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7.2: Alphabet Knowledge Continuum

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    Continuum of Emergent Reading Development: Letter Knowledge and the Alphabetic Principle

    There are 4 components of developing letter knowledge:

    1. Letter Recognition: The ability to recognize a letter and differentiate it from other letters when asked. ("Can you find the letter Aa?")

    2. Letter Naming: The ability to recognize that a letter shape is associated with a letter name. ("What is this letter?")

    3. Letter Sound Knowledge: The ability to determine the sound that corresponds to a letter shape or name. ("What is the sound for this letter?")

    4. Letter Writing: The ability to trace or write the letter.

    The chart below shows a general timeframe of when you can expect to see alphabet knowledge skills and behaviors. Refer to your state's early learning standards. In Wisconsin see https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/fil...itionfinal.pdf

    Looking at the chart below or your state early learning standards, try to identify when the different components of letter knowledge generally develop.

    Early Infancy

    0-8 months

     

    Later Infancy

    6-14 months

     

    Early Toddler

    12-24 Months

     

    Later Toddler

    22-36 Months

    • Begins to recognize a few upper or lowercase letters (if taught) (CLLD2.4a)

    Early Preschool

    34-48 Months

    • Begins to recognize more upper, and lowercase letters if taught (CLLD2.4b)
    • Identifies sounds and recognizes letters associated with beginning of first name and last name (CLLD2.4c)
    • Begins to connect alphabet letters and corresponding sounds (e.g., connecting letters and sounds of common letters/words) (CLLD2.4d)

    Later Preschool

    44-60 Months

    • For many, with instructional support, matches the sound with the corresponding letter (CLLD2.4f)
    • For many, with instructional support, matches the letter with the corresponding sound (CLLD2.4g)
    • Recognizes many upper and lowercase letters (CLLD2.4h)
    • Will use a combination of letters and symbols to represent words (CLLD2.4i)

    Table 7.2.1 “A Continuum of Emergent Reading Development: Alphabetic Principle”. Content is from Virginia’s Early Learning & Development Standards (ELDS): Birth-Five Learning Guidelines. It is used with permission of the creators and is not an open education resource covered by a Creative Commons License.


    This page titled 7.2: Alphabet Knowledge Continuum is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Vicki Tanck via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.