When I was young we were taught letters by the sound of them but also how to say the letter. We had books which used to teach us how to remember how to write and say letters, but over the last few years this has all changed. Children are now taught about words and letters using something called phonics. Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing of the English language by developing learners’ phonemic awareness. It basically teaches the pupil what sound the letter or letters make when in a word. Teachers will teach children patterns that can be applied to many words and show them how the sound of a letter can change when next to another letter.
As a parent this can be hard to get your head around and many nursery’s and schools are more than happy to assist you with phonetic learning to allow you to help your child at home.