The first step in teaching literacy is to familiarize your child/student with the [English] alphabet and the various letter sounds. In English, the 26 letters of the alphabet each have a single letter name  (i.e. “A,” “B,” “C,” etc…) in addition to the sounds that are associated with each letter. For example, letter A, has different sounds depending on the word. In the word rain, the letter a sounds like the a in the word ray. In the word ran, the letter a sounds like the a in the word an or can. Teaching children to read involves teaching students both the names of the letters and the different sounds that are associated with them. 

In English there are five vowels (a, e, i, o, u). All five vowels have both a long sound and a short sound. For all lessons including the five vowels, we will teach both the long  vowel sound and the short  vowel sound in the same lesson. 

Teaching Methods

Vowels

We will use rhymes and rhyming words to teach both long and short  vowel sounds that occur anywhere in a word (beginning, middle, end). For example, the letter A long /ā/ sound occurs at the beginning of the word ape, and at the end of the word hay.

Consonants

Alliteration [1] is used to teach sounds for the consonants. Alliteration is a sentence with numerous words in it that begin with the same consonant (sound), and is often (but not always) called a tongue twister. For example: 

“She sells seashells by the seashore.” 

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” 

In this case, we are using alliteration to teach and reinforce the consonant letter sounds.

“Didactic” or learning materials can help your child learn the alphabet and the letter sounds more easily. In these lessons, the use of magazine pictures, stuffed or plastic toys, or anything small that represents the letter sounds will help.

Feel free to adapt these lessons as needed. Resource links are listed at the bottom of the page.

Materials

1. alphabet flash cards or something similar with one card for each letter (A and B)
2. small, colored plastic letters with magnets that can be used for the lesson and for your child to make short words with (people often put them on their fridge)
3. wide-ruled handwriting paper (or make your own with lines 2 inches apart)
4. finger paint, large markers or oversized pencils for your child to write the letters
5. 45-60 minutes depending on your child’s age (shorten the time for younger children)

Instruction

The first step in teaching the letter sounds to your child is to model the sound of the letter (with correct pronunciation). Then have your child repeat the sound after you. Have your child sit directly across from you in their chair, ideally with a table in between you and your child.

Step 1 Learn the Letter Names and Pronounce the Letter Sounds Associated with Each Letter of the Alphabet

Letters [A] and [B]

[A] Vowel Letter [A] = long /Āā/ vowel sound

Long /ā/ sound at the beginning of the word:

aim, air, ape, ate

Long /ā/ sound at the end of the word:

bay, clay, play, stay

1) Place the letter card (flashcard) on the desk in front of your child. Point at the letter and leave the little, plastic letter A on the table next to the flashcard. Say “This is the letter ‘A.’ Then say the sound the long A makes so your child can easily hear your pronunciation. 

“ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay”

Next, have your child say the long A sound, just like you did. If they aren’t sure or if they make mistake, help or correct them by repeating the pronunciation yourself.

“ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay”

2) Use rhyming words in a sentence that have the same sound as the letter /ā/ long vowel sound: 

Long /ā/ sound at the beginning of the word and their rhyming words

aim/tame, air/fair, ape/grape, ate/late,

Ex: “My aim is to tame the lion and the ape with the grape at the fair. Don’t be late!”

See if you can get your child/student to repeat the sentence after you and then say it with you at the same time. Clap along and see if your student claps with you. Do this a few times and use related materials that go with your sentence. Act out your sentence with your student and this will reinforce the sound of the long /ā/.

Long /ā/ sound at the end of the word:

bay, clay, play, stay, etc…

Ex: “I am going to stay along the bay and play with my clay.”

See if you can get your child/student to repeat the sentence after you and then say it with you at the same time. Clap along and see if your student claps with you. Do this a few times and use related materials that go with your sentence. For this example, use a color magazine picture of a bay with trees/sky and bring in a little craft clay as well. Act out your sentence with your student and this will reinforce the sound of the long /ā/.

[A] Vowel Letter [A] = short /Ăă/ vowel sound 

Short /ă/ sound at the beginning of the word:

acrobat, ant, apple

Short /ă/ sound at the end of the word:

bat, cat, hat, sat

“a, a, a, a, a, a, a”

Pronounce the short a sound like the a in at, bat, sat, etc…

“a, a, a, a, a, a, a”

Next, have your child say the short A sound, just like you did. If they aren’t sure or if they make mistake, help or correct them by repeating the pronunciation yourself.

“a, a, a, a, a, a, a”

2) Use rhyming words in a sentence that have the same sound as the letter /ă/ short vowel sound: 

Short /ā/ sound at the beginning of the word and their rhyming words:

acrobat, add/dad, ant/pant, apple

Ex: “Dad had to add the acrobat, the ant and the apple to the act.” 

Short /ā/ sound at the end of the word:

cat, hat, sat, bat.

Ex: “The cat in the hat sat next to a bat.” 

[B] Letter [B] consonant sound = /b/

/b/ “buh” as in ball, bat, bay, boy

Say, “This is the letter B. B like boy.” Then say the sound /b/ makes so your child can easily hear your pronunciation. Say /b/ as in boy. Try to say only the sound of the letter B, “buh,” rather than the entire word “boy,” so that your child can say it too.

“buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh”

Next, have your child say the B sound, just like you did. If they aren’t sure or if they make mistake, help or correct them by repeating the pronunciation yourself.

“buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh”

1) Use alliteration to reinforce the consonant /b/ sound at the beginning of a word: ball, bat, bay, boy

Ex: “The boy hit the ball with the bat by the bay.” 

2) See if you can get your child/student to repeat the sentence after you and then say it with you at the same time. Clap along and see if your student claps with you. Do this a few times and use related materials that go with your sentence. For example, use color magazine pictures or bring small toy items to class (ball, bat, bay, boy). Clap out your sentence with your student and this will reinforce the sound of the letter /b/.

Ex: “The boy hit the ball with the bat by the bay.” 

3) Use rhyming words to reinforce the consonant /b/ sound at the end of a word: cab, jab, lab, tab

Ex: “The girl in the cab on the way to the lab jabbed the driver with her binder tab.” 

Letter Writing

Don’t forget! Your student also needs to associate the letter sound with what the letter looks like, so letter writing practice is also necessary. For the youngest students (3-4 year olds) try finger paint to make large, oversized letters on paper. Make both capital and lower case letters.

For 4-5 year olds, use large markers. For the oldest students, use the big, oversized pencils. Flashcards and pre-written letters will help.

Explain to your child that we are going to write the letters [A] and [B]

[1] Pronounce the letter A yourself for about 3-5 seconds.

“ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay”

[2] Have your child pronounce the letter  A.

“ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay”

[4] Assist your child with painting, tracing prewritten letters or writing the letters themselves.

[5] For younger children, help them learn to write with big pencils or thicker markers by helping them hold the marker/pencil correctly. Squeeze their hand around the marker until they can hold it themselves, and make sure they are doing it correctly (or as best they can). Small children won’t always make perfect letters!

[6] Make 3-4 letters.

[7] Correct any mistakes.

[8] Next, repeat this exercise with the letter B.

Download the Letter Sounds Activity Sheet for [A] and [B] below.

Notes

[1] Alliteration is considered figurative language, or a way of expressing oneself that does not use a word’s strict or realistic meaning. Common in comparisons and exaggerations, figurative language is usually used to add creative flourish to written or spoken language or explain a complicated idea.

Resources

Lined Handwriting Paper

To download the writing paper, click the Download button below the image.