WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.166 --> 00:00:08.375 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:08.441 --> 00:00:10.410 Narrator: Recognizing and naming letters 3 00:00:10.477 --> 00:00:12.645 leads to knowledge of the alphabet. 4 00:00:12.712 --> 00:00:15.315 Children need to be able to recognize letters 5 00:00:15.382 --> 00:00:17.884 before they can master learning to read. 6 00:00:17.951 --> 00:00:20.987 Children usually learn uppercase letters easier 7 00:00:21.054 --> 00:00:22.956 than lowercase letters. 8 00:00:23.022 --> 00:00:25.625 Lower case letters have more curvature 9 00:00:25.692 --> 00:00:28.695 and are often different from their uppercase counter parts, 10 00:00:28.762 --> 00:00:31.097 making them more difficult to learn. 11 00:00:31.164 --> 00:00:34.467 However, since 95 percent of words are written 12 00:00:34.534 --> 00:00:36.236 with lower case letters, 13 00:00:36.302 --> 00:00:38.872 it is essential that children learn them. 14 00:00:38.938 --> 00:00:41.074 Renee Dittmer: Students need to be able to recognize 15 00:00:41.141 --> 00:00:45.111 the letter names, the uppercase and the lowercase names, 16 00:00:45.178 --> 00:00:48.681 in order to be able to learn to write, and to read. 17 00:00:48.748 --> 00:00:50.717 We do a lot of hands-on activities, 18 00:00:50.784 --> 00:00:53.086 with learning the letter names and letter sounds. 19 00:00:53.153 --> 00:00:55.255 We practice writing the letters. 20 00:00:55.321 --> 00:00:56.790 We do sky writing. 21 00:00:56.856 --> 00:00:59.993 Some of the things that we do to teach the letter names 22 00:01:00.059 --> 00:01:03.296 is we will do like Alpha Motion songs, 23 00:01:03.363 --> 00:01:06.599 to where we're flashing letter cards that shows 24 00:01:06.666 --> 00:01:08.435 the upper and lowercase letter, 25 00:01:08.501 --> 00:01:10.937 and it has a motion with a sound, 26 00:01:11.004 --> 00:01:13.306 so they can actually put some motion in it 27 00:01:13.373 --> 00:01:14.441 when they're learning the sound. 28 00:01:14.507 --> 00:01:17.811 Students: Bouncing ball, bouncing ball, book, book. 29 00:01:17.877 --> 00:01:21.147 Letter name, letter name, sing, sing. 30 00:01:21.214 --> 00:01:24.884 Can opener, can opener. 31 00:01:24.951 --> 00:01:27.020 Narrator: Children also learn from the print they see 32 00:01:27.086 --> 00:01:30.356 around them everyday, whether in school or on logos, 33 00:01:30.423 --> 00:01:33.059 labels or signs in their environment. 34 00:01:33.126 --> 00:01:35.895 In the family activities section on this page, 35 00:01:35.962 --> 00:01:38.765 you will find many activities you can do at home 36 00:01:38.832 --> 00:01:41.868 to help develop your child's awareness of the alphabet. 37 00:01:41.935 --> 00:01:44.871 It's as easy as A-B-C! 38 00:01:44.938 --> 00:01:51.377 ♪ ♪