How to Teach the Alphabet the Montessori Way

Back in May, I posted a video of Dakota reading “cat”, “mat”, and “pat”. It didn’t take long for the messages to flood in with people applauding her for reaching this milestone at only 2.5 years old, as well as parents asking me to divulge my secrets.

Before I begin, I feel the need to add a disclaimer: I am in no way pushing Dakota to learn skills that are beyond her developmental stage.

I’m a book worm, so Dakota’s been exposed to books since infancy. She would point to words that she saw on the television or in books and ask, “What’s that?”. It happened frequently enough for me to decide that she was ready to start learning phonics.

Since we’ve started these lessons, she’s always telling me, “I want to do my letters!”. Learning the alphabet is not something I forced on Dakota, but rather, it’s something she wanted to understand on her own terms.

When you feel that your child is ready to learn the alphabet—no matter what age they are—I recommend using the Montessori alphabet to help your child develop phonemic awareness skills and prepare them for reading.

Here are 6 effective approaches of teaching the Montessori alphabet:

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) from any sales made through such links. Thank you for supporting the work of this blog.

1. Introduce letter sounds (phonics) instead of letter names.

When children are taught the alphabet the traditional way, they only learn the letter names and won’t have much use for it other than knowing the name. For example, A is taught as “ay”.

With phonics, children are taught the sound of the letter. For example, A is referred to as “ah”. Phonics instruction focuses on phonetic awareness—the ability to identify, hear, and manipulate the sound of each letter, also known as “phonemes”. Once the child has mastered each letter and its coordinating sound, then letter combinations and words can be formed.

A child with phonemic awareness will see “m-a-t” and have an easier time forming the sounds “mmm-ah-t”, therefore, correctly reading the word as “mat”. In contrast, a child who only knows letter names will think the word is “em-ay-tee”. This is why teaching phonics provides children with a strong foundation for early reading.

When teaching phonics, make sure to pronounce the sounds clearly and lightly. T should be “t” and not “tuh”, otherwise you risk teaching your child that “cat” is pronounced “catuh”. If you need assistance, Reading By Phonics has helpful phonics videos.

2. Start with short sounds first, then long.

Children encounter more words with short vowels in books. Short vowels are also straightforward and easier to memorize than long vowels.

3. Teach lowercase letters first.

Just like short vowels, children are exposed to more lowercase letters than uppercase letters (ie. there was only 1 uppercase letter in this entire sentence). Therefore, introducing lowercase letters first helps children establish a strong foundation to better identify letters and form words.

You can teach uppercase letters once they have a confident understanding of lowercase letters and their corresponding sounds. Some children will even figure out uppercase letters on their own.

4. Introduce letters in Montessori sets, rather than alphabetical order.

Teaching a child letters in alphabetical order limits their ability to form a large variety of words. With “a, b, c”, the only word you can create is “cab”.

With the Montessori approach, letters are generally introduced in sets which prioritize an order of letters that will allow a child to make more words with the letters. For example, the letters “c, m, a, t” can create “cat”, “mat”, and “at”.

Sets are also kept in an order that will reduce confusion. For example, “b” and “d” shouldn’t be introduced together because they look very similar.

Some Montessori schools and teachers introduce letters in different sets, but the following sets are recommended in How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin.

First set: c, m, a, t
Second set: s, r, i, p
Third set: b, f, o, g
Fourth set: h, j, u, l
Fifth set: d, w, e, n
Sixth set: k, q, v, x, y, z

5. Use sandpaper letters.

Sandpaper letters are simply letters printed in sandpaper. They provide a multi-sensorial approach to learning and encourage children to use their eyes to see the letters, ears to hear the sounds, and hands to feel the letters.

Sandpaper letters also feature consonants on red boards and vowels on blue boards, but this will vary depending on the brand. There’s no need to teach children the difference between the colored boards. They’ll eventually learn on their own that words are a combination of red-blue-red or consonant-vowel-consonant.

As with most Montessori materials, these sandpaper letters can be expensive and run anywhere from $20-$60 depending on the quality.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly alternative, you can make your own letters with felt or glitter glue. This creates the same sensory effect as sandpaper. Be sure to use different colors for consonants and vowels.

I started out with glitter glue letters on index cards, but they were flimsy and didn’t last long. So I ended up investing in these high-quality sandpaper letters instead.

6. Teach letter sets in three-period lessons.

First Period | Naming – The sound is taught to the child.

Let’s start with the first set: c, m , a , t. Alternatively, you can choose four letters that have distinct sounds and forms.

Take a sandpaper letter and trace it with your fingers as you say the sound.

Place the letter in front of the child and ask them to repeat the sound. Show them how to trace the letter properly and in the right direction.

Repeat the same process for all of the letters in the set. Once the child is familiar with the sound, you can move onto the second period.

Second Period | Recognizing – The child must be able to associate the letter with the correct sound.

Place all four sandpaper letters in front of the child and ask them if they can find “c”. When they point to the correct letter, ask them to trace the letter and pronounce its sound.

Repeat the same process for the remaining letters. Once the child has mastered the first and second periods, then you can move onto the last period.

Third Period | Recalling – The child can say the sound when asked.

Place one sandpaper letter in front of the child and ask them, “What’s this sound?” If your child can pronounce the sound correctly, then they recalled the lesson.

Repeat the same process for the remaining letters. Once your child has mastered this set, then you can introduce a new set of letters and start the three-period lessons again.

I really hope you found these methods helpful! In the next part of this series, I’ll be sharing ways to develop pre-writing skills and I’ll also be doing a giveaway, so stay tuned for that. And if you’re wondering, in Montessori, children are taught how to write before they learn how to read, but I’ll talk more about that in the next post.

If you tried this lesson, please tag me on Instagram @steffywaldrum so I can be sure to like it and share it!