- Definition
This means understanding that a written letter (like "d") makes a specific sound (like the "d" in "dog"). It's simply connecting the letters you see to the sounds they make.
When your child sees the letter 's' and makes the /s/ sound, they are showing letter-sound correspondence.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Letter-sound correspondence is like knowing that the button with a sheep picture on a toy always makes a 'baa' sound.
Ask your child: What sound does your mouth make for this letter?
Common mix-up: Kids often confuse a letter's name with its sound, like saying 'em' for M. The key is to focus on the sound the letter makes in a word, like /m/ in 'mom'.
Examples
- Seeing the letter 'm' and saying the /m/ sound, as in 'milk'.
- Seeing the letter 'a' and saying the short /a/ sound, as in 'apple'.
grapheme-phoneme correspondence is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
