Phonological awareness of young learners.pptx

Phonological awareness

1. Phonological awareness lets people recognize and work with the sounds of spoken language.

2. That includes:  Picking out words that rhyme  Counting the number of syllables in a word Noticing sound repetition (“Susie sold six salami sandwiches”) 

3. WHAT IS PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS Phonological Awareness  is the ability to hear and manipulate the sound properties of spoken words. It can sometimes be called an “umbrella term” because it can be broken down into two separate groups: Phonological Sensitivity : the ability to hear and manipulate units of language larger than phonemes, including words, syllables, and rhymes I have a cat. = 4 words Read about Word Awareness here . caterpillar = 4 syllables Read about Syllable Awareness here . cat / bat = rhyme Read about Rhyme Awareness here . Phonemic Awareness : the ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. There are about 44 phonemes in English. You can hear them all spoken very clearly  here . Phoneme: the smallest unit of sound in a language /k/ /a/ /t/ = cat = 3 phonemes / ch / /o/ /m/ /p/ = chomp = 4 phonemes Phonemes are written with slashes on either side / /

4. The Phonological System is the sound system of a language.  Phono  comes from the Greek word for  sound . So phonological awareness is all about being aware of the  sounds  of our language. It allows us to mentally put spaces in speech where those spaces do not exist.

5. HOW DO WE TEACH PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS? The best news is that teaching phonological awareness is relatively easy!  ideas for how to work on those skills, with your early childhood classroom. Phonological Awareness Overview Word Awareness Syllable Awareness Rhyme Awareness Phonemic Awareness Phonological Awareness Games These ideas are fun, hands-on, and engaging. They require minimal supplies and can be adapted to fit your needs…and they’re all done through PLAY!

6. WHAT’S THE BEST ORDER TO TEACH PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS? New research suggests phonological awareness skills aren’t developed on a continuum as previously thought… they can be worked on simultaneously! That means  you don’t have to teach these skills in order . For example, you don’t have to wait for your child to master rhymes before moving on to phonemes. Since the goal of all phonological awareness activities is to build strong readers and writers, we want to work mostly at the phoneme level. However, if your little one isn’t ready for that yet, back up and work on other skills. But just know that phoneme work will give you the most return on your time investment. 

7. WHAT IS PHONEMIC AWARENESS? Phonemic Awareness  is the highest and most complex level of phonological awareness. It’s the ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. Phonemic awareness is the MOST crucial area for reading and writing success. There is plenty of research suggesting that preschool-aged children CAN develop phonemic awareness, so there’s no need to wait until children are in kindergarten to begin work at the phoneme level. There’s also no need to wait until children have mastered their alphabet. You can work on phonemic awareness right now since it focuses on oral sounds.  However, once children have mastered their alphabet, using letters during phonemic awareness activities increases their effectiveness according to the National Reading Panel (NRP, 2000).  Helping little ones match the sounds to the letters that spell those sounds increases reading and spelling outcomes and strengthens their understanding of the alphabetic principle.

8. WHAT ABOUT PHONEMIC AWARENESS? While ALL levels of phonological awareness are important, phonemic awareness is the MOST crucial (and most challenging) level for developing readers and writers. Phonemic awareness has its own sequence of development, which includes: Phoneme Isolation Phoneme Blending Phoneme Segmentation (& Counting) Phoneme Addition* Phoneme Deletion* Phoneme Substitution*  *These last three are considered “Phoneme Manipulation,” the most complex level of phonemic awareness.

9. HOW DO WE PRACTICE PHONEMIC AWARENESS IN PRESCHOOL, PRE-K, AND KINDERGARTEN? BASIC PHONEMIC AWARENESS ACTIVITIES : https://youtu.be/n1i4wCuNHJU ALLITERATION: Multiple words that all begin with the same sound Say three words that all begin with the same sound. Ask your little one to identify the beginning sound. “Which sound do you hear at the beginning of these three words?  bell, bee, bat ” (/b/) Select a target sound, and ask your little one to name words that begin with that sound. “The sound is /t/. Do you know three words that start with /t/?” (tiger, tape, today ) PHONEME CATEGORIZATION: The ability to determine which word does not belong in the group based on the beginning sound Say three words and ask your little one which word does not belong. “Which word does not belong?  jump, fly, jack ” (fly)

