Letter knowledge includes recognition and naming of letter names and letter sounds.
How can I help?
- Use the letters in your child’s name to learn the letters of the alphabet.
- For example, make a sand tray by placing a thin layer of sand in a container with a flat bottom. Encourage your child to write the letters in his or her name in the sand and then tell you the letter names and sounds of each letter.
- Sing the names of letters and their sounds.
- For example, show the letter “d” and sing about the sound of the letter to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus.” “The letter on the bus goes /d/ /d/ /d/, /d/ /d/ /d/, /d/ /d/ /d/, the letter on the bus goes /d/ /d/ /d/, what is its name?” Repeat with different letters of the alphabet. You might sing the short sounds of the vowels (/ă/ as in apple, /ĕ/ as in egg, /ĭ/ as in kick, /ŏ/ as in octopus, /ŭ/ as in umbrella).
- Use print and pictures in books to practice letter and sound recognition.
- Give your child a toy magnifying glass to search for specific letters in a book or magazine. Count the number of times the letter appears on a page. Look for pictures in the book that begin with that same letter sound.
- Create games where you match the uppercase and lowercase letters.
- For example, place all of the lowercase alphabet magnets on the refrigerator and all of the uppercase letters in a bowl. Ask your child to choose a letter from the bowl and say the name and sound of the letter. Help your child match the uppercase letter magnets to the lowercase letter magnets.
