Which term describes knowledge of the shapes and names of letters of the alphabet?

Which term describes knowledge of the shapes and names of letters of the alphabet?

• A. Grapheme knowledge
• B. Print awareness
• C. Alphabetic principle
• D. Phonemic awareness

Answer: (C)

Grapheme knowledge is the ability to recognize the letters themselves, including their visual shapes and their names. These letter shapes and labels are graphemes—the basic symbols of written language. This foundational skill helps children identify letters quickly, which sets up later steps in decoding. In contrast, the alphabetic principle refers to understanding that letters map to sounds in spoken language to form words, which comes after recognizing the letters. Phonemic awareness is about hearing and manipulating the individual sounds in spoken words, not about the letters themselves. Print awareness covers general concepts about print and how we use it in reading and writing. So the term that best describes knowledge of the shapes and names of letters is grapheme knowledge.

Grapheme knowledge is the ability to recognize the letters themselves, including their visual shapes and their names. These letter shapes and labels are graphemes—the basic symbols of written language. This foundational skill helps children identify letters quickly, which sets up later steps in decoding.

In contrast, the alphabetic principle refers to understanding that letters map to sounds in spoken language to form words, which comes after recognizing the letters. Phonemic awareness is about hearing and manipulating the individual sounds in spoken words, not about the letters themselves. Print awareness covers general concepts about print and how we use it in reading and writing. So the term that best describes knowledge of the shapes and names of letters is grapheme knowledge.