Letter and letter-sound knowledge Prep to Year 2 (assessment ages 5-8)

​​​Students need to automatically recognise and name the letters used to represent sounds in words.

Assessment task

This assessment can be used to identify whether a student is having difficulty in recognising and naming letters and identifying the sounds letters make in words.

The assessment includes four interrelated parts.

Part 1: Recognising letters and corresponding letter names wi​th sounds

In this task students demonstrate their ability to recognise letters and correspond letter names with sounds.    

Resources

These resources can be printed or downloaded to a tablet or other digital device.    

Instructions

  1. Using the Alphabet Chart, point to each letter one at a time in the order presented.
  2. As you point to each letter, ask the student to say:
    • the name of the letter
    • a sound the letter makes
    • two words that begin with a sound the letter makes.
  3. Record the student’s responses on the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile noting:
    • the student’s response (tick for a correct response and record what the student says for an incorrect response)
    • the time the student takes to respond (use ‘R’ to record an automatic or rapid response and ‘S’ if the student is slow to provide the response).

Part 2: Identifying letters in a giv​​en text

In this task students demonstrate their ability to identify letters in a given text.  

Resources

These resources can be printed or downloaded to a tablet or other digital device.  

Instructions

  1. Access the Sample Text provided.
  2. Using the Alphabet Chart, point to each letter one at a time in the order presented.
  3. After pointing to each letter, ask the student to locate that letter within the Sample Text.
  4. Record the student’s responses on the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile noting:
    • the student’s response (tick for a correct response and record what the student says for an incorrect response)
    • the time the student takes to respond (use ‘R’ to record an automatic or rapid response and ‘S’ if the student is slow to provide the response). 

Part 3: Writing letters in lower a​​nd upper case

In this task students demonstrate their ability to write letters in lower and upper case.  

Resources

These resources can be printed or downloaded to a tablet or other digital device.  

    Instructions

    1. Using the Alphabet Chart, say each letter of the alphabet one at a time in the order presented.
    2. After you have said each letter, ask the student to write the letter in both lower and upper case. If necessary, give the student time to think about the letter before they begin to write it. For example, the student may need time to visualise the letter.
    3. Record the student’s responses on the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile noting:
      • the student’s response (tick for a correct response and record what the student writes for an incorrect response)
      • the time the student takes to respond (use ‘R’ to record an automatic or rapid response and ‘S’ if the student is slow to provide the response). 
     

    Part 4: Predicting a word in a senten​​ce by using its first letter

    In this task students demonstrate their ability to predict a word in a sentence by using its first letter. 

    Resources

    These resources can be printed or downloaded to a tablet or or other digital device. 

    Instructions

    1. Access the Word Prediction Task.
    2. Explain to the student that you're going to read a series of sentences to them and that each sentence will have a missing word.
    3. Read the sentences from the Word Prediction Task to the student, pointing to each word as you say it.
    4. When you come to the missing word, let the student see the first letter of the word but do not say it. Ask the student to predict what the word could be, noting whether they suggest a word that begins with that letter.
    5. Record the student’s responses on the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile (for lower case letters only) noting:
      • the student’s response (tick for a correct response and record what the student says for an incorrect response)
      • the time the student takes to respond (use ‘R’ to record an automatic or rapid response and ‘S’ if the student is slow to provide the response). 

    Instructions

    1. Click on the links provided above to access the instructions for administering each part of the assessment. All parts of the assessment are to be completed to provide a comprehensive overview of the student’s letter and letter-sound knowledge.
    2. Record the student’s responses for lower and upper case letters on the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile (doc - 168.5kb).

    Timi​​ng

    The assessment can be administered over a few days. Each part of this assessment should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

    Analysing the results

    Using the Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Profile, review and analyse the student’s responses to identify what the student can already do and where they need additional support.

    If the student requires additional support, the focused teaching strategies in this resource can be used to support their development within this area of knowledge. The strategies are presented in a developmental sequence to systematically teach aspects of letter and letter-sound knowledge.

    See: Focused Teaching Letter and Letter-Sound Knowledge Prep to Year 2 (ages 5-8).