What spelling stage indicates that children are beginning to understand the relationship between letters and sounds?

The stage that indicates children are beginning to understand the relationship between letters and sounds is early phonemic spelling. At this stage, children start to use some phoneme-grapheme correspondences, showing that they are beginning to grasp that letters can represent sounds. This understanding is crucial as it lays the groundwork for more advanced spelling skills.

In early phonemic spelling, children often write the first sounds in words, relying on their growing phonemic awareness to choose letters that correspond to those sounds. This developmental progression shows that they are moving beyond just using random letters or memorized words, and are starting to apply their knowledge of sound-letter relationships actively.

By contrast, prephonemic spelling occurs when children are just starting to experiment with writing but have not yet connected letters with sounds. Letter-name spelling often involves using the names of letters (like "B" and "D") rather than their sounds to spell, while transitional spelling represents a further advanced stage where children are starting to apply more complex spelling rules and patterns.