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| The Original Letter People
This article is about the original 1969 - 1996 Letter People
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An updated version of the 1972 professional guide
Alpha One, also known as Alpha One: Breaking the Code, was a first and second grade program introduced in 1968, and revised in 1974, that was designed to teach children to read and write sentences containing words containing three syllables in length and to develop within the child a sense of his own success and fun in learning to read by using the Letter People characters. Alpha One's game-like approach capitalized upon the child's sense of fun and imagination to develop interest in learning to read and spell. Learning letter symbols and sounds, mastering rules of word formation, and reading and writing are byproducts of the interaction between the child and his 26 "Letter People" friends, his participation in creative and dramatic play, his enjoyment of activities associated with specially developed filmstrips and recorded stories and rhymes, and his programmed success in a variety of visual and auditory discrimination "Letter People" games. This program is the precursor to the Alpha Time program.
The program gives the children confidence and eagerness to learn by making the Initial reading experience rewarding. It helps them toward a positive self-image achieved through role-playing and dramatization. The opportunity for judging and identifying with the problems and personalities of the Letter People helps them to make ethical judgments and to build character, cooperation, respect and understanding among children is encouraged by creative maximum interaction through story-telling, games, and puppetry.[1]
Contents of the program[]
1. Letter People and Symbol Cards: 26 sturdy placards (14” x 16”) each displaying a large cartoon of a Letter Person; 4 Symbol Charts to help decode words
2. Story Pictures and Easel: 26 scenes illustrated on 19" x 24" placards; the easel is designed to hole' both Story Pictures and Letter People
3. Letter Meeting Greeting Packets and Alphabet Sheets: Each packet contains a pad of 35 Greeting Cards for each of the 26 letters.
4. Chatterbooks; 35 individual activity books for decoding, reading, and spelling words.
5. Puppets and Stage: Scripts, in verse, are also provided.
6. Chalkboards: 35 individual reusable slates to be used for decoding and spelling.
7. Chatter Album: 12”, 33 1/3 rpm record which reinforces the learning of the vowel sounds and some of the basic lessons in the program.
8. Films strips: Humorous episodes that reinforce identification of letters with personified characteristics.
9. Duplicating Masters: 50 tests to aid the teacher in evaluating student work, and assignments children take home to demonstrate progress to their parents.
10. Professional Guide: A detailed step—by—step Lesson plan foreach learning unit.
11. Alpha Wagon: A container which houses the above materials mounted on wheels for portability. [2]
The Letter People and who and what they are[]
"The ALPHA system has its central theme the letters of the alphabet as anthropomorphic characters or the Letter People. The Letter boys are consonants. The Letter Girls are vowels.
Each Letter Person is endowed with a characteristic which serves as a means of associating his or her name with the letter sound. For example, Mister F has Funny Feet and the sound for Mister F's letter is the same sound that starts Funny Feet. Mister S has Super Socks, Miss U has an Upsy-daisy Umbrella." [3]
Notes[]
- The order of the characters is the order they appear in the program.