First of all in order to learn something well, children need to review things over and over again. In the letter of the week approach, it takes nearly a year to even introduce all of the letters. This makes it difficult to have time to practice and review. Some of the most frequently used letters are at the end of the alphabet, so they wouldn’t be able to be introduced and used until late in the year. A better approach is to focus on a new letter everyday. This allows the children to be exposed to all of the letters in just over a month. Repeating this pattern throughout the year builds skills and reviews the entire alphabet several times.

The most developmentally appropriate way for children to learn letters is similar to the way that they learn numbers. This is the second reason that letter of the week may not be the best approach for children to learn the alphabet. Children should be introduced to the alphabet in 3 stages. First is learning the letter names much as they learn to count by rote. Second, they need to learn to recognize and name the letter shapes. (upper case and lower case) Third, they learn the most basic sound for each letter, and learn to recognize and use that sound in words.

As children learn the alphabet the goal is for them to become fluent and flexible in using the letters. Fluency refers to speed and ease of recognizing and naming the letters and sounds. Children can build fluency by frequent but quick practices in naming the letters and sounds. Play a game called My Pile, Your Pile. With a stack of letter cards, show the child one card at a time. If the child quickly says the correct name of the letter, the card gets put into his or her pile. If the child does not say the correct name of the letter, the card gets put in your pile. You can also use this game for practicing sounds.

Flexibility means being able to use the letter names and sounds in different situations. For example; recognizing different fonts, and different sizes, handwritten letters versus typed letters, etc. Doing sorts is a great way to build flexibility. Make cards with different letters of different fonts and sizes. Have the children sort all of one letter from the pile. Learning the letters well provides a strong foundation for learning to read and write. By using research-based methods we can help children become experts on the alphabet and this will make reading and writing much easier.

Like land titles, aircraft titles are subject to record errors, unresolved liens and even fraud. There are a large number of reasons an aircraft’s title may be rendered unenforceable, placing the owner at risk of property loss or being sued for previously existing liens or unpaid taxes. As the first step in acquiring title insurance, insurance companies will draft an aircraft “title opinion”, or “abstract” based off a thorough investigation of the aircraft’s chain of ownership. The purpose of the initial title search is to unearth any problems with the aircraft’s ownership rights and, if necessary, resolve them before the sale closes. Although the Federal Aviation Administration requires that all aircrafts be registered and recorded through the FAA, FAA records do not have final legal authority in determining rightful ownership. Similarly, Certificates of Registration and FAA Registration do not have ultimate authority in determining ownership. If there are any reasonable disputes made regarding rightful ownership, only state courts have the final word.

Aircrafts which originated from another country are difficult to trace, and even though a title appears to be legitimate, the aircraft seller may have forged the deregistration notice. Buyers of stolen aircrafts are still entitled to liens attached to the aircraft’s title, even if those liens are international. Records can also be defrauded by being re-sold to another owner before the first buyer has the chance to file a security agreement with the FAA. Clerks and even title lawyers make mistakes from time to time. FAA records can be misinterpreted by the insurance underwriter; document creation, registration and filing mistakes can be made by title agents, aircraft brokers, escrow agents and title attorneys. Inaccurate or improperly filed documentation can lead to inaccurate abstracts.

Although title searches and abstracts are designed to preemptively protect aircraft owners from asset loss or legal attacks on the aircraft’s title, human error and hidden fraud still present a risk to the owner. Purchasing insurance is the only way for airplane owners to know that they are fully protected against legal problems or asset loss. Purchasing title insurance protects airplane owners by providing the cost of legal defense in the event of a lawsuit. Insurance also insures the title owner compensation of any financial or property loss due to title disputes, up to a specified amount. At the cost of less than 1% of the purchase amount, aircraft title insurance is a necessary commodity for aircraft owners.