We don’t really know why alphabet knowledge is such a good predictor of reading achievement, but it is. Teaching letter names should be a small part of the mix in phonemic awareness and phonics instruction.
A science of reading requires that our prescriptions for teaching be tempered by rigorous instructional evaluations. If a claim hasn’t been tried out and found effective, then the claims aren’t part of reading science.
Teaching is an act of practical reasoning, persuasiveness, problem solving, and communication. It needs to be shaped by science but much of it is improvisation rooted in experience.
