Struggling Reader Series: Identifying Letters

by Kristi Lindsay

My four year old, Jadon, struggled with writing lower case “b” and “d”. “Which way does ‘b’ go and which was does ‘d’ go?” he asked. He can say their names, knows their sounds, and can match them up with their uppercase letters. But, sometimes, he gets the two confused.

Have you ever noticed how similar some of the lowercase letters are? Look at “b” and “d” or “p” and “q”. Or how about lower case “h”, “n”, and “m”? As a teacher, I remember how my struggling readers had a hard time identifying these letters. They could say the letters’ names, sounds, and even write them in isolation, but often got them confused when reading or used the wrong one by accident as a letter reversal when writing.

I figured there had to be a way to help him remember which letter is “b” and which is the “d”. Then it hit me: bread and drink! I remembered an afternoon talk show episode that discussed a simple way to identify which “bread” and which “drink” were ours at a formal table setting. “Bread on the left and drink on the right,” said the host as she held up her left hand with pointer and thumb in the shape of a circle and three other fingers together pointing up like the shape of a “b” for “bread.” Her right hand was the opposite in the shape of a “d” for “drink.” While the simple hand gestures helped me identify my bread and drink, I also realized the “b” and “d” could help my son.

Try it: make a “b” with your left hand and “d” with your right hand. They are in alphabetical order when held up in front of you! Silly and simple? Yes, but since sharing the “b” and “d” hand trick with Jadon, I often see him holding up his hands and saying “a, b, c, d,” accenting the “b” and “d” with his hands.

Struggling readers can’t sound out words if they can’t recognize the letters in the words. Providing these little reminders gives them tools to be better readers. If your child struggles to identify letters, come up with silly visuals to help him or her remember them. It can be as easy or as silly as “b for bread and d for drink!”