Picture Embedded Mnemonics
Purpose: Through integrated pictorial supports, students acquire letter sounds and symbols. This foundational skill supports decoding and encoding development in emergent readers.
Materials: Mnemonic card deck, mirrors (optional), white board or surface to build words
Time: 5+ minutes per card introduction.
Note: This routine introduces the 26 letters of the alphabet with their most common 1-to-1 sound-symbol correspondence. Letter naming is not an objective of this routine, but the skill can be taught before or after letter-sound acquisition.
Instructional Steps Per Set
Step 1: Phoneme isolation of initial sound
Step 2: Introduce mnemonics, one card at a time to mastery
Step 3: Test memory for learned correspondences
Step 4: Decode words containing learned correspondences
Step 1: Phoneme isolation of initial sound
Materials: Mirrors (optional)
1. Model the task: “I am going to say a word, and then I will say the first sound in the word (i.e. baseball /b/, bat /b/). Repeat that to me.” Students repeat.
-Teacher can provide mirrors for support: “Here is a mirror to watch your mouth say the first sound.” (Prompt students to feel the place and manner of articulation).
2. After isolating the initial sound for each object in the set together, students provide the initial sound independently when prompted with the target word.
-Repeat this procedure with corrective feedback (‘When I say, (insert target object name) the very first sound my mouth produces is /insert initial sound/’) until the student can perform accurately.
Letter Shape Script
a Abbie Apple
This letter is shaped like an apple.
When you say ‘apple,’ you hear /ă/.
Say apple /ă/. (Students repeat)
We call this letter Abbie Apple. Notice the apple attached to the tall tree.
When you look at this letter (point to the bare letter), remember how it looks like our friend Abbie Apple and says /ă/.
b baseball
This letter is shaped like a bat and a baseball if you grip one in each hand.
When you say ‘baseball’ and ‘bat,’ you hear /b/.
Say baseball, bat, /b/. (Students repeat).
When you look at this letter (point to the bare letter), remember how it looks like a bat and a baseball touching together at the bottom and says /b/.
c caterpillar
This letter is shaped like a caterpillar.
When you say ‘caterpillar,’ you hear /k/.
Say ‘caterpillar’ /k/. (Students repeat).
Notice how the body of the caterpillar curves.
When you look at this letter (point to the bare letter), remember how it looks like a caterpillar and says /k/.
d dog
This letter is shaped like a dog.
When you say ‘dog,’ you hear /d/.
Say ‘dog’ /d/. (Students repeat).
Notice how the head is round, like the bottom of the letter, and the tail stands up like the tall part of the letter. Notice how the dog is ready to play, with his body crouched low and tail stretched high.
When you look at this letter (point to the bare letter), remember how it looks like a dog and says /d/.
e Evan Elephant
This letter is shaped like an elephant.
When you say ‘elephant,’ you hear /ĕ/. Say ‘elephant’ /ĕ/. (Students repeat).
We call him Evan Elephant. Notice how the elephant’s trunk curves below his face, just like the letter has a curve below its rounded head.
When you look at this letter (point to the bare letter), remember how it looks like our friend Evan Elephant and says /ĕ/.