There’s a New Alphabet Song—Should Your Kid Learn It?

A TikTok video is bringing attention to the new version.

Did the alphabet get a major glow-up? A recent TikTok from a first grade teacher suggests it did by bringing attention to a new version.

In the video, creator @teacherrachelsorsel indicates that there might just be a better way to teach kids A to Z by putting a small twist on the classic alphabet song we all know by heart.

But, it comes at a price. In the new version, our beloved “ellemenopee” sadly gets the axe, and parents and experts are divided.

What Is the New Alphabet Song?

The creator says when students hear and sing the classic song, they often don’t hear the individual letters L-M-N-O-P, and some of them even think “ellemenopee” is a single (if long-named) letter. Cute, yes, but not ideal when you’re a teacher trying to get the lesson across.

She teaches the new version in her classroom, which instead breaks up the letters like this: ABCDEFG / HIJKLMN / OPQ / RST / UVW / XYZ. It's still sung to the original tune.

One other small but meaningful difference: The final three notes are “XYZ,” not “Y and Z”, which can confuse some kids, as they may think the “and” is an “N” when singing.

Commenters on the TikTok video had plenty of jokes. “First they came for Pluto, and I said nothing…” wrote one. “LMNOP got me through a lot. We will never forget you. RIP,” joked another.

Experts Weigh in on the New Alphabet Song

Carly Tulloch , speech language pathologist and co-founder of Wee Talkers, loves the new and improved version of the classic song.

“This is so much better,” says Tulloch. “The new version differentiates each letter name so children can more easily hear and understand the name of each letter. The old version blends them all together in one hard to understand chunk.”

Jennifer Romanoff , Vice President of Curriculum at Lightbridge Academy, agrees and makes a great point: the added clarity could be a big deal to some kids who struggle with learning language , even though it seems like such a simple change.

“Another benefit to changing song lyrics [as in the viral video] is to address children with special needs or those for whom English may not be their first language,” she says.

Not everyone is a fan, though—and I don’t just mean commenters who may be a little too attached to the old way of doing things.

Jennifer Schutza , an elementary school teacher and founder of New Day Literacy, says parents and educators can achieve the same effect by just slowing the original song down a bit, singing the letters more intentionally. “Better yet, have kids look at the letters while singing so they not only learn with their ears but their eyes,” she says.

I’ve got my doubts about the “new and improved version,” and not just because I’m a cantankerous elder millennial . It’s not as catchy as the original because it doesn’t rhyme as well, so I wonder if it will stick in kids’ brains the same way—but I’m just a regular dad, not a speech expert.

Still, if you’re really passionate about the version you grew up singing, there’s no need to fear. This upgraded remix of the alphabet song isn’t really that new, and the Powers That Be aren’t replacing the classic anytime soon. This is just a variation that works for some people, and it just so happens to go viral on social media every few years.

Ultimately, it’s a good thing that kids today have different options for how to learn things. Just like Common Core math , some of the methods seem funky or uncomfortable to parents who didn’t learn them growing up, but one of the keys to modern curriculums is that they often teach children many different ways of solving problems so they can find the best way that works for them.

So, the question is up to you: to ellemenopee or not to ellemenopee?

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