When Older Students Need Support with Alphabetic Knowledge

When I used to work for public schools, I noticed that assessments like letter identification or letter/sound correspondences were frequently only assessed during Kindergarten and the first half of 1st grade, regardless of whether students ever reached mastery. In most cases, the alphabetical knowledge and sequence were never assessed. When I was completing my Orton-Gillingham training, I remember reading a textbook by Judith Birsch and wishing that this book had been a preservice textbook when myself and my colleagues were in college. This prompted me to add a brief, but enlightening assessment to my repertoire. I began asking students to write the alphabet.