“Research supports not only that letter naming must be accurate, but it must also be fast.” (Neuhaus & Swank, 2002). Enter letter naming fluency into the picture.
You’ve probably administered a DIBELS assessment at some point in your teaching career. Students are required to name as many upper and lowercase letters in one minute.
But why do we need students to name all those letters so quickly? And what if they can’t?
What is letter naming fluency?
In a Letter Name Fluency (LNF) task, a student is given a random list of upper- and lowercase letters and has 1 minute to identify the names of as many letters as possible. Schools often use these scores to determine which students are at risk for reading difficulties.
Why is letter naming fluency important?
Letter naming fluency is included in many assessments because it’s a great indicator of risk and a strong predictor of reading success. Letter-naming speed is the single most significant predictor for word reading ability for first-grade students. (Neuhaus & Swank, 2002).
When children can recognize and name the letters of the alphabet accurately and automatically, they have a foundation for learning the alphabetic principle and learning to read. (Adams, 1994; Ehri, 2005)
Also, students who recognize letters with accuracy and speed have an easier time learning the sounds associated with them. (Adams, 1999)
Knowing letter names can help learn letter sounds because many sounds are embedded in the letter name. Say the letter name m aloud. You can hear the /m/ sound in the name!
Letter Naming Fluency Assessment in the Classroom
Teaching letter names to fluency can be a challenging task for several reasons. Beginning readers are often more familiar with certain letters, especially those in their names.
As teachers, we must identify which letters our students are familiar with and which ones need additional instruction. Enter a letter naming fluency assessment, and I’m NOT talking about DIBELS.
During my basic letter recognition assessments, I assess both accuracy and speed. I want to know if students can identify the specific letter and if they can do so quickly. This data determines what letters I need to teach and review and even how I form my small groups. Want to know more? Check out this blog post HERE.
Engaging & Fun Letter Naming Fluency Activities & Games that Improve Fluency
Here are 3 fun and engaging letter naming fluency activities and games to teach in 5 minutes.
ONE | Learning the Alphabet With Songs
Why not use this faithful classic to increase their fluency with letter recognition? As busy teachers, we can use all the simple tricks to improve student learning! Read “3 Creative Ways to Use the Alphabet Song to Teach Letter Recognition” for tips your can implement in your classroom tomorrow. I bet you haven’t sung the alphabet song to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” lately!
TWO | Matching Letter Shapes to Letter Names
Using an alphabet arc helps students learn to name and identify each letter by placing a plastic letter over the matching letter on an arc. It also helps build letter naming automaticity. Not sure how to use one? Click here for my free alphabet arc mat. You’ll find everything you need to know on how to use it in your classroom today. Read “3 Alphabet Arc Activities that Boost Letter Recognition (Fast)” for more ideas on to increase letter naming fluency with an alphabet arc.
THREE | Building Fluency in Letter Recognition and Naming
There are several ways you can build fluency including letter naming fluency charts, missing letter cards, and plain ‘ole flash cards.
Printable Alphabet Flashcards.
Use a deck of letter cards containing all the letters of the alphabet. Flip through them quickly, having students call out the letter name. Students can complete this letter recognition activity in 60 seconds or less. See how fast they can complete the task. Your students will love trying to beat their latest time!
Letter Naming Fluency Chart. Another activity for building fluency in letter naming is to read letters on a chart as quickly as possible.
Choose four or five letters that your students need to practice and create a fluency chart. Point to to the first letter and have students think about the letter name in their head. Then when you tap under have everyone say it aloud. This allows thinking time for all your students!
If someone responds incorrectly, model the correct responses for everyone. Then ask, “What is the name of this letter” as you tap underneath. To ensure mastery and fluency, back up two letters before the error and continue until the end of the rows.
I use these charts for fluency racing fun! They are perfect for daily letter naming fluency practice.
Missing Letter Deck Cards.
The missing letter deck is a great way to warm up during a small group reading intervention. The decks are similar to flashcards but have a letter missing from a 3 letter alphabet sequence. Begin by using the deck in alphabetical order. As students progress, you can shuffle the cards and present them in random order. If needed, students can keep an alphabet strip in front of them for reference.
The missing letter deck encourages speed and proficiency. It’s perfect for building alphabet fluency and awareness.
Letter Naming Fluency Intervention
I incorporate all three of these letter naming activities listed above into my letter recognition intervention. By targeting all of these skills/activities each day, students can make substantial progress in a shorter amount of time!
Multiple exposures are essential because Berninger (2000) found that students identified with dyslexia needed more than 20 more times the practice than students without dyslexia to learn letter sequences!
Some of your students may need more targeted instruction to improve their letter naming and alphabetizing skills. This can apply to students of any age! Typically these skills are mastered at least by the middle of first grade. Yet, many students reach the upper elementary grades without being able to fluently and automatically name alphabet letters. Use a letter naming fluency assessment to determine if this is an issue. If older students can’t name 40 randomly arranged letters in a minute, they may need additional a letter naming fluency intervention.
You Might Need to focus on LNF if you:
- have students who need letter recognition instruction or intervention
- need fun ways to engage students while learning their letters
- want to use explicit, research-based instruction to ensure your students can rapidly and accurately identify all uppercase and lowercase letters
