The old "Alphabet Song" has proved to be a remarkable tool to assist learning the pronunciation and sequence of the English alphabet. The melody, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has certainly stood the test of time. As the classic introduction to phonemic awareness, most beginning readers usually "catch on" to the concept that distinct sounds correspond to graphic representations known as letters. However, a small percentage does not grasp this relationship and so they develop a shaky foundation for the alphabetic system. This poor foundation of "shaky sand" frequently washes away when the teacher attaches sounds to these alphabetic symbols.

Additionally, the alphabetic system can present problems for many English language-learners. Many of these students may have been very good readers in their primary languages. However, their written language may not have been based on the alphabetic system. For example, the Chinese connect vocabulary to symbols in a logographic system of writing, while Ethiopians use symbols for syllables. Thus, the alphabetic code may be quite different from the way some of your students began reading and writing.

With the following instructional adjustments, those who have never fully understood and those who have never learned the sound-letter connection will grasp this concept. First, do teach the "Alphabet Song." For middle school and high school students, use a less melodic rap tone, but still hit the key notes of the Mozart melody to access prior knowledge and improve memorization. The rap version will be perceived as less juvenile and will meet with less resistance from these learners. Always point to the lower-case alphabetic letters as you lead the singing or rapping. An overhead transparency of the lower case alphabet flashcards or the sound-spelling cards, arranged alphabetically, will work nicely.

One fault of the traditional "Alphabet Song" has been the common practice of slurring together the letter sounds in legato style. Because mastery of distinct letter names and letter sequence are the instructional goals, make sure to enunciate each letter and provide space between each letter as you lead the singing or rapping. Additionally, reading specialists recommend avoiding the "l-m-n-o-p" slurring syndrome by reassigning some of the letters to different parts of the melody. To demonstrate, the "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star" song, which uses the same Mozart melody, has also been revised alongside the "New Alphabet Song."

"Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star"
"New Alphabet Song"

Twinkle twinkle, little star,
a b c d e f g
How I wonder what you are.
h i j k l m n
Up above
o p q
Earth so high,
r s t
shining bright
u v w
in the sky.
x y z

Mark Pennington is an educational author, presenter, reading specialist, and middle school teacher. Mark is committed to differentiated instruction for the diverse needs of today's remedial reading students. Visit Mark's website at http://www.penningtonpublishing.com to check out his free teacher resources and books: Teaching Reading Strategies, Teaching Essay Strategies, Teaching Grammar and Mechanics, and Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary.