Teaching Letter Recognition

WHAT ORDER TO INTRODUCE LETTERS

I feel as though I am always writing about waiting to teach

letter recognition. Wait and let little hands get strengthened
by other activities. Wait until little minds have had ample time
to hear different words and sounds. But a day will come when
you SHOULD teach your little ones their letters of course.

Whether it is when they are 3, 4, 5, or 6, at one point or another

they will be ready and teaching letter recognition will be
the name of the game. When they are ready, in which order
should the letters be taught?

Don’t worry – I have an opinion on that too!

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 Teaching Letter Recognition Continued

When I was in the Kindergarten classroom,

I did not teach letter recognition in
alphabetical order. I began with “name
letters” as these letters hold a very important
meaning to children.

So for “Sammy” he learned all about s, a

m, and y. Once children know their name
letters well, I would introduce the other
letters in this order:

1. s, a, t, i p, n
2. c, k, e, h, r
3. m, d, g, o
4. l, f, b, q, u
5. j, z, w
6. v, y, x

Starting with the lower case is helpful, and

something I have begun doing – though I
haven’t always. Clearly little ones need to
know both upper and lowercase letters, but Name Activities for Preschoolers
since so much of the print in our everyday
lives is lowercase, I find it beneficial to start https://www.howweelearn.com/name-activities-
preschoolers/
in that way.

The letter order is similar to the way the

letters are taught in the Jolly Phonics
Program. By teaching the letters in this
manner, children are able to begin forming
words very quickly.  After learning the first 6
letters kids can make words in the “at”, “an”,
“it”, “ip”, “ap” and “in” families.

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 The Order for Teaching
Letter Recognition
WWW.HOWWEELEARN.COM

1. s, a, t, i p, n
2. c, k, e, h, r
3. m, d, g, o
4. l, f, b, q, u
5. j, z, w
6. v, y, x

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 Teaching Letter Recognition Continued

Introducing the letters and letting little ones

begin to make words almost right away
creates a huge sense of pride. And since
you waited to introduce the letters (you did
wait, right?) they are absolutely ready and
will be catching on right away, grasping
those letter names and sounds easily. If not,
perhaps wait a little longer. I know it is hard
(trust me I know!) but waiting until your little
one is ready will save you both mounds of
frustration, and ensure your little one loves
learning. There is no rush.

Of course ideas and games using these

letters can be found all over How Wee Learn.

I introduce the letters in little groups. At

first, relatively quickly I would introduce the
first row of letters, maybe over a week. Then
we do lots of activities playing with those
letters: their sounds, shapes, and names.
Once they are mastered, we add in the next
row. Building and growing, slow and steady.

Slow and steady. This is so important! There

is no point in rushing through these steps.
We want our children to have a rock solid
foundation and that can only be built one
small step at a time. Creating a Post Office

https://www.howweelearn.com/mail-time-setting-up-
Learn More at How Wee Learn your-own-post-office/

https://www.howweelearn.com/alphabet-recognition-
activities-preschoolers/

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