Phonogram Pre-Cursive Alphabet

Many English sounds are spelled with more than one letter. When the phonograms are printed together on one card, students can build words with these sounds as easily as with single letters, and they start to see that sh, ee, and oa are units. Building words this way (encoding) is excellent practice for later reading (decoding). Decoding is part of the word recognition side of Scarborough's (2001) reading rope.

Introduce the phonogram alphabet when the student can recognize (second period) most of the sandpaper letters: pink, blue, and green. Use it side by side with a single-letter movable alphabet.

Whenever you start work with any movable alphabet, remember that the first lesson is how to carry the container or pocket chart, take letters out, and put them back in. Don't be afraid to practice this many times before you build a single word. If you find that students are often dropping their alphabets, revisit this lesson as often as needed. Then lay out the phonogram alphabet next to the single-letter alphabet and invite the student to build words that contain the phonograms, such as ship, rain, or boat.

Typically PreK through grade 2 (ages 3–8), whenever a student recognizes most of the sandpaper letters. It also works well for older students, English learners, and intervention.

Our favorite way is our green folding alphabet pocket chart, which is color-coded to match the alphabet. It works like a box, so it is easy for students to carry. They unfold it at their work area and fold it again for compact storage on the shelf. The unfolded chart is approx. 18" x 20", the folded chart is approx. 9" x 10", and each pocket is approx. 2¾" x 1¾". You can also use a craft box (like the one available from the Container Store; box not included).