. Simply put, Any word that we say can be broken down into speech sounds. Those speech sounds can be represented with a letter or collection of letters from the alphabet. When students have reached the full alphabetic stage, they are able to both encode (write) and decode (read) the words they hear and see. 

Why is the alphabetic principle so important?

Students learn how to break words into individual sounds orally through phonemic awareness, and then apply that knowledge to print (alphabetic principle). 

Phonemic Awareness + Alphabetic Principle= Decoding & Reading and Encoding & Writing ..right? 

Unfortunately, not always.  Students often struggle to make the connection between the two. They don’t always realize that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language and that there is a predictable relationship between those letters and letter sounds.

What does this mean for us as teachers?

It means that we should try to establish the alphabetic principle as early as possible! 

It is a common misconception that students must know all letter names and sounds before they can begin reading words. This is simply not true. With just a handful of letters and sounds, instruction can begin. 

What sequence should we teach letters and sounds?

Letter sounds should be taught a few at a time with frequent review. Teachers should keep in mind the following when planning and teaching letter names and sounds

• Avoid teaching letters or sounds that look or sounds similar. 

• Teach letters that occur frequently in the words students see FIRST. Some of these letters include (a, t, m, s, b)

• Always teach short vowels before long vowels. 

• Teach letters in an explicit way. 

• Track data frequently

Once you have figured out a continuum (You click here to snag my progression here for free!) It is time to assess what letters and sounds your students know and what they still need to learn. Next week, I will be sharing all about letter names and sound assessments! Stay tuned!