Wisconsin FORT (Foundations of Reading) Practice Test

What does the Alphabetic Principle suggest?

1. Letters in the alphabet map to syllables

2. Letters and their combinations represent individual phonemes in written words

3. The alphabet is learned sequentially

4. Letters represent the structure of sentences

The correct answer is: Letters and their combinations represent individual phonemes in written words

The Alphabetic Principle suggests that letters and their combinations represent individual phonemes in written words. This means that each letter or group of letters corresponds to specific sounds in spoken language. Understanding this principle is crucial for developing reading and phonemic awareness skills, as it allows readers to decode words by associating letters with their corresponding sounds. Option A is incorrect because letters in the alphabet do not map to syllables but rather to individual phonemes. Option C is incorrect because although learning the alphabet sequentially is a common practice, the Alphabetic Principle is more about the relationship between letters and sounds, rather than the order in which the alphabet is learned. Option D is incorrect because the Alphabetic Principle focuses on the relationship between letters and phonemes, not on how letters represent the structure of sentences.