How to teach a child the alphabet, how to quickly learn letters with a 6 year old child

Expert Tips: How to Learn the Alphabet

Parents are constantly looking for new, quick ways to learn the alphabet with their child, but fast does not mean quality.

Additional Information! For a comfortable study, you should not forget about the peculiarities of the physiology and psychology of children (age and characteristics of their thinking).

Baby studying

Why teach your child the alphabet?

The alphabet is the basis of all languages. This is a strict sequential construction of letters, which is the key to all documents and books.

Knowing the alphabet will do nothing for a small child. He can easily memorize it, but he will not learn to read. It is better to leave the alphabet for elementary school, where it is needed, and learn the letters with your child without a strict sequence.

At what age should children already know all their letters?

The required level of brain development for reading is usually formed by 5 years, less often by 4-5. Therefore, there is no point in trying to force a child to read at an earlier age. It is better to broaden your horizons, develop speech and pronunciation, teach you how to ask questions correctly and teach you to give answers.

Taking into account age characteristics when learning about letters

In young children, the visual-effective type of thinking dominates, and upon reaching the age of five, the brain will begin to actively perceive iconic images and abstract presentation of information.

Note! By the age of 4, a child must learn basic knowledge for a comfortable future life. He focuses his attention on social connection with the world, so it is not recommended to burden him with unnecessary and complex information, bringing him to tears.

Learning the alphabet

Any activity with your baby is a fun game

Kids cannot concentrate on one activity for more than 10-15 minutes, so the duration should be limited, otherwise attention will be scattered and the child will stop learning new information.

A standard academic lesson is not suitable for children, so you should try to present any learning as an unobtrusive game that will be interesting to him. It is better to use a variety of tasks:

poetry;
songs;
tongue twisters and riddles.

Note! This will provide the child with immersion in the process and facilitate the perception of new knowledge.

How to teach a child to memorize letters: techniques

There are many interesting and easy ways and techniques in the world to learn the alphabet. They can be presented both in a classic form and in the form of computer games, modeling or special coloring books.

Letter coloring pages

Classic techniques

The basic option for learning the alphabet is to use cards with letters, syllables and images to consolidate associations and develop visual memory. ABC is also a great option to teach basic literacy.

Note! During learning, you should not rush; if the child is tired or has stopped studying, it is difficult for him to remember new things, it is worth taking a break and returning to this moment later.

First, you should memorize the basic vowels (O, U, A, I), and after that move on to simple consonants (M, N, T, B, P, G). The child must learn to pronounce not the name of the letter, but its pronunciation. That is, not “ZhE” “EN” “BE”, but “LJ”, “NN” and “BB”. You should start learning hissing sounds later, when the baby remembers simpler sounds.

It is necessary to teach letters to study both at home and in the fresh, especially summer air: it is worth getting the child interested in recognizing previously learned letters on children's and adult billboards, signs, and English inscriptions online in games.

Author's methods

All conditions have been created, a large number of proprietary methods to learn letters, sounds and the alphabet. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Imagination and creativity in childhood

Important! You should not try to use and combine all methods at once. It is worth focusing on the technique that is comfortable and interesting for the baby to work with.

Learning letters: Polyakov’s game technique

The basis of Polyakov’s method is multiple showing and voicing groups of symbols with their gradual replacement. In the Russian language, groups of rhyming vowels are formed (E-E, A-Ya, O-Yo, Y-I, U-Yu).

The duration of classes is only 7-10 minutes, the frequency is 2 times a week. In your free time, you need to consolidate previously covered material.

This technique uses letter cards and a playful approach, which makes the process easier and more interesting for the child.

Zaitsev cubes

Cubes will help in learning to read from 2 years old. Learning occurs like an exciting game, during which children will begin to read much earlier than they get bored with the activity.

Principles of Zaitsev’s technique:

Systematic presentation of information.
Visual presentation of information that uses different channels of perception.
Presentation of information from specific to general and vice versa.

The main principle of the methodology is teaching not by syllables, but by warehouses. Arrangement is the consonance of a consonant and vowel sound, a separate vowel sound in the form of a syllable or a separate consonant sound in a closed syllable, as well as a consonant with a soft or hard sign.

Doman cards

From birth, the brain is tuned to study and understand the world around us. With this feature, you can begin successful early learning. The technique helps to develop a thirst for knowledge, lays the foundation for a high level of intelligence and helps to learn early reading.

Note! You can use Doman cards for learning from the age of six months.

They represent an image and a word-inscription denoting it. Most often, they are presented in thematic sets.

The sequence is built from simple to complex: it starts with simple words, then phrases and simple sentences are studied, then they move on to common sentences and begin to read.

Methodology of Olga Soboleva

Olga's technique is a creative approach to the process of learning sounds and letters, where the dominant type of memory is involved. The learning process is divided into three information sections for:

visuals;
kinesthetics;
auditory

The learning process is based on a game form with a smooth transition to working with books. It is necessary to help the child love the printed word, and not be afraid of it.

Recommended age for starting classes is 3-4 years.

Reading syllables of varying complexity according to Zhukova

Nadezhda Zhukova is a famous Soviet teacher and speech therapist who invented a new way of teaching children to read. Her technique was found effective, and is now used not only in Russia, but in several other countries.

