What phase of word-learning is characterized by children remembering selected visual features of words?

The phase of word-learning characterized by children remembering selected visual features of words is indeed the Pre-Alphabetic phase. In this stage, children typically do not yet understand the alphabetic principle, which means they have not connected letters to sounds or phonemes. Instead, they rely heavily on visual cues, such as the shape of words, their length, or specific letters in familiar words to help them recognize and remember them.

For instance, a child in the Pre-Alphabetic phase might recognize the word "STOP" based solely on its visual characteristics or memorization of the appearance of the word rather than its phonetic components. This stage lays the groundwork for later stages of reading development, as the child gradually learns to associate letters with sounds and begin to decode words in the Partial Alphabetic phase. Understanding this initial reliance on visual features is crucial in recognizing how reading develops over time.