Why mastery of the alphabet song alone isn’t enough

Question:

We’ve only been singing the alphabet but my grandson can sing it perfectly. Do teachers consider this ability when deciding whether a child knows the alphabet?

Response:

The fact that he is singing the ABC song is great. However, we have to balance that with an understanding that ABC’s are more than just a song. The most effective way to teach children the alphabet is by teaching them the sound a letter makes, the formation of the letter (upper and lowercase at the same time) and the name of the letter. When I say formation I mean, that the child (2, 3 or 4 years old) can rub his finger over a letter to feel the direction of “the strokes” involved. It is best to work on a few (or just one) a week and move on when your child has mastered the “whole” value of each letter. This method will allow your child to apply letters; letter sounds and blends to reading in the near future. Otherwise, they are going to think letters are nothing more than a song, something you point to or worse, only something you color in a workbook.

Make sure to purchase some alphabet cards at your local big box retailer, teacher store or office store. Hang them at your child’s eye level and read them to him everyday with excitement. Don’t sing them when you read them. Do this whether he is interested or not. He can be playing with another toy in the room while you are touching (and reading) the alphabet and finding things that begin with a certain letter. Be excited! Find magnetic letters and play with them on your refrigerator or on a cookie sheet. He will want to join the excitement soon enough. Patience is a virtue and learning that letters are fun is detrimental to a positive attitude toward reading-related activities in the future.

Remember… letters are not something that simply must be memorized and regurgitated. Letters are the foundation of our language and are necessary for reading and writing. Many times parents are so excited about their child’s early mastery of the letters (applause!), and rightfully so, however if the child hasn’t connected those letters to the sounds they make and the shapes (curves and stick lines) that form it… the child still has a lot to learn.

Think of it like learning to ride a bike. Do you teach your child to hold on to the handlebars for two years before entering kindergarten because that is where he will learn to pedal? Of course not, you learn to hold the handlebars, balance and pedal at the same time. This “time” frame may take months or even years for some children. And so it goes the same way with learning the letters of the alphabet when a child truly learns the “whole” of a letter.

The weekly learning plans at Wiggle Giggle Learn offer you a sequential guideline that helps busy parents focus on just the right skills at each age for optimal learning development and letters are part of those learning plans.

Happy learning and growing

Tracey Bryant Stuckey

Chief Creative Learning Officer

www.wigglegigglelearn.com

http://traceybryantstuckey.com