The main differences between Zhukova’s method and the usual school curriculum:

A child does not need to know all the letters of the alphabet. He will learn them by doing other tasks.
First you need to explain not what the letters look like, but what the vowels and consonants are.
Teach your child to “sing” letters and form syllables from vowels.
Teach your child to form syllables from 2 letters, a vowel and a consonant.
Move on to learning more complex sounds.
Teach your child to read syllables.

Primers and books written by Nadezhda are extremely popular and are published in millions of copies. The tasks are simple and understandable, and most importantly, interesting for children of all ages. Children from 3 to 6 years old need to learn letters gradually. You shouldn’t rush your child and worry if he doesn’t have time to remember new information as quickly as his peers. Child psychologists also advise “removing the age limit” for children under 3 years old. If they themselves are interested in letters, then they can start learning earlier than the recommended dates.

How to teach a 4 year old child the alphabet at home?

Many parents wonder how to learn the alphabet. There are many ways, but the most effective is learning through interesting games that you will want to return to.

Games for learning the alphabet and numbers

There are many games to help you learn letters and syllables.

Note! You shouldn’t get hung up on one method; the best option would be to combine several types of games so that the learning process remains fun even after several weeks of classes.

Learning by playing

The game form of presenting the material facilitates its easy assimilation. Children love to play, so if you present educational material through games, the child will learn with pleasure.

As a game you can offer your baby:

modeling;
coloring books;
cutting letters from different materials;
assembly of cut cards with the image of letters.

Let's make letters

Modeling is a very useful learning option. It uses several sensory organs at once and helps in the development of hand motor skills.

Letters can be assembled from different pieces prepared in advance, or they can be folded from long “worms” by assembling and twisting into letters.

Coloring the letters

Coloring can be an excellent teaching material. The alphabet can be presented in the form of pictures or pure images of letters.

Note! If a child has just begun to learn letters, images with letters and pictures will be more suitable for him, and the posted images will help him remember the letters through associations.

Creative non-traditional drawing techniques for kindergarten

Cut out letters from paper

This method will add variety and help develop fine motor skills. It is useful to cut out paper blanks (rectangles, squares and circles) and fold letters from the parts together with your child.

Edible letters

The child will be more interested in the process if learning is associated with positive emotions. Making letters edible is a great way to spice things up.

You can bake cookies together in the form of the alphabet, put together letters and syllables from chopped vegetables, and also draw letters with jam on the surface of pancakes and porridge.

Modeling letters

How to learn the alphabet on your own with a 5-6 year old child?

The age of 5-6 years is optimal to start learning to read. The main thing is to teach him to speak correctly so that the teacher does not have to reteach him. The same exercises are suitable for training as for three to four years old.

Game method for learning 10 vowels in 5 lessons

This technique was proposed by Glen Doman.

Note! It is based on repeated display and sounding of groups of symbols with their gradual replacement. For this purpose, special cards are issued, which are divided by topic.

The process is divided into 5 lessons:

Studying pairs of vowels (A-Z, O-Y) using easy verses - “This is A”, “This is I”. After the first lessons, it is necessary to consolidate the material, and only then move on to the next step.
Study of the first three vowels (A-Z, O-Y, U-Y) using the same verses. The first three letter pairs are shown to the child, and the remaining two are pronounced independently so that he does not make a mistake.
Study of three pairs of vowels (O-Yo, U-Yu, Y-I). From this moment, after adding a new pair, one of the old pairs is removed. The total number of letters represented must be no more than six. The first 4 letters are voiced by the baby, and the remaining 2 are named by the adult, not allowing anyone to make a mistake.
By the fourth lesson, vowel pairs are memorized (A-Z, O-Y, U-Y, Y-I). Afterwards, the last learned vowels (Y and I) are consolidated.
By the fifth lesson, all 10 vowels are memorized; all that remains is to consolidate the last learned vowels (E and E).

"Talking ABC"

Game method for teaching consonants

The following games are good for learning consonants:

Houses. Prepare two houses for consonants and vowels. The letters must be attached to the corresponding house, while simultaneously pronouncing their sounds
Guests. The same two houses are used. The letters decided to get to know each other. For example, the sound “G” came out first and decided to call the sound “A” for a walk. They pronounce the sound of the letters out loud and ask what syllable it will be.
Ball game. The parent throws the ball to the baby and says the word. The child only catches words that begin with a vowel or consonant. The second version of the game is for an adult to throw a ball, saying “vowel” or “consonant.” The child names a word that begins with a vowel or consonant.

Putting the letters in order

Arranging letters in alphabetical order is one of the final stages of learning. Electronic or paper posters depicting various objects and letters can help.

Note! The use of posters combines visual and associative learning principles, which makes the learning process easier for the child.

Diagnostics: actions of the child that mean he is ready to learn to read and write

Highlights sounds in words and poems that are often found there.
Selects words according to a given phonemic feature (Name words starting with “c”, name words starting with “a”).
Models words of 3-5 sounds and makes their sound analysis.
When pronouncing a word, it correlates with the pattern of its sound composition (Compare what you see with what you hear).
Changes the sound composition of a word, replaces sounds (Try replacing the first sound in the word “poppy” with “r” - what happens?)
Selects words that are opposite and similar in meaning.
Describes objects, selecting definitions of qualities and properties.
Writes a short story on a topic that is relevant to you.
Composes a story based on pictures, a series of plot pictures.
Joins the group conversation and asks questions.