Guide
Letter names and letter sounds: which one to practice
Bee is a letter name. /b/ is a letter sound. A 4- to 7-year-old needs both, in roughly that order, and the tools for each are different.
The difference
A letter name is what we call the letter: ay, bee, see. A letter sound is the speech sound the letter stands for in a word: /a/ as in apple, /b/ as in bat. Reading Rockets counts 26 names and 44 English speech sounds, so the two lists do not even have the same length. Sounds like /sh/ and /th/ need two letters.
Reading Rockets also describes the order most children follow: letter names first, then letter shapes, then letter sounds. Children who do not know letter names have a harder time learning the sounds, which is why names and shapes are the right first job for a 4-year-old even though reading itself runs on sounds.
Names help with sounds, and sometimes mislead
Most consonant names contain the sound. Reading Rockets lists B, D, J, K, P, T, V, and Z as names that start with their sound, and F, L, M, N, R, S, and X as names that end with it. Three letters are the exceptions: H, W, and Y. Their names contain no hint of the sound they usually make.
NAEYC gives the classic example of how that goes wrong. Children sometimes write a w for the /d/ sound because the name double-u starts with /d/, and a y for the /w/ sound, spelling wait as YAT. The same NAEYC article notes that some researchers argue against teaching names at all, while other research finds that teaching names and sounds together works best. That is the mainstream position in US classrooms, and it is why a kindergarten check asks both questions about each letter.
Where Fasty Letters fits
Fasty Letters is a letter-name app. In Letter Match the audio says capital A, then a. In Letter Recognition the prompt is a name, such as uppercase B, and the child taps the matching card. It does not play phonemes, and it does not teach blending or tracing. Its job is the first half: 52 shapes, 26 names, with the missed ones coming back every third question.
If your child already names most letters in both cases and the next gap is sounds, you want a sound tool, not more of this one. The alphabet apps comparison lists one free app that plays the most common sound for each letter, and a free library app that includes a phonics track. Keep the two practices separate when you check progress, the way a teacher's record sheet does.
If you do practice sounds, say them cleanly
Reading Universe and Oxford Owl both make the same point: the sound for b is a short /b/, not buh. The added vowel gets in the way when a child later tries to blend b-a-t into bat. Hearing the pure sound from a recording or a teacher who says it cleanly is useful, which is one reason sound apps exist.
Frequently asked questions
Should my 4-year-old learn letter names or letter sounds first?
Names and shapes first, with sounds layered in as the names settle. Reading Rockets reports that children generally acquire names, then shapes, then sounds, and that weak letter-name knowledge makes sounds harder to learn.
Does Fasty Letters teach phonics?
No. The audio is letter names only. It teaches recognizing and naming the 52 uppercase and lowercase letters. Use a sound app or a phonics program for letter sounds.
Why does my child write W when they mean the d sound?
Because the letter name double-u starts with /d/. NAEYC describes this as a common and understandable mix-up. H, W, and Y are the letters whose names give no clue to their sound.
Built around Fasty Letters in the Early literacy: letters for ages 4 to 7 hub.