Children require knowledge of the alphabet in order to learn to read, spell and write. Designed by Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists, Alphabet sound knowledge for 4 to 6 Year Olds is the key to early literacy learning, rather than letter naming.

For example:

• In order to read the word ‘dog’ a child must recognise each letter symbol and convert each symbol into the correct sound ‘d’, ‘oh’, ‘g’ and then the child must blend the sounds together (phonemic blending ability).
• In order to spell the basic word ‘cup’ a child must first ‘sound-out’ (or phonemically segment) ‘c’, ‘u’, ‘p’ and then the child must recall and apply in the correct order the alphabet symbols.

As these examples illustrate, alphabetic letter naming does not help a child to blend nor segment the sounds in words. It is their knowledge of the alphabet sounds which allows them to read and spell the words. This resource, therefore, focuses on alphabet sounds for early literacy learners. The recommended order of presentation is:

• Group 1: s, p, n, i, a, t
• Group 2: m, r, h, e, d, c
• Group 3: f, l, g, o, u b
• Group 4: w, j, v, k, z, y, q, x

The resource provides multiple opportunities to rehearse the recognition, application and letter formation of the alphabet sounds.

Features:

• Instruction manual (156 pages)
• Games and worksheets
• Alphabet sound knowledge checks
• Screening formats to track student performance on letter-sound recognition and letter formation.