What is the Best Order to Teach Letters When Learning the Alphabet?

An age-old question with no direct answer is what is the best order to teach letters when learning the alphabet? You would think by now, after hundreds of years of teaching children to read that we would know the most successful way to teach everything. But the simple answer is because everyone learns differently, there will never be one correct way to teach anything.

Sequential Order

Some people feel the most logical way to teach the alphabet is in sequential order. Since we sing our ABCs from a young age, some argue that teaching the letters this way is more natural. But the sequence of our letters is arbitrary. This is probably not the best way to teach the letters.

Phoneme Focus

In my research, I’ve found that many people offer a sequence of letters that focus on learning letters by focusing on the ones that we use more frequently first. So then the question still remains, which letters should come first?

“…teaching consonants and vowels in combination is the best way to begin instead of marching through the alphabet in order or teaching the easier consonants first before the vowels as some programs do.”

Wiley Blevins, A Fresh Look at Phonics

Common Letter Sequences

You’ll find many suggested lists of what order to teach the alphabet in. Again, there is no right or wrong answer here. One thing you’ll want to avoid is teaching confusing letter pairs together like b and d or v and w.

Personally, I’m in favor of a plan like this where you are focusing on the letters students will see and use most often first and then progress through the alphabet until you reach the less common letters.

short vowels and high-utility consonants
m, a, s, p, t, i, n, b, c

short vowels and mid-utility consonants
o, f, h, d, r, g, e, l, k

short vowels and low-utility consonants
u, w, j, x, v, qu, y, z

Best Order to Teach Letters

No matter, which order you choose to present the alphabet to your students, make sure you have a thoughtful and purposeful plan from the beginning. If you are using a reading program, look ahead and note the sequence the letters are being introduced in and try to figure out the “why” behind their plan.

If you are on your own when it comes to creating a sequence and sourcing materials for your student(s), I highly suggest using a program that is broken down by the letter so that you can use the activities in the order the best suits the sequence you desire. My Learning My Letters series was designed to be used in any order. You can even test out the Letter M pack for free… which just so happens to be a great letter to start with!