ULS Elementary Order of Letters
Unique Learning System’s Elementary Grade Band introduces six to seven letters per unit (one to two vowels and 5 consonants). One blend or digraph is also introduced each month. Lessons connect the sound, or phoneme, to the lowercase letter forms and then the uppercase letter forms.
Letter order was chosen using the following research and documentation:
Research conducted by Light and McNaughton concerning sequence of letter-sound correspondence was used to form the foundation of the letter order. Lower case letters are taught first because they occur more frequently in text. Letters that occur more frequently in written words are introduced first and letters with similar auditory or visual characteristics are placed in separate units. Short vowels are introduced first because they occur more frequently in simple decodable words. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://aacliteracy.psu.
Letter order was also influenced by developmental norms in handwriting. Each letter set includes a minimum of two early developmentally mastered letters. Retrieved July 18, 2013, from http://www.hwtears.com/hwt/why-it-works/teaching-order
Developmental norms for acquiring phonemes were also considered when ordering letter sets. Templin, 1957; Wellman et al 1931)
The Thematic Unit Order of Letters list can be located within Unique Learning System under the Teacher Reference Materials > Instructional Guides.