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Teaching Letters to Young Children

2/7/2022

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​Do you use the letter of the week method?  Why?
Many early childhood educators teach letters and their sounds by presenting a new letter each week, and then emphasize that letter by programming activities that begin with it. For example, when teaching the letter B, they might string “b”eads, study “b”utterflies, and eat “b”agels.  When using this method, which is informally known as the Letter of the Week method, it takes almost the complete school year to get through the alphabet.  
Teachers, caregivers and parents who advocate this method say they use it because:
  • They think everyone else uses it
  • They have read about it on sites and blogs
  • It’s really convenient to plan a curriculum around it
  • Even though the children they are teaching are at different developmental levels, they can make sure that every letter is covered, and that every child is exposed to each letter
I have never used this method.  In most (if not all) of the background reading that I have done over the last 30 years concerning teaching reading to young children I have not found this method recommended.
How to teach letters to young children
Some of the reasons:
Children are developmentally ready, and motivated, to learn the names and sounds of letters, at different ages and stages.  If a child is ready to learn letters, they are ready to learn lots of letters, not just one.  I have seen motivated children learn a complete alphabet and most sounds within 2 weeks!  Imagine the boredom and frustration of these children if they are presented with just one letter a week, the same letter over and over again.  

​Hopefully they will go ahead and learn all the letters by themselves anyway, but just imagine all that time that is being wasted in the group setting, plodding along with one letter a week. So many more exciting things could be accomplished during this wasted time.  How about the child that is not interested or ready yet?  Is learning a letter a week going to increase the interest and motivation, and hasten personal cognitive development?  At best, it will provide some busy work to fill time. At worst, it bores and frustrates.  


Current educational research indicates that children learn letters and their sounds best when they are presented in small groups of 2, 3 or 4; when many hands on games and social activities are presented at the same time to reinforce the names and sounds (this does NOT mean poking holes in paper for the letter P); and when the letters are “studied”  in context, along with other letters, and not in isolation.
This is how I have taught letters to young children in group settings, and this I what I recommend. 
  • Assess where each child is at present, and create a personal record for each child.
  • Fill the learning environment with these ideas
  • Make it fun, make it exciting, make it joyful, take your time.  This is a Lifetime of Learning we are influencing here, people!
  • Present 2 letters at first – usually letters with an easily identifiable shape and/or sound such as M, S or T.  Check through these  suggestions for an idea to use as a first presentation, and for follow-up and coordinating activities.  Do not follow alphabetical order. Some letters are just plain harder to “get” than others.  Leave letters such as X, G and Q  until later.
  • Upper or lower case?  I always made my first presentations using upper case letters, because the shapes of the letters are stronger and to my mind more memorable.  However, some teachers like to use lower case - their rationale is that these are the letters you see mostly when looking at books.
  • Introduce the letter sound at the same time as the shape.  Make it seem integral, “part of the whole” so to speak.  For example, you could hold up a big L, and chant “This is an L, a very big L, and a very big L says l, l, l ” Say it with me – “This is an L, a very big L “ etc
  • Observe how each child is progressing, and make available letter activities that are appropriate to his/her style and speed of learning (eg. matching, hiding and finding, recognition of one letter in a group of letters, hearing the sounds in an engaging song or chant , tracing the letter shape in sand etc. Although most of the games and activities will emphasize the current letters, there should also be activities available using the whole alphabet, such as a set of magnetic letters, or an alphabet puzzle.  There will always be children who want (or need) to “work ahead”.
  • When most of the group has a strong concept of the first 2 letters, present 3 more. I usually include a vowel such as A in this second set of letters, because some children are often ready to create simple 3 letter words.  For the children who are taking their time catching on – keep providing as many motivating games and activities as they can handle. Observe and record.   These are good letters to present earlier in the learning sequence - M-S-T-A-B-P-R-N
  • Use Word Walls.  Label furniture and centers.  Put a full alphabet around the wall.  Tape up posters of the learned letters, surrounded  by pictures of objects having the letter as the initial sound.  Point to them, and say them often throughout the day. Have the children trace them with a finger as they go by.
  • Present 3 more letters – keep reviewing the learned letters with all those hands on games.  By the way, I use those ubiquitous File Folder games very sparingly, if at all.  The folders are too small, and consequently the game pieces in them need to be small.  I have found that game pieces for younger children usually need to be quite large to be interesting.  Also, File Folder activities, like many worksheets, tend to be an assessment of what has been learned already, and not an actual teaching tool. 
  • Continue presenting groups of letters until all have been introduced.  Obviously it will take longer if you are introducing letters to a group of 3 year olds, and many at that age will not be ready for formal letter introduction at all.  However, if you are working with 4’s, you may be very surprised at how quickly you will finish all 26 letters. ​
OK, I can hear you saying “But if I don’t do a letter a week, what am I going to hang my curriculum on?”  Well, that’s easy.  Follow a theme curriculum.  Some teachers like planned themes; others follow a more emergent approach (studying interesting topics that come up in the course of the day or week).   Letters (and I might add shapes, colors and numbers) are taught separately from the theme, at the pace of the group and what they are ready to do. (Observe, record and assess).  Of course, exploring and learning letters can be incorporated into thematic activities whenever appropriate, but they should not dictate the theme.