10. PHONEME LOCATION: Identifying where in a word a sound in located Select a target sound and ask your little one to name where the sound is found in the word (beginning, end, middle) In general, the initial (beginning) sounds are easiest for our little ones to hear. Then we move on to final (ending) sounds. The medial (middle) sounds are usually the trickiest. They can touch their head if it’s at the beginning, their toes if it’s at the end, or their belly if it’s in the middle “The sound is /n/. The word is  nice .” (beginning-touch head) “The sound is /m/. The word is  slam .” (end-touch toes) “The sound is /a/. The word is  bag .” (middle-touch belly ) PHONEME ISOLATION: The ability to isolate the initial, final, and medial sound within words In general, the initial (beginning) sounds are easiest for our little ones to hear. Then we move on to final (ending) sounds. The medial (middle) sounds are usually the trickiest. Select a target sound, such as /j/. Say a list of words, and have your little one do a jumping jack each time they hear the /j/ sound at the beginning of the word. joke  (jumping jack) jab  (jumping jack) rock  (no jumping jack) jelly  (jumping jack) Movement is great to add into phonemic awareness activities!

11. PHONEME COUNTING: The ability to count the number of phonemes in a word Say a word and help your little one break it up into sounds. Then have them count the number of phonemes in the word. “Your word is  dog . /d/ /o/ /g/. How many phonemes?” (3 phonemes) “Your word is  ship . / sh / / i / /p/. How many phonemes? (3 phonemes) Remember we’re counting sounds, not letters . PHONEME BLENDING: The ability to blend phonemes orally to say a word part —> whole Play “Mystery Words” as much as possible! Say the individual phonemes of a word, and have your little one tell you the word. “What’s my word? /b/ /e/ /d/” (bed) “What’s my word? /k/ / ar /” (car ) Blending - YouTube

12. PHONEME SEGMENTATION: The ability to break apart the phonemes in a word whole —> part the opposite of blending Give your little one a word and have them segment the sounds they hear. Have them touch their head for the first sound, their shoulders for the second sound, their knees for the third sound, and their toes for the fourth sound.  “What are the sounds in the word  jet ?” /j/ = touch head /e/ = touch shoulders /t/ = touch knees They can also use manipulatives , such as balls of play dough, fidget poppers, legos , magnetic tiles, or any small object. Each object would represent one sound. Have them place one object on the table for each sound they hear (going from left to right ). Segmenting - YouTube

13. ADVANCED PHONEMIC MANIPULATION ACTIVITIES: According to David Kilpatrick, author of  Equipped for Reading Success , typical achieving readers will master phoneme manipulation in 1st-3rd grade. So if your little one can’t do these yet, that’s okay! You can still practice and model these skills. With time & experience, they’ll get it! PHONEME ADDITION: Add a sound to either the initial or final position of a word. “Say  at . Now say  at  and add /k/ at the beginning. What’s the word?” (cat) “Say  ben . Now say  ben  and add /d/ at the end. What’s the word?” (bend) PHONEME DELETION: Delete a sound from either the initial, final, or medial position of a word. “Say  moon . Now say  moon  without /m/. What’s the word?” ( oon ) “Say  and . Now say  and  without /d/. What’s the word?” (an) “Say  slope . Now say  slope  without /l/. What’s the word?” (soap) PHONEME SUBSTITUTION: Substitute one sound for another in either the initial, final, or medial position of a word. “Say  dog . Now say  dog  but change /d/ to /l/. What’s the word?” (log) “Say  in . Now say  in  but change /n/ to /t/. What’s the word?” (it) “Say  pen . Now say  pen  but change /e/ to / i /. What’s the word?” (pin)

14. BONUS: CHALLENGE ACTIVITY: PHONEME SWITCH: Switch or reverse sounds within a word “Say  eat . Now say  eat  backwards.” (tea) “Say  cheap . Now say  cheap  backwards.” (peach) “Say  chum . Now say  chum  backwards.” (much) This one is super tricky, even for some adults! That’s why I’ve included it as a bonus challenge.

15. WHAT IS WORD AWARENESS? Word Awareness  is the understanding that a phrase or sentence is made up of individual words. It’s also the ability to manipulate words in phrases or sentences, which includes playing with compound words .

16. Word awareness is the most basic level of phonological sensitivity and seems incredibly simple to us adults. We can easily hear three separate and distinct words in the sentence, “The dog walks.” It might take us a moment to count, but we can also hear fourteen separate and distinct words in the sentence, “Can you please stop at the store for more milk on your way home?”

