The Truth About Teaching the Alphabet

Is teaching the alphabet the best way to help children learn how to read? While we’ve traditionally focused on letter names like “a,” “b,” and “c,” there’s growing evidence that this approach might not be as effective as we once thought. Letter of the week was once used in kindergarten but this is not the most effective way to teach reading.

Instead, focusing on letter sounds is a better way to unlock literacy and set young learners on the path to reading success. I continually have parents come to me and tell me that their child is in first grade or at the end of kindergarten and still hasn’t learned the letters of the alphabet, so he or she can’t read.

This article will explain why teaching the alphabet isn’t the ultimate foundation for reading, introduce you to the revolutionary alphabetic principle, and share actionable strategies for teaching children effectively.These are found in my kindergarten bundle.

The Problem with Focusing on Letter Names

1. Letter Names vs. Letter Sounds

When first teaching the alphabet to children, many teachers and parents teach the names of the letters—”ay,” “bee,” “see”—but this can unintentionally confuse them when it’s time to decode words. For example, when we point to the word bat and teach the letter names (“bee-ay-tee”), it sounds nothing like the word itself.

Instead of helping, this approach of teaching the alphabet often misleads young readers because they don’t yet understand the connection between the letters and the sounds they make. However, when we focus on letter sounds—/b/, /a/, /t/—we help children make sense of the written code, laying a strong foundation for their reading skills. I show this process below in a video.

2. Confusion Leads to Misinterpretation

Using the traditional method of teaching the alphabet leads to problems. Children who don’t understand how the alphabet works may create their own “rules” for decoding written words. For instance:

• A child might see a long word and guess it says “chimpanzee—” not because of the letters, but simply because it’s a long word they are familiar with.
• Or, they might assume a word like “ball” is “butterfly” because they haven’t associated the letters or sounds with meaning.

This confusion isn’t their fault! It results from focusing too heavily on teaching the alphabet letter names without exposing children to how written language maps onto sounds.

The Alternative? Start With Sounds!

Some cultures, like those using certain phonetic systems, start teaching children how to read by focusing on sounds rather than letters. This approach makes it much easier for kids to decode words because they immediately see the connection between sounds and symbols. If we begin from day one with sounds then children have the building blocks for true literacy.

The Foundation of Reading Is Built on Sounds, Not Letters

The Language Code Relies on 44 Sounds, Not 26 Letters

Here’s the truth about our alphabet system—there are only 26 letters, but they represent 44 distinct sounds in the English language. Those sounds are what truly guides how words are read and formed. Take a look at just one example:

The letter “H” isn’t limited to one representation:

• h in hot
• sh in ship
• ch in chick
• th in them and path
• wh in where

This shows us that focusing solely on the 26 letters when teaching the alphabet doesn’t fully prepare children to decode written language. Learning sounds like /ee/ (e.g., in three or eat) is far more helpful because these are much more common in actual written words than rare letters like “q.”

Enter the Alphabetic Principle

If teaching the alphabet isn’t the best foundation for teaching literacy, what is? Enter the alphabetic principle—the understanding that written language is a code where letters represent sounds.

The alphabetic principle teaches children to look at written words and connect the black squiggles on the page to the sounds they hear. This insight is essential for transforming how kids approach reading and helps make sense of the written code.

Surprisingly, many educators weren’t taught the alphabetic principle during their training, despite its importance. If this concept is new to you, don’t worry—it’s relatively simple to introduce to your students!

How to Teach the Alphabetic Principle

1. Point and Exaggerate Sounds While Reading

Teaching the alphabetic principle can be as simple as making small adjustments during story time. Here’s how:

• While reading aloud, occasionally point to a word and slowly drag your finger beneath it.
• Stretch and emphasize the sounds as you read. For instance, “There is a house a napping house where everyone is sleeeeeping”

This technique helps young readers focus on how the sounds in words match the letters they see. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it reinforces phonemic awareness—the ability to hear and identify individual sounds in words.

Bonus tip? Research shows that visually underlining and linking print to sounds helps children make essential connections that speed up their learning process.

2. Play Sound Games

Turn letter sounds into a playful activity by introducing sound games like “I Spy.” This classic game can be adapted to build phonemic awareness:

• “I spy with my little eye, something that begins with the sound /mmmmmmmm/.”

This interactive approach makes learning enjoyable for children while developing their understanding of individual sounds. It’s also a great alternative to traditional alphabet drills or worksheets.

3. Try A Word Ladder Activity

For early readers, a quick activity using word ladders can work wonders. Here’s how it works:

• Choose a word, like mat.
• Break it into phonemes /m/, /a/, /t/, and have the child build the word by connecting sounds with corresponding letters.
• Have the student pull down letter tiles as they say the sounds.
• Have students tell you how to write the word by saying the sounds to you.
• Have students write the word while simultaneously saying the sounds as they write.
• Then change mat to sat then sat to sad .

This activity introduces the alphabetic principle while simultaneously teaching letter sounds, phonemic segmentation, and basic spelling—all in one go! You can easily use word ladders for more advanced learners by introducing words with blends or digraphs (e.g., sh, ch).

Looking for tools to try this at home? Download our FREE Word Ladder resource and check out my Kindergarten and 1st-grade curriculum in my shop. We start with building words and manipulating sounds from day 1 in kindergarten. With consistent practice, activities like this will help your child crack the code of written language.

4. Always connect letter formation with sound.

I am not advocating that we stop teaching alphabet writing. I teach proper letter formation in all my reading sessions. It is extremely important that students be taught proper letter formation of both lower and upper case letters. However, it is vital to have students say the letter sounds as they form their alphabet letters. You don’t need to wait until students learn to form all their letters properly before letting children segment and blend sounds into words. I start reading from day one in my kindergarten bundle with activities like the one in the video above.

Why This Matters for Educators and Parents

Understanding the alphabetic principle and focusing on letter sounds over letter names can revolutionize how we teach young readers. These key strategies will help children build phonemic awareness, connect sounds to letters, and decode words confidently.

If we shift our focus from “learning the alphabet” to mastering the foundational sounds of our language, we can set up our children for long-term success in reading and writing.

Final Thoughts

For generations, the alphabet has been a symbolic start to literacy, but it’s time to rethink our approach. By focusing on sounds and the alphabetic principle, we can empower children to become confident, successful readers.

We can still teach the alphabet when we are focusing on letter formation. But we must help children to make those sound print connections!

Educators, parents, and reading specialists—what do you think? Are you already using these techniques, or do you have other strategies for teaching letter sounds and phonics? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Make learning fun, intentional, and sound-based—because every child deserves to unlock the joy of reading. Pick up some great curriculum to help you teach.