Which statement best aligns with the concept of alphabetic principle?

• A. Sound-letter correspondences are used to decode new words
• B. Reading is primarily about recalling vocabulary
• C. Comprehension relies on background knowledge alone
• D. Fluency is the only indicator of reading success

Answer: (A)

Understanding the alphabetic principle means recognizing that letters stand for sounds, and you can blend those sounds to read words you haven’t memorized. This idea is the foundation of decoding: when you see a word, you map its letters to their corresponding sounds and string those sounds together to pronounce the word. Being able to use sound-letter relationships to decode unfamiliar words is what lets a reader tackle new text with accuracy and fluency, not just rely on memorized vocabulary. While vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, and fluency are all important for reading, the alphabetic principle specifically describes the mechanism that makes decoding possible. That’s why the statement about using sound-letter correspondences to decode new words best captures the concept.