Step 1
The letters (Bogstaverne)
Here your child gets to know the letters. The sound button says the name of the letter, that is "be" and "kå" in Danish. The sound of the letter is something else, and that one you make at home. The note on each set tells you how.
Set 1 The vowels a, e, i, o and u
The letters
For the adult: For the vowels, the name and the sound are the same. A is called a and sounds like a. That is why they are the easiest ones to start with, and they are the ones that tie all the other sounds together into words.
Set 2 The vowels y, æ, ø and å
The letters
For the adult: Here too the name and the sound are the same. The four of them sit close together in the mouth, and many children mix them up, so say them slowly one after the other.
Set 3 s, f, v, l, m and n
The letters
For the adult: The button says the name: es, ef, ve, el, em, en. The sound is something else, and you have to say it yourself: ssss, ffff, vvvv, llll, mmmm, nnnn. They can be held for as long as you have breath, and that makes them easy to hear inside a word.
Set 4 b, d, g, k, p and t
The letters
For the adult: The button says the name: be, de, ge, kå, pe, te. The sound cannot be held, because the mouth closes completely for a moment, and if you say it on its own a little vowel inevitably follows. That cannot be avoided, so just make it as short as you can. What matters is that you use the sound and not the name when you read words: say kå-a-te and the word kat falls apart.
Set 5 h, j and r
The letters
For the adult: The button says the name: hå, jod, er. These three sounds do not behave like the others, each in its own way. H is pure air. J slides into a vowel. And r changes character completely depending on where it stands: in rød it is a clear consonant, but in mor and stor it turns into something close to a vowel. Say them short, and do not hold them.
Set 6 c, q, w, x and z
The letters
For the adult: The button says the name: ce, ku, dobbelt-ve, eks, zet. These five are rare in Danish words, and your child will meet them almost only in names and in words borrowed from other languages. They need to be known, but there is no hurry.
All the letters
The whole alphabet in one place. Tap a letter to hear what it is called. The sound of the letter is something else, and that one you make yourself, see the note on each set.
Exercises for this step
The exercises have their own page. These ones suit what your child is practising on this step.
Is this the right step?
When your child can say the name of every letter without help, you are ready for step 2. Mix up the order, so it is not just the alphabet song that sticks.
Borrow books that match: show this text to the librarian, and they can find books at the same level. See library.
