Do you know what an "alphabet train" is? Traditional classrooms almost always have an alphabet train high on a wall facing a room full of desks where children are seated in a state of readiness for learning. But what are they learning? Can you think of one word that begins with the letter A and ends in Z and includes all of the letters in the alphabet?

How are children supposed to grasp the concept that written symbols can represent sound?

Modern educators suggest making the connection more personal. For children in preschools, teachers can, for example, label each child's cubby with their name, with the first letter capitalized. The teacher can repeatedly trace their finger under the letters of the child's name with the child while saying the child's name. In that manner, the child could, at their own rate of development, slowly make the connection between the representation of the letters and the sound of their own name. It is strongly recommended that teachers use both upper case and lower case letters equally to foster letter recognition.