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New Insights About Letter Learning
Author(s) -
Dougherty Stahl Katherine A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1002/trtr.1320
Subject(s) - alphabet , mathematics education , literacy , psychology , learning to read , early literacy , transfer of training , teaching method , linguistics , cognitive psychology , pedagogy , philosophy
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.