17. But this is not as easy for our little ones, especially our youngest preschoolers…

18. Have you ever listened to someone speak a foreign language? If you’re unfamiliar with the speech sounds, you might have trouble distinguishing where one word ends and another begins. That’s similar to how our little ones can struggle with word awareness. Once they’re comfortable with the sounds of English, they’re able to hear how those sounds go together to form words, and they can pick those words out of spoken sentences.

19. HOW DO WE PRACTICE WORD AWARENESS IN PRESCHOOL, PRE-K, AND KINDERGARTEN? SENTENCE SEGMENTATION ACTIVITIES: The following activities will help your little one understand that sentences are made up of words. These games involve you saying an oral sentence…the sillier, the better! You’ll also want your little one to repeat each sentence back to you and count the number of words they heard:

20. MOVE IT: Say a silly sentence, such as, “The cat eats cookies,” and have your little one do an action for each word (such as squats, lunges, jumping jacks, or elbow-to-knees). SMASH IT: Have your little one roll out multiple balls of play dough. You say a silly sentence, such as, “The duck plays soccer,” and your little one will line up the play dough balls in a row for each word they hear (from left to right). Then they will repeat the sentence, smashing one play dough ball for each word.  BUILD IT: Say a silly sentence, such as, “The donut makes spaghetti,” and have your little one build a tower out of blocks, one block for each word. They could also use legos , unifix cubes, or magnetic tiles to build. HOPSCOTCH IT: Draw a hopscotch board outside with sidewalk chalk. You say a silly sentence, such as “Billy Bat went ice skating,” and have your little one jump on the hopscotch board while repeating the sentence, one jump for each word.

21. TAP IT: Have your little one hold out their left arm straight in front of them. Say a silly sentence, such as, “The kangaroo reads,” and have them tap down their arm with their right hand. They would tap at their shoulder for “The,” tap at their elbow for “kangaroo,” and at their wrist for, “reads.” HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES, & TOES: Say a silly sentence, such as, “The dragon breathes ice,” and have your little one touch their head, shoulders, knees, and toes for each word. HUMAN SENTENCE: If you have a small group of kids, you can have them BE the sentence! Say a silly sentence, and have one student line up for each word they heard. Then have the group repeat the sentence together.

22. WORD MANIPULATION ACTIVITIES: The goal of these activities is to mix up words within sentences or replace one word with another, and then have your little one listen for the changes. NURSERY RHYME MIX UP: Tell your little one you’re going to sing a favorite nursery rhyme, but you’re going to change one of the words. Their job is to tell you which word you changed. For example, if you sing, “Humpty Dumpty,”  you could change it to, “All the queen’s horses and all the queen’s men.” Then they would tell you that you changed “king” to “queen.” SONG SWAP: Change your little one’s favorite song to include different words. This is fun to do based on the theme you’re learning about in your preschool classroom or homeschool, or just based on what interests your child. For example, if your little one loves, “The Wheels on the Bus,” and you’re doing a farm unit, you can change it to something silly like, “The cow on the bus says moooo moooo moooo .” Another example is if your little one loves, “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and you’re doing an emotions theme, you could change it to, “If you’re mad and you know it, stomp your feet.”

23. COMPOUND WORDS: And of course, don’t forget about compound words! COMPOUND WORDS: Give your little one two words, such as “butter” and “fly” and ask them what word they can make. This is great to do with pictures so they can see how a stick of butter and a fly are two separate things…but combined, the new word is butterfly! You can also give them one word like “snow” and ask them if they can think of another word they can add to “snow” to make a compound word (ex: “snowman,” “snowball,” “snowflake,” etc.)

24. 20 Fun Phonemic Awareness Activities for Preschoolers - Teaching Expertise Phonological Awareness Activities for Preschoolers (teachildreading.com ) Preschool Word Games That Promote Phonological Awareness (theclassroom.com ) Rhyme: A phonological awareness activity - Bing video Syllable Sound Breaks: A phonological awareness activity - Bing video

25. Phonological awareness relates to our sensitivity and understanding of the sound structures of our oral language. It enables us to progress from our awareness of large sound units (words in sentences) to smaller sound units (phonemes in words). It also incorporates the ways in which we communicate through speech, body language and written forms. Research suggests that our phonological awareness begins in the womb. New born babies have a preference for their mother’s voice, as they have had an extended period of time hearing the voice before they are born, and so find it comforting. They do not understand the words, just the sound rhythm and intonation of her speech pattern; more like music.

