ReadSpell: The Letters of the Alphabet

ReadSpell is divided into nine sets, zero through eight. In this post and the next few, I share a free preview of what’s inside.

Irrespective of the age and the reading/spelling level of the student, start with the letters of the alphabet, and ensure that ALL students are able to

1. recite the letters of the English Alphabet in order

2. name both uppercase and lowercase letters of the English Alphabet when presented in order

3. name both uppercase and lowercase letters of the English Alphabet when presented out of order

4. write both uppercase and lowercase letters of the English Alphabet in order

5. write any uppercase and lowercase letter of the English Alphabet when dictated out of order

Ensuring the above, especially in older students, takes very few minutes. This initial investment prevents assumptions about what students know.

In students with prolonged illiteracy, there is a chance that they have forgotten a few uncommon letters such as <q> or <x>. Mirroring and a number of other issues can be caught at this stage and remedied easily.

Here are a few slide decks that may help you with Stage 0:

Lowercase Letter Identification In Order

Lowercase Letter Identification Out of Order

Uppercase Letter Identification In Order

Uppercase Letter Identification Out of Order

Please note that we are not concerned about “sounds” at this stage. Letter naming is essential and inescapable for literacy outcomes. Not teaching letter names or teaching students to label the letters with their “sounds” instead of their names will become detrimental soon enough. Watch this space for a post that explains why.

In case your students call out “sounds” instead of letter names, you could say, “That’s the sound, yes. What’s the name of the letter?”

If they know only the “sounds” and not the names of more than 3 letters, use the above slide decks for the next few days till your student(s) are able to name ALL the letters correctly.

In the next post, I will share several troubleshooting scenarios and solutions for Set Zero.

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