There are different opinions on the order to teach letters, but there are some common recommendations based on research and experience. Here are some of the most common suggestions:
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Start with phonological awareness: Before teaching letter recognition, it is important to help children develop phonological awareness, which is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words. This can be done through various activities, such as rhyming, alliteration, and segmenting words into sounds.
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Teach name letters first: Many experts recommend starting with the letters in a childs name, as these letters hold a special meaning to them and can motivate them to learn more.
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Introduce letters in a specific order: There are different orders to introduce letters, depending on the goals of instruction. Some common orders include:
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Starting with letters whose sounds can be sustained, such as s, f, or m, and then teaching high utility letters first, such as those that occur frequently in words.
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Grouping letters based on how they are formed, such as starting with letters that have similar shapes or strokes.
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Introducing lower case letters first, unless upper case letters are similar in configuration.
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Teach letters in a way that promotes decoding: When introducing letters, it is important to do so in a way that allows children to begin decoding words as quickly as possible. This means introducing letters in an order that gives them the knowledge to begin reading as soon as they feel confident enough in the letter-sounds they have already learned.
Based on these recommendations, here is an example order to teach letters:
- Name letters
- s, m, r, t, n, p, o, c, a, d
- i, h, e, b, l, f, g, u, j, k, v, w, x, y, z, q
It is important to note that the order in which letters are taught is not as important as the quality of instruction and the opportunities for practice and reinforcement.
