Final answer:
Children learn that letters represent sounds in English orthography through stages of spelling, identifying simple correlations and more complex patterns like silent letters and digraphs, using examples such as 'else' and exercises that involve classifying sounds by their spellings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Letters and Sounds in English Orthography
Children learn that letters represent sounds in the early stages of spelling, which is a fundamental principle of English orthography. This recognition is crucial for mastering how vowels and consonants correlate with spoken sounds.
For example, in the word else, there are four letters but only three sounds are heard. The letters 'e', 'l', and 's' correspond to specific sounds, while the final 'e' is silent and does not represent any sound.
As they progress, learners begin to identify patterns such as different spellings for the same sound—like the [sh] sound being spelled in various ways in different words. They also learn how sometimes two letters work together to spell a single sound, which is known as a digraph, or how a single letter might not spell any sound at times.
Through practice and exposure to different spellings, such as underlining letters that spell the sound [ch] or the final [k] in words, students reinforce their understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds.
They also learn about vowel sounds and consonant sounds, further developing their ability to read and write proficiently.