More about letters and literacy

  • Establishing the Environment for Early Literacy Development
  • Reading and Writing Play Materials
  • 52 Games and Activities to Make Learning Letters and Sounds Fun​
  • ​Alphabet A-Z Phonics Activity Packs Series
  • Alphabet theme page
  • ​Alphabet packs in the store
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Reading and Writing Center Play Materials and Equipment

2/7/2022

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Many of  these items are easily found, and/or are recyclables.  Find reliable sources for commercial products on the links page.
A list of equipment and materials for a reading and writing center
  • Table (homemade or purchased, sized for young children)
  • Chair(s)
  • Desk and chair
  • Low, open shelves
  • Bulletin board
  • Magnet boards and alphabet and number magnets
  • Alphabet blocks, tiles and puzzles
  • Alphabet sponges, stamps, and stamp pads
  • Alphabet books
  • Clipboards
  • Envelopes
  • Junk mail, catalogs
  • Magazines
  • Empty food containers
  • File folders and boxes
  • Mailbag and mailbox
  • Chalkboards
  • Chalk (white and colors)  
  • Paper (lined and unlined, different sizes, colors, textures)
  • Markers (thick and thin tips)
  • Crayons
  • Colored pencils
  • Erasable boards, markers and erasers
  • Magic slates
  • Ready made blank books
  • Bookbinding materials (hole punch, stapler, yarn)
  • Scissors
  • Old typewriter
  • Computer or device with age appropriate apps and programs

​More about letters and literacy ...
  • ​Establishing the Environment for Early Literacy Development
  • 52 Games and Activities to Make Learning Letters and Sounds Fun​
  • Teaching Letters to Young Children (Letter of the week, or not?)
  • ​Alphabet A-Z Phonics Activity Packs
  • Alphabet theme page
  • ​Alphabet packs in the store
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Christmas Alphabet Printables

11/12/2021

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Here's a new Christmas alphabet recognition activity pack for early learners, and it's FREE to members in the KidSparkz Member Library.
Christmas themed letter recognition activity pack
Included:
  • 26 pages of upper case letters
  • 26 pages of lower case letters

​What to do:
  • Teacher directs children to the featured letter on the printable, names it and asks the children to color or stamp all the presents or ornaments showing the same letter.
  • Trace the letters if desired.
  • Color the picture, if desired.

Download these free Christmas learning activities HERE 
Free vocabulary list of Christmas words.
Count and color the Christas ornaments

  • Lots of Christmas songs ...
  • Toys theme page
  • Cookies theme page
  • Gingerbread theme page
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FREE alphabet Posters in color and bw

8/1/2021

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Here is a set of ALPHABET POSTERS or large flashcards in color - make matching games or decorate your classroom or your preschooler's room.
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Includes:
  • 26 alphabet posters showing upper and lower case letters and a picture beginning with that letter.
  • 5 posters showing long vowel sounds
  • Soft C and G posters

Children can:
  • recognize and name the pictures
  • recognize and name the letters
  • relate the letters sound to the beginning sound of the picture word


Teachers can:
  • Print on cardstock and laminate for longest use
  • Post on the wall
  • Use as large flashcards for games and pocket charts
Get the color set

And here's the same set in BW - children can decorate them, or make a letter book.
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get the Bw posters

  • More free alphabet activities for preschool and kindergarten
  • Easy and low cost ways to teach letter recognition and sounds
  • 52 Games and Activities to Make Learning Letters and Sounds Fun​
  • ​Alphabet A-Z Phonics Activity Packs

A FEW alphabet activity packs from the kidsparkz store ...

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Spring is here!

3/30/2018

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It's the same thing every year.  I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the primrose pots lined up outside the supermarket doors.  Here are some freebies to download to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Free activities and printables for spring.
Download the activities
... and some spring related books.
Spring books for preschool and kindergarten

...and some seasonal songs.
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    Susan Portman
    Hello, I'm Susan. ​My goal at KidSparkz is to offer instantly downloadable, free and low cost early childhood printables and activity packs to busy teachers and parents.
    ​Read more ...

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