During the pre-phonetic stage, the teaching focus should be on developing students' understanding of the alphabet, phonics, and phonemic awareness. This stage is crucial for laying the groundwork for reading and writing skills. At this point, students are beginning to learn how letters correspond to sounds, which is fundamental in developing their ability to decode words.
By emphasizing the alphabet, educators help students recognize and name letters, which is essential for word recognition. Phonics instruction aids students in understanding the relationship between sounds and letters, allowing them to sound out new words. Phonemic awareness, the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words, is also critical; it enables students to blend sounds to form words and segment words into their individual sounds.
Focusing on these foundational skills during the pre-phonetic stage helps students gain confidence and proficiency in their literacy skills as they progress to more complex text and spelling. This early emphasis ensures that they establish a solid base for all future reading and writing development.