Mrs. Merri Owen

Mrs. Merri Owen
LDT/C

Mrs. Merri Owen
Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant

The first month of school has passed and I hope everyone has made the adjustment to their new classrooms and new teachers. With the beginning of October comes the cold weather and the first progress reports. Make sure you discuss with your child any area that needs improvement and make a plan on how to improve that subject area’s grade.

The following might be of interest to parents who are trying to teach their children the letters of the alphabet. Research has shown that children who can recognize the letters of the alphabet have an easier time learning to make the connection between letters and their sounds. Practice with writing letters is a proven method for building and reinforcing letter recognition. Children need to memorize letter names which can be done through direct instruction along with many exposures to the letters in print. The following is a list of activities for helping children develop alphabet (letter) recognition skills.

Teach letter names before children learn the sounds associated with them. Teach the child the alphabet song and sing it daily; you can also point to the letters as you sing the song with your child.

Provide the letters in different forms: printed on cards, cutout from pieces of fabric (especially felt or fuzzy materials or materials such as sandpaper or Styrofoam). Have the child trace the letter with his or her finger as the letter name is said.

Have the child make the letter out of clay, pipe cleaners, finger paint, or form the letter with his or her body.

Teach the child the letters of his or her name.

Some pairs of letters are easily confused, so it is best to avoid teaching them together. Allow extra time for the child to learn one letter before introducing the other letter. These pairs include: b-d; m-n; m-w; g-p; n-u; p-q; u-v; v-w; f-t; c-o; b-p; c-e; a-o; b-h; h-n; i-j; i-l; v-y; C-G; O-Q; I-L; M-N; M-W; K-X; E-F; U-V; V-Y; D-O; P-R.

Provide practice in writing letters. Let the child write the letters on unlined paper first. Students can use paint, finger paint, or pencils.

Write a series of words on a piece of paper, for example: box, ran, back, fan, boy. Ask the child to circle all the words that begin with a letter, in this case – b.

Select a letter for the day and write it on a large sheet of paper. Have the child cut out words from old magazines that start with that letter. The child can also add his or her drawings of things that start with that letter.

There are many trade and library alphabet books available. Read a variety of these books to your child and help him or her find things in the pictures on the pages that start with the different letters. Encourage the child to use the alphabet books as models to create his or her own alphabet book.

There are many games you can play to reinforce letter recognition using letter cards once the child has mastered recognizing and naming the letters:

1. Use letter cards to spell the child’s name. Have the child spell his or her name, saying the letter names. Then scramble the letters and ask the child to unscramble the letters to spell his or her name.

2. Spread out the letter cards with lowercase and uppercase letters on a table; ask the child to pair the uppercase letters with the lowercase letters.

3. Give the child letter cards and have him or her place the letter cards in alphabetical order.

4. Make two sets of a selection of different letter cards (about 16 to 20 or 8 to 10 different letters); spread them face down on the table and have them turn over two cards and say the letter names. If the letters are the same the child can keep the letter cards.

5. Place a deck of letter cards face down; have the child draw a letter card, name the letter; if correct move along a game board.

Reading-tutors.com provides letter cards and game boards for games and activities. These suggestions and activities were taken from a hand-out on alphabet recognition at reading-tutors.com.

If you wish to contact me, please call 629-9500 ext. 3, or use the e-mail address below.

Other Places to go:

Learning Disabilities OnLine
Franklin Township Library

Email: Mrs. Merri Owen

	Mrs. Merri Owen Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant
	The first month of school has passed and I hope everyone has made the adjustment to their new classrooms and new teachers. With the beginning of October comes the cold weather and the first progress reports. Make sure you discuss with your child any area that needs improvement and make a plan on how to improve that subject area’s grade.
	The following might be of interest to parents who are trying to teach their children the letters of the alphabet. Research has shown that children who can recognize the letters of the alphabet have an easier time learning to make the connection between letters and their sounds. Practice with writing letters is a proven method for building and reinforcing letter recognition. Children need to memorize letter names which can be done through direct instruction along with many exposures to the letters in print. The following is a list of activities for helping children develop alphabet (letter) recognition skills.
	Teach letter names before children learn the sounds associated with them. Teach the child the alphabet song and sing it daily; you can also point to the letters as you sing the song with your child.
	Provide the letters in different forms: printed on cards, cutout from pieces of fabric (especially felt or fuzzy materials or materials such as sandpaper or Styrofoam). Have the child trace the letter with his or her finger as the letter name is said.
	Have the child make the letter out of clay, pipe cleaners, finger paint, or form the letter with his or her body.
	Teach the child the letters of his or her name.
	Some pairs of letters are easily confused, so it is best to avoid teaching them together. Allow extra time for the child to learn one letter before introducing the other letter. These pairs include: b-d; m-n; m-w; g-p; n-u; p-q; u-v; v-w; f-t; c-o; b-p; c-e; a-o; b-h; h-n; i-j; i-l; v-y; C-G; O-Q; I-L; M-N; M-W; K-X; E-F; U-V; V-Y; D-O; P-R.
	Provide practice in writing letters. Let the child write the letters on unlined paper first. Students can use paint, finger paint, or pencils.
	Write a series of words on a piece of paper, for example: box, ran, back, fan, boy. Ask the child to circle all the words that begin with a letter, in this case – b.
	Select a letter for the day and write it on a large sheet of paper. Have the child cut out words from old magazines that start with that letter. The child can also add his or her drawings of things that start with that letter.
	There are many trade and library alphabet books available. Read a variety of these books to your child and help him or her find things in the pictures on the pages that start with the different letters. Encourage the child to use the alphabet books as models to create his or her own alphabet book.
	There are many games you can play to reinforce letter recognition using letter cards once the child has mastered recognizing and naming the letters:
	1. Use letter cards to spell the child’s name. Have the child spell his or her name, saying the letter names. Then scramble the letters and ask the child to unscramble the letters to spell his or her name.
	2. Spread out the letter cards with lowercase and uppercase letters on a table; ask the child to pair the uppercase letters with the lowercase letters.
	3. Give the child letter cards and have him or her place the letter cards in alphabetical order.
	4. Make two sets of a selection of different letter cards (about 16 to 20 or 8 to 10 different letters); spread them face down on the table and have them turn over two cards and say the letter names. If the letters are the same the child can keep the letter cards.
	5. Place a deck of letter cards face down; have the child draw a letter card, name the letter; if correct move along a game board.
	Reading-tutors.com provides letter cards and game boards for games and activities. These suggestions and activities were taken from a hand-out on alphabet recognition at reading-tutors.com.

	If you wish to contact me, please call 629-9500 ext. 3, or use the e-mail address below.