Literacy in early childhood - alphabet knowledge

Early childhood teachers play an important role in supporting children's literacy. But, what types of literacy experiences are appropriate in the early years? The common response probably is children need to learn ABCs, as alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness are key predictors of literacy achievement later in school, in terms of spelling and reading.

Children who attend primary school with insufficient knowledge of letter names and letter sounds tend to struggle with reading, and they are likely to fall behind in spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Alphabet knowledge means knowledge about letter names, letter sounds and letters in print. With these knowledge, young children are able to make attempts at spelling and reading. Researchers Piasta and Wagner found out that Alphabet knowledge can be strengthened through intentional teaching strategies.

Te Whaariki, New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum and Australia's Early years Learning Framework both advocate for a holistic programme. Yes, alphabet knowledge is best taught in a variety of ways within a holistic curriculum. Teaching literacy knowledge too formal and too soon may take away the pleasure of learning from young children.

There are plenty of games with a focus on alphabet knowledge. My friend has a set of bean bags with letters embroidered on them. She gives each child one, and ask them to say the letter name, letter sound, and to think of a word that begins with the particular letter. And then, they play balancing game with the bean bag, which concludes the learning session with giggles and laughters. The learning encompasses cognitive, emotional, social and physical aspects.

Other effective activities or routines could include: children to sign up on arrival at kindergarten; put own name tags on their locker on arrival; dictate names onto artwork; sing alphabet song while pointing to alphabet chart; when organising children off the mat orderly, use a letter card to send off children with names starting with the same letter; use magnetic letters to make words, and so on. You could add to the list...

Click this link for the research paper published by Piasta and Wagner.

P.S. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recognizes development of the alphabetic principle as a goal for the preschool years and proficiency in letter discrimination, letter naming, and letter–sound correspondences are expected during the kindergarten year.