The Role of Letter Names in Learning to Read is Still Curious

The ability to identify the letters is one of the best predictors of later reading ability. That makes it a valuable tool for helping to identify which children are likely to struggle with reading. But why is that? This podcast explores what is known about the role of letter names in the learning to read. (This podcast includes a misinterpretation of a study by Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley. I assumed that when they introduced letters into their PA intervention that they named the letters. I was incorrect in that assumption as Christopher Such pointed out on my website and in social media. That means that there is no evidence that teaching letter names improves reading achievement (though including plastic letters in PA instruction was positive). There is also no evidence that students are benefited by not teaching letter names or that it is better to only introduce sounds for letters than for names. That means I still side with theories that argue for spending a small amount of time teaching letters, but unlike what is incorrectly claimed in this podcast there is still NO direct evidence supporting that belief. This note was added on September 30, 2024).