New insights about letter learning

The acquisition of alphabetic knowledge (letter names, letter sounds, and letter forms) is an important predictor of later literacy achievement. This article describes research findings that provide new insights about how children learn the alphabetic principle and the implications for effective and efficient instruction of the alphabet. Teachers in early childhood settings need to (a) provide explicit, systematic instruction, (b) consider cultural and programmatic variations, (c) acknowledge that not all letters need equal effort, (d) use multicomponent approaches, and (e) provide opportunities for children to transfer isolated skills to connected text. This article fully discusses each instructional implication. A sample lesson format is provided.