If I ask you to spell the word ‘hand’ do you see a picture of a hand or the letters that make up the word hand ie h+a+n+d in sequence from left to right? Or both?

Very early on children will see a picture of something- like a cat- and say the word ‘cat’ – as they know that this is the name of the object/ thing! They are able to link the two- picture with sound. When I say sound I mean that they give a sound verbally- it may not be the correct word- they may say ‘horsie’ if looking at a horse etc. However they will make a sound to represent the picture based on whatever association they have in their mind.

We are interested to know the effect of showing babies and very young children the symbol that represents sounds that they are able to create. So if they can create the sound ‘buh’ with their voices and we, in a fun, relaxed manner show them a card with that symbol on it (ie the letter ‘b’) will their minds quickly learn to associate that sound – a sound in many words- with that symbol?

It doesnt matter if there is no understanding of the concept- that this is a sound in words- its the same as seeing a picture of a polar bear- they are unlikely to really understand what one looks like (size) smells like, how it moves, behaves etc. However they can learn that there is a word we use in language that represents that animal.

Why could this be really really important with regards to reading? We know that one of the best predictors of of reading ability is letter and sound recognition. When children know letter names and associated sounds- and understand that the words we speak are made up of sounds- they are well on their way to learning to read and spell.

We are currently failing- even one child who is left behind is too many- in Queensland for example around 1 in 5 children are not reading at the expected level by 10. So we need to go back and start preventing this. Let’s start thinking outside of the box!

The focus for young children is on words- and speech- however we want children to know that we can make lots of different sounds with our mouths – buh pi fuh etc- and they are used within our words. The next concept is that there are symbols used to represent those sounds, on paper. They have names- ie letters- however the important part here is that they represent the sound we use- and how words are created and broken down!

When I ask you to spell a word it is likely that, if a new word, you will ‘sound it out’- and in your mind you know the symbols used. If I ask you to spell ‘shop’ you should know that although it is spelt ‘s+h +o+p- we actually spell it using 3 sound symbols- sh + o + p. You are a reader- and know that the sound sh is represented with s+h together. You might see the letters in sequence in your mind. Because you have those skills. If a child doesnt know those symbols he will see perhaps a picture of a shop- but isnt linking the sounds with symbols to be able to spell. We need to promote those links – EARLIER!

So what would happen if we taught those symbols- alongside language development? They start making a ‘buh’ sound with their mouths- why not show them the symbol for ‘buh’ ie the letter b? This is not because we want little Einsteins, or because we are pressurising children- all we are doing is helping them to develop all of their senses and encourage brain stimulation- linking things we later want them to link in order to be able to read and spell well and with confidence. Ultimately we need to prevent literacy failure- could this be part of a solution?

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