26. ( Unborn - 1 year) Your child will learn to recognise , differentiate and respond to both speech and non-speech sounds, start to recognise words and interpret facial expressions and body gestures. They will begin making sounds, mimic speech patterns and start to use body language to express their needs, wants and thoughts.

27. ( 1 year - 2+ years) The child will start to isolate individual words in a speech flow, engage in sound play and recognise that sentences are made up of individual words.

28. (2 years - 4 years) Your child’s awareness of rhyme will emerge, with them enjoying nursery rhymes, songs and stories with rhyme alliteration and repetition.

29. (3 years - 5 years) Your child starts to develop an understanding that words can be split into parts (syllables) and that these parts give the word its rhythm. They should be able to orally blend syllables together to form words and segment words into syllables.

30. (4 years - 5 years) Your child will be able to group words by sound, not spelling, such as chair, bear, stare etc. They will begin to understand that syllables in a word can be further broken down (segmented) into smaller sound units referred to as onset and rime.

31. (Phonemic awareness) - (4 years - 6 years) Your child will be able to orally identify the initial and final sounds in words and the medial sound in mono-syllabic words. They will be able to split words into their individual sounds and blend sounds to make words. This is purely verbal and based on what your child hears and not the written representation of the word.

32. (Phonemic awareness) - (5 years - 7 years) Your child should be able to substitute sounds in words to make new words and understand how deleting a sound from a word can change it.

33. Phonological awareness stages 1 - 7

34. Parentese and baby talk How adults talk to babies has an impact. Research has shown that babies prefer you to talk to them using regular words (normal adult vocabulary) in a slightly higher pitched and more sing-song way. Although many adults do this naturally when talking to babies it has become known as ' Parentese ' and is very different from 'Baby Talk'. ● Slower speech pace ● Articulate clearly, well-formed, elongated vowel sounds and clearly voiced consonants, so 'hello' becomes ' heellooo ' ● Use shorter sentences that are grammatically correct ● Vary and raise pitch of voice (as much as an octave) ● Stress words by pitch, intensity and length so 'sweet baby' becomes ' sweeet baybeee ' ● Use exaggerated facial expressions (eye contact, raised eyebrows, big smiles) ● Frequently use repetition ● Leave a gap/pause between sentences so that your child can coo and babble back (developing the turn taking structure of conversation) ● Talk face to face so that they can clearly see how your lips move and other facial expressions (this about 20 cm or 8 inches for a new born) ● Try using your child's name first then the important word in the sentence and follow with the complete sentence; for example, "Jo, bottle, here is your bottle!"  Research suggests that at about 3- 4 months old a baby will turn their head when their name is called and that they will then focus on the next word that follows their name.

35. Turn taking skills Turn taking in conversation and play is a skill children need to learn to take part in meaningful interaction with others. These interactions are a vital part of children's physical, emotional, social and intellectual growth and wellbeing . Phonological Awareness Stage 1 (birth to 1 years) Pause when talking to your baby, as if expecting an answer. As your baby starts to make cooing and babbling sounds they will respond to you in these gaps; their first conversations with you. Phonological Awareness Stages 2 to 7 (3 years to 6 years+) Actively Listen  to the other person. This means: Concentrate on the words being said, by blocking out other environmental noises and voices. For most children and adults this also means looking at the person, watching their facial expression and body language. Listening for the verbal cues and/or changes in the tone of voice that signifies that the person has finished speaking. Recognising that it is either your turn to respond by formulating a reply or not. Formulate a Response . This means: Extracting meaning - taking understanding from the words that have been spoken. Mentally searching for words to compile a grammatically correct set of sentences. Communicate Response . This means Speaking clearly, pronouncing words correctly in coherent sentences. Using socially appropriate facial expressions and body language to accompany the response. Using the appropriate verbal cues and/or changes in the tone of voice that allow the other person to understand it is now their turn. Wait . This means giving time for the other person to formulate their response. Actively Listen  to the other person.

36. Turn taking in play Children need to learn the importance of waiting for their turn when playing with others . Phonological Awareness Stages 2 & 3 (2 years to 4 years) ● A child who is taught and given lots of practise at taking turns will find interacting and playing with others easier later on. ● Turn taking is easy to implement into everyday activities and play and something you probably do anyway, without even thinking about it. ● Try to use the phrase “My turn”, “Your turn” or “Daddy's turn” (name a third person) when playing or doing an activity such as sharing a book. ● Toddlers have a short attention span so keep the turn short to start with. ● Physical games such as rolling and kicking a ball or running and jumping activities can help to encourage turn taking and learning to wait for your turn. Again, don't make the turns too long and to help keep your child engaged while you have your turn, talk with them about what you are doing during your turn and when they are having theirs. ● Count Down or Up - To help young children develop an understanding that if they wait they will get their turn, explain that you will count to 10 and then it is time to swap and someone else has a turn, count to 10 again and return the toy or wanted object to your child. It won’t take long for them to understand that they will get their turn without a fuss.

37. Turn taking Phonological Awareness Stages 4 to 6 (3 years to 6 years+) ● Turn Time - As your child gets older try using a timer/clock to help them increase the time scale between taking turns. Try not to make the gaps between turns too long to start with, as young children find the concept of time very difficult, 1 minute might as well be an hour in their eyes. Show clearly a start point and the finish point for the time scale so your child can watch or come back and check the passing of time. Don't be tempted to ignore the timer if it is your child's turn, make sure they are offered the toy or turn that is due to them, otherwise they will feel cheated and some of the trust is lost. ● As children get older, playing card and board games helps to further develop their turn taking skills.

38. Tips to help develop word awareness A good word awareness (receptive and expressive language) is a key phonics skill. Helping a child build their vocabulary (word awareness – receptive & expressive language) is vital if they are to continue to develop good communication skills. Talking, explaining, sharing and playing are all important as well as making sure that you pronounce words clearly and correctly for a child to hear . A child may not have developed all the skills needed to copy you accurately but they will store the sound pattern information for later use. The more they hear the correct sound patterns the sooner they will start to use them themselves .

39. How to develop word awareness Phonological Awareness Stages 1, 2, & 3 (Birth to 4 years) ● Playing tapes or CDs of nursery rhymes and children's song are good for helping your child to make the distinction between the music and words (language used) in them. It is a good idea to practise this skill when there are no other noise distractions. ● When your child points at something tell them the name of the object, for example if they point at an apple, say “Apple”. ● Try to use the new word in context regularly as repetition of the word will help your child to remember it and reinforce the meaning of the word. ● Try playing some action songs and rhymes to help your child learn the actions for the rhyme, then let them have a go on their own. Watch them to see if they can do some of the actions at the right time in the song, to see if they are listening for the right cue words. If they are struggling, explain they have to wait for certain words and show them what to do and when to do it. ● If they are trying to say a word, let them finish and then say it back to them clearly and correctly. Do not make them repeat it back to you, they may choose to do so but make it their choice. ● Repeat and expand on what your child says, so if they say "Dog!" you may say "A big dog!" This also helps them to develop an understanding of sentence structure. ● Nursery and silly rhymes are great ways to introduce your child to rhyming sounds and increase sound play in words. ● Finger rhymes, such as 'Round and Round the Garden', 'Pat-a-cake' and ' Incy Wincey Spider' and action songs encourage your child to interact with words, the sounds within them and the rhythms they create. 'Row, Row Your Boat' is a lovely whole body movement song that encourages a rhythmic whole-body motion, which babies and toddler enjoy (as well as the adults). ● Sharing and talking about the books you are reading helps to build word knowledge, as you point to the pictures, picking out different objects.  Reading out aloud helps to introduce your child to words that they may not experience in their everyday talk. This helps to expose them to new vocabulary and the sounds to be found in those words.

40. Phonological Awareness Stages 2, 3 & 4 (2 years to 5 years) ● Introducing and playing sorting games helps your child to build a mental filing cabinet system of categories, this helps them to remember and learn the meaning of words. Start by introducing simple categories of everyday items like food or clothes as their vocabulary increases categories such as colour , size and texture become more appropriate. ● Reading aloud poems and story books with strong rhyme elements, like those found in Dr. Seuss books, help introduce the new words and rhyming sounds in words. ● Try exaggerating the rhyming words to help highlight the sound patterns, making it easier for your child to tune into them. ● Singing often slows down our pronunciation of words, helping your child to pick out unusual or rhyming sound patterns. As with reading aloud it can introduce a wider vocabulary to your child.

41. English Phoneme Chart English Phoneme Chart |The 44 sounds of English (teachphonics.co.uk)

42. Prephonics Gestures and signing Before an infant/toddler can talk they will often use gestures to help them get what they want, or let you know that they want you to do something again. This is not always easy for others to understand and can be very frustrating for your child. These can be easily taught and will help your child to communicate before they can speak. To help set, and encourage this behaviour , start by playing games in which your child can use a gesture to ask for another toy, or to continue playing. Use small toys, which your child enjoys and can hold in one hand, the idea is to pass a toy to your child. Watch your child and every time they look at, or seem interested in a toy or objected, pass it to them. Ideally you will place the toy/object into the palm of their hand.  As the game continues try to add a pause between your child looking at the toy, or you, before handing it to them. This will encourage them to use a palm-up request gesture; it is amazing how quickly they pick up on this simple gesture and the benefit that it provides; communicating their needs before they can talk. But remember this does not stop you from talking through and putting words to the gestures.

43. Prephonics . Gestures and signing Simple signing is a fantastic way of helping your child to express their needs and wants before they can verbalise them. This can make life so much more enjoyable and less frustrating for all. Some people worry that if a child learns to sign it will stop them from talking; well this is just not true. When we sign, or use gestures, we also say the word or phrase that relates to the sign. Signing is about enhancing, not replacing language. We gesture all the time as we talk; it is one of our normal communication strategies. Some people use their hands more than others when talking, it is a sub-conscious thing which we are often unaware of until others point it out to us. You can start using signs with your baby as soon as they are born, however it is often between the ages of 9 months and 18 months that children start to combine gestures and sounds to communicate. The most useful signs are those that relate to the things your child wants and likes, or cause them most frustration. The most common signs tend to be ‘more’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘up’ and ‘down’.

44. If your child needs to learn sign language due to a particular special needs requirement then this needs to be taught in a structured way. Otherwise you can make up your own signs that help you to communicate more effectively with your child and them with you and others. It is best to start with 2 or 3 signs your child has got the physical ease and ability to do, for example nodding their head up and down for yes or moving their fist up and down for yes. Say the words every time you or your child makes a sign. So if they sign for ‘more’ and you are giving them a drink, or they are giving you back a cup, you respond with “More to drink”. As your child learns a sign you can use more than one sign at a time. So to begin with you would sign “Do you want to eat?” and then later this can become “Do you want more to eat?” when they have learned the signs for more. Simple baby signing can really take some of the heat out of ‘The Terrible Two’s’ stage, limiting the frustration of them not being able to communicate some of their basic needs. The important thing is to talk and sign at the same time. Your child will then be able to talk with their voice and hands, helping them to become a great communicator. There are a large number of useful websites that can help you pick up a few basic signs to get you started.

45. Pre- phonics Alphabet Letters Why do we need to know the alphabet letter names ? Teaching the unique letter names of the alphabet is an important pre- phonics skill . A letter or combination of letters can represent more than one sound and so the only way of identifying alphabet letters when we talk about them is to use their unique names . It may seem easier to use one of the sounds a letter represents at first , but it soon becomes more complicated . For example , the letter ‘a’ makes different sounds in the words ‘ ant ’, ‘ angel ’ and ‘ wash ’; to name but 3 of its 8 sounds . You can only know the sound a letter represents when it is placed in a word . Learning the correct letter names helps to reinforce that when talking about the letter ‘a’ (ay) for example it has a set shape regardless of the sound that it will be representing in the word . This further supports children’s handwriting development as the communication of your requirements is unambiguous .

46. Teaching the alphabet Although songs and rhymes are a good way of helping your child learn the alphabetical order, rote learning by itself is not enough. It is important that your child learns that there are 26 letters of the alphabet and that they are used in different orders to represent all the words in the English language and that the letters of the alphabet can be split into two main groups, vowels (red letters) and consonants (blue letters). Being able to identify the vowel letters will help your child when they move on to phonics. Understanding that lower-case letters and their capital letter partners share the same unique name and represent sounds in exactly the same manner is vital. It is amazing how many children think that lower-case letters represent the sounds only and capital letters are used to show the letter names, even though they can quite happily tell you when they need to use capital letters. Children need to be able to instantly recognise and identify letters of various fonts and this is best achieved through different games and activities. Learning through a variety of different games and activities not only prevents your child getting bored of the necessary over-learning process, but also exposes them to a wider range of learning styles.