It's likely that many parents have sat in meetings with teachers in which the term "alphabetic principle" was discussed and may very well have been unsure about the meaning of the phrase.
Alphabetic principle is the knowledge that there is a specific connection between each spoken letter sound and the written symbols that represent each spoken sound.
This week we will examine the transition emergent readers make from oral language to written language by delving into "alphabetic principle"; the mysterious alphabetic code, yet critical building block that unlocks words.
Children who have difficulty breaking the alphabetic code often struggle with more advanced reading skills; therefore, it is important that parents and educators work diligently to ensure that students have a concrete grasp of this foundational reading concept.
We all know that most children enter kindergarten with the ability to say or sing the alphabet in the correct order.
Although these young students can recite or sing the alphabet song, at this point they generally have little concrete knowledge regarding the meaning of the letters.
Children learn to make that connection through the use of explicit, systematic, multi-sensory instruction.
Researchers conclude that young students exposed to systematic instruction in the three components of alphabetic principle become stronger readers than those students who are not exposed to systematic instruction (Armbruster, Lehr, Osborn, 2001).
In addition, the National Reading Panel concluded in a major study, that children also do better when they receive explicit instruction involving the manipulation of phonemes (The National Right to Read Foundation, 2000).
In order to become successful readers, students must be able to understand the relationship between each individual speech sound (phonemes) and printed letters that are found in words.
As always, the goal of this newsletter is to explain literacy terms in the clearest possible manner, so here is the simplest explanation.
Alphabetic principle is the understanding that there is a direct link between each spoken letter sound and the written symbols that represents each spoken letter sound.
For example, if the teacher says the letter l or makes the sound of the letter l, a student should be able to correctly identify the printed letter l, write the letter l, or tell the teacher the name of the letter she has sounded.
Alphabetic principle involves the following three components.
• Letter Recognition: The ability to identify letters of the alphabet both in and out of order.
• Phonics: The knowledge that each individual letter in the English Language makes a distinct sound and what happens when the letters are changed, blended, or otherwise combined.
• Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and then differentiate or manipulate the sounds of the spoken letters or phonemes.
To help you, assist your child or student; below I have shared five of my favorite strategies to strengthen alphabetic principle.
Five Multi-Sensory Strategies to Help Break the Alphabetic Code 1.
Rhyming Word Games: Rhyming is a difficult task for many young students, however once children get the hang of it, they generally have a great deal of fun participating.
One way to help strengthen this skill is to play games.
Cut out ten magazine pictures of rhyming words, for instance pictures of a toy and a boy.
Then glue the pictures on card stock paper or any other heavy paper.
Cut out the pictures so they are the same size to create a card game.
Rhyming Game #1: Shuffle the cards, then deal each player five cards.
Follow the rules of "Go Fish".
Rhyming Game #2: Parent or Teacher keeps five cards and places the other five face up in front of the student.
Next parent or teacher says the name of one card and asks the student to find the picture that rhymes with that picture.
2.
Sand Paper Letters: If students have difficulty remembering letter names use sandpaper.
Purchase sandpaper from your local hardware store, cut out a complete set of alphabets.
Working with five letters at a time, ask students to identify the letter by pointing each one out individually.
After students identify letters ask them to trace the letter with their finger tip.
Tactile learning activities help children retain information in their long term memory banks.
3.
Multi-Sensory Letter Trace: Pair two students and instruct them to use their fingers to trace letters each other's back.
Limit tracing to three letters at a time at which time students switch places.
Students can also trace letters on each other's hands, however, the one who is receiving the letters must close their eyes while guessing the letters.
4.
Magnetic Letter Game: Scramble magnetic letters on the front of a refrigerator at home or the front of a metal cabinet in the classroom.
Call out one letter at a time, and ask student to locate the called letter among the scrambled letters on the refrigerator.
This is an easy activity to do while preparing meals in the kitchen.
5.
Letter-Word Collage: Choose a target letter and ask student to draw the letter on a 81/2 by 11 sheet of paper.
( Make the letter big) Then allow the student to decorate the letter either by coloring or glue beans or macaroni in the shape of the letter.
Next ask student to find pictures in an old magazine that begin with the selected letter.
Glue the pictures around the letter.
Be sure to display the letter-word collage in a highly visible space or create a notebook for easy access.
References Armbruster, B.
, Lehr, F.
, Osborn, J.
(2001).
Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read.
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.
The National Right to Read Foundation.
(2000, April 13).
National reading panel reports combination of teaching phonics, word sounds, giving feedback on oral reading most effective way to teach reading.