Alphabetic principle
The Alphabetic principle is a foundational concept in reading and literacy education that emphasizes the relationship between letters and their corresponding sounds, known as phonics. This method is designed to help students decode words, enabling them to read effectively. Educators start by teaching high-frequency letters and their common sounds, gradually introducing less common letters and sounds as students progress. Mastery of the alphabetic principle is generally expected by third grade, as early understanding is linked to later academic success.
To learn to read, children must first recognize the names, shapes, and sounds of letters, often beginning with the alphabet song. They progress through stages, starting with sounding out individual letters, moving to whole words, and eventually achieving sight reading. The principle distinguishes between regular words, which can be easily sounded out, and irregular words that do not follow standard phonetic rules. Given the complexities of the English language, including multiple sounds for vowels and letter combinations, educators must strategically introduce sounds to build a solid reading foundation. Emphasizing lowercase letters, visual cues, and auditory practice further supports students in mastering this essential literacy skill.
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Alphabetic principle
The Alphabetic principle is a reading and comprehension teaching method. According to the alphabetic principle, a relationship exists between letter symbols and spoken words, or phonics. Educators use the method to teach certain high-use letters (or combinations of letters) and their sounds first and then gradually introduce other lesser-used letters and sounds. This helps students learn how to sound out words and eventually read. Students should master the alphabetic principle prior to third grade to learn how to read properly. The earlier students learn the alphabetic principle, the more likely they are to perform well as they advance through school.
Background
The alphabetic principle teaches students that words are composed of letters, and letters make sounds. Educators should focus on teaching students how letters constitute speech. To learn to read, students must learn the letters of the alphabet, their corresponding sounds, and the sounds of certain combinations of letters. They can then merge the letters and combinations of letters to decode, or sound out, words.
Before they learn to read, children must first know the name, shape, and sound of each letter in the alphabet. Most children learn the names of the letters from the alphabet song, in which all the letters of the alphabet are recited in order to a tune. Once they know the letters' names, students can learn how to recognize the letters' shapes and learn their sounds.
When learning to read, students will progress through several steps. In the first, they sound out each individual letter in a word aloud. Next, they sound out each letter and say the whole word aloud. After this, they advance to sight reading, in which students sound out words in their heads before saying the word aloud. Last, students can read words without having to sound them out first.
Students learn to read two types of words: regular and irregular words. In regular words, all the letters represent their common sounds. The letters of a regular word can be sounded out. The word fan is an example of a regular word. In an irregular word, its letters do not represent common sounds. The word night is an example of an irregular word because its letters cannot be decoded.
English is a difficult language because a direct letter and sound correspondence does not exist. The language has forty-four phonemes (sounds of speech) but only twenty-six letters. Letters can have more than one sound. For example, vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) have both long and short sounds. A long sound is produced when a vowel sounds like its name. For example, in the word name, the a is pronounced with a long sound. Short sounds are other sounds the vowels take.
Sometimes, phonemes are made from more than one single letter or collection of letters. For example, the sound of the letter k can be represented by the letter k, the letter c, the letters c and k together (as in the word click), and the letters c and h together (as in the word echo). When teaching the alphabetic principle, educators should first teach the most common sounds for each letter. For example, when teaching the letter c, the common sound is that used in the word camp, while the alternate sound is that used in the word civil.
Teaching the common sounds for letters first helps students build solid reading skills and avoid letter confusion. Studies have shown that students who struggle with reading typically struggle to distinguish the correct sounds for letters. This is why students should learn the common sounds for letters first. Educators should give students multiple opportunities to use newly learned letter sounds in reading and writing assignments. Additionally, visual cues combined with auditory practice is important for many students learning the correct sounds for each letter.
Overview
According to the alphabetic principle, educators should introduce common sounds for high-frequency letters, or those that appear most often in language, first. Examples of high-frequency letters include a, e, l, m, n, s, and t. Letters that appear less frequently include q, x, and z.
Educators should delay teaching letter combinations that sound the same as individual letters, such as e and y, as in the word they, that could be easily confused with the letter a. In addition, they should wait to introduce letters that have similar sounds, such as b and v (as in the words berry and very) or ones that are visually confusing, such as b and d or p and g. Once the students master the common sounds for high-frequency letters, educators can teach the alternate sounds for these letters. After students learn these, other less frequently used letters and their sounds can be introduced.
A sample alphabetic principle lesson might include the introduction of two or more single letters with one or two short vowel sounds. Once the students master these, educators can add more single letters, other short vowel sounds, and one long vowel sound. Consonants and vowels should be introduced in a sequence that allows students to learn how to read words logically and quickly.
There is no right or wrong letter and sound combinations to introduce first, but educators should be mindful of letters, letter combinations, and sounds typically found in grade-appropriate words and start with these. For example, once students master the sounds of some short letter combinations, an educator can introduce digraphs, which are combinations of two letters representing one sound, such as th or ch. These help young students learn how to read common grade-appropriate words such as the, she, and chair.
Educators might find that exclusively teaching lowercase letters is less confusing since students are not initially presented with two forms (capital and lowercase) of each letter. Lowercase letters are more common in written text (95 percent of lowercase letters versus 5 percent of capital letters), which makes lowercase letters easier for children to recognize and learn.
Sometimes, educators choose to pair letters with a particular object, for example, the letter b with an image of a bat. Once the students have learned to sound out the word bat, they are able to recognize the letter b and remember its sound. They can then apply this knowledge to learn how to sound out other words that begin with the letter b.
Bibliography
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"Alphabetic Principle." University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning, reading.uoregon.edu/big‗ideas/au/au‗what.php. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
"Knowledge of the Alphabetic Principle." SEDL, www.sedl.org/reading/framework/elements.html#alphabetic. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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Stotsky, Sandra. "Did Teachers Really Used to Make Kids Memorize without Understanding?" New Boston Post, 7 Dec. 2017, newbostonpost.com/2017/12/07/did-teachers-really-used-to-make-kids-memorize-without-understanding. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
"What Is the Alphabetic Principle?" Sight Word Games, www.sightwordsgame.com/learning-to-read/what-is-the-alphabetic-principle. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
"What's the Best Way to Teach the Alphabetic Principle?" National Center on Improving Literacy, www.improvingliteracy.org/ask-an-expert/whats-best-way-teach-alphabetic-principle.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.