Letter Learning
Learning the names of the alphabet letters – like all early learning – is best done in the context of what is meaningful to young children.
Many children first learn the initial letter of their own name, which has a great deal of meaning and importance to them. For the child who loves Jello, J may be an important letter, while the child who knows that daddy works at the Texaco station may begin to notice the letter T.
Some children learn to read without knowing the names of letters or the sounds associated with them. But research shows that for most children, associating names and sounds with the alphabet comes before conventional reading.
However, this finding does not mean that letter names should be drilled into young children. There are far more effective and enjoyable ways for children to learn about letters. For instance, children enjoy labeling items that they chose. Sound out the name of