The writing segment is not just about letter learning or word learning. If a child doesn t remember how to make a letter, give him the help he needs. If the child doesn t know how to make a letter, pull out a magnetic letter and say, It s like this. The aim is to build solid word knowledge, which will translate into consistent use of word knowledge during reading. The ability to hear sounds in sequence is critical in learning to read and write.
Sounds are one of the information sources available to young learners as they learn to read.
Beginning readers must learn to try out a response to a new word, analyze the sounds of that word, anticipate the letters to represent those sounds, and compare that to the printed word. See the diagram on page 42 in Guidebook. Sometimes you have to make it like another word you know which means get it by analogy with a common spelling pattern used in English.