The class then switched to letter recognition.

The class practiced letter recognition.

The game teaches letter recognition and alphabetization.

The Activity Books include a range of drawing, writing and matching activities, which develop left to right orientation, letter recognition, and later basic reading.

Charts are available for very young children or illiterate adults that do not require letter recognition.

In letter recognition, a computer normally would not know at first that the letter had a horizontal line at the bottom or loop at the top.

It soon became apparent that while letter recognition could be taught in a few days, building reading speed was much more time consuming.

Patricia Stevens, the center's principal, gave him the 15-minute exam, asking questions on simple vocabulary, letter recognition and math.

"Fifteen years ago, the focus might have been on cutting and a little letter recognition," she said.

But researchers suggest a trend toward using commercially prepared curriculums that focus on narrowly defined academic skills, like letter recognition and counting.