Even the smartest of the Phonics Reading Pros can have a hard time distinguishing between ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘p’, and ‘q’. Remember those picture cards we recommended you use early on with your child to teach them letter recognition? The ones with a letter on one side and a corresponding picture on the other… When you first used these you were teaching the sounds of the letter rather than the names. At this point in your child’s reading lessons, however, you are going to want to start testing whether they know the names of the letters as well as the sounds.
Go through the cards with your child and first have them tell you the sounds of the letters. When you finish, tell them that this time you want them to tell you the names of the letters instead of the sounds. You might notice that it takes a while for there to be a smooth transition between the sounds and the names of letters, but that’s okay. The more you practice with your child, the better it will get! Some common trip-ups happen with distinguishing the names and sounds of ‘b’,‘d’, ‘p’, and ‘q’, but that’s totally normal. Practice makes perfect and repetition is key! Choose books that focus on these consonants and build words together with your movable alphabet as well. Every bit of practice helps your child’s phonics reading skills.
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