Letter Names

[Guest]

Hi

How many letter names would you expect a child to know before giving point 4 - linking sounds and letters.

I'm getting moderated in 4 weeks time and beginning to feel stressed.

Thanks in advance.

[Guest]

I give it if they know 14, i.e more than half, but go for 20 letter sounds which as we all know is easier and more relevant at this stage.

[Guest]

Hi

How many letter names would you expect a child to know before giving point 4 - linking sounds and letters.

I'm getting moderated in 4 weeks time and beginning to feel stressed.

Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks for the reply-the child in question knows all sounds and 10 letter names. I'll wait a little while and hopefully she'll soon pick up more letter names.

[Susan]

Your LEA should have some guidance on this.

Have you looked at NAA guidance?

[Marion]

The EYFS profile handbooks says

Across a range of activities, the child is able to name and sound letters of the alphabet, recognising more letters than not. The child needs to be able to accurately link the letter shape with its sound and name.

 

which would be 14 or more for letter names

[Guest]

Yes, more than half - once they know around half letter names they are begining to get the idea and if you're singing alphabet songs and doing games using letter names they soon pick up the rest. Some children are just not ready for letter names and if they don't know both they can't have the point even if they know all letter sounds

[SmileyPR]

What a pity, no? Some children just start Reception in the 2nd or 3rd term and it is only then when they first start learning the letter sounds and later on the names, to not confuse them. They have the disadvantage of having to learn everything in a shorter time .

[Guest]

I really wouldn't worry about whether they're getting the point or not - who are these figures for? Headteachers and statiticians (sp?) ... if children aren't learning the letter names it's because they're not ready yet, and children who have only had one or two terms in Reception are, by and large, not up to this. There are much more important things that they need to be learning - in my opinion. Personally I feel it's one of the profile points that should have been looked at when they altered a couple of the Linking Sounds and Letters points. Many children know all the letters of the alphabet and other digraphs (ch, sh, th, ng, + long vowel sounds) and can use them to build cvc words - which I feel is far more important and impinges on their reading and writing far more than their ability to recognise/have learned letter names.

 

Rant over

Harricroft

[Guest]

I completely agree with you!!!!

[WChurchill]

I completely agree with you!!!!

Here Here! Clearly the profile is at odds with L & S teaching - A lot of my children will not get this point although well into phase 3.

[Guest]

it is only then when they first start learning the letter sounds and later on the names, to not confuse them.

I always teach letter names at the same time as letter sounds. Makes it easier for the children to pick them up rather than having to go back over them. Most of mine know majority of letter sounds and names.

[Tigger]

Bethie, I do too and they don't seem to have a difficulty understanding it either as one of my boys said " well I have a name so the letters must too!! "

 

S

Edited May 16, 2010 by Sharon

[SmileyPR]

Hi everyone!

 

I recall using this last year and the children LOVED it!

 

Chica Chica Boom Boom video

 

You can also buy the book online. Keep in mind that this video presents 'z' with the American name. Not sure if anything else...

 

We had our Kindergarten "graduation" and the children sang the Jolly Phonics songs, after which they dramatised and sang "Chica Chica Boom Boom" with the presentation displayed with a beamer in the background behind the children.

 

Have fun !

Edited May 16, 2010 by SmileyPR

[Guest]

I find children are ready for letter names at a certain point - not much good really but - when they're ready.

 

I remember a speech therapist telling me that teaching children the letter sounds and names was a bit like, as an adult, going into an interview with a panel of 26 and being told 'my name is Adam but you can call me Ajay ... etc.' - and then panicing about who was asking a question as it was information overload. I know that we would introduce children to all the letter names and sounds in one go, but it did stick with me. I do believe, whether you introduce them together - as my sound is 'a' and my name is 'aye' or with just sounds first - children will get this when they are ready - but surely sounds are more useful for reading/writing, and this point seems out of kilt with most of the profile.

 

Not to say I disagree with teaching names - I do alphabet songs and send children off to toilet etc using 'if you're name begins with the letter 'bee' - children who are ready pick this up without the need to stress.

 

PS Smiley - like the video - not seen this before. Thanxs.

[Guest]

I too have found that most children pick up the letter names when they are ready and not before, I just make sure I use them a lot in class. As a year 1 teacher I do cheat with this point and award it for knowing letter sounds only, although I do wait until they know about 22 sounds before I award it. Since my profile scores are for my information only it doesn't really matter, but I think this is something that would really annoy me if I were a reception teacher because you could technically have a child who is a fluent reader and writer who knows none of the letter names and thus would have this point missing.