Early Alphabet Work Supports Early Readers

At the beginning of a new school year it is not uncommon to hear kindergarteners exclaim, " I want to learn to read!"  They are eager to move from from being read to by an adult to unlocking the code themselves and reading exactly what is on the page.  The start to this school year was no different; I could see the desire in their eyes and so began our reading work with letters and sounds.  Reading is more than knowing the names of the letters and their sounds; it is knowing how to play with sounds, match sounds to pictures, and write letter characters to match sounds they hear and produce orally.   Developing a firm foundation with letter work was key the work we are doing now with rhyming, syllable segmentation and site words in guided reading groups.  The key was also having fun with reading to strive for life long lovers of reading.