The alphabetic principle refers to the understanding that there is a systematic relationship between letters and sounds. In the English language, we use letters and letter sounds to communicate through spoken and written language.

The alphabetic principle is made up of two components, alphabet recognition and phonemic awareness. Alphabet recognition is the ability to recognize letter shapes, letter names, and letter sounds. Teaching alphabet recognition improves preschoolers’ performance in phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds, ultimately leading to the use of blending sounds to form words.

Children’s knowledge about print and sounds, also known as the alphabetic principle, is directly connected to later literacy development. Developing the alphabetic principle is neither time consuming or difficult, however it is essential.