What the Research Says About Letter Names and…

It’s well-established by studies going back to the 1960s that letter-naming ability is a strong predictor of success in learning to read.
A 2012 study (opens in new window) by Shayne B. Piasta, Yaacov Petscher, and Laura M. Justice found that students have the best chance of literacy proficiency by the end of first grade if they come to kindergarten knowing at least 18 uppercase and 15 lowercase letter names.
Teaching the letter names and sounds together led to better letter-sound acquisition than teaching the sounds alone, according to a 2010 study (opens in new window) of preschoolers by Piasta, David J. Purpura, and Richard K. Wagner.
There is no single, established best order for introducing letters and sounds. But experts agree students should learn letters in a sequence that allows them to get to word-reading quickly, such as starting with commonly used consonants plus short ‘a’.

9. What the Research Says About Letter Names and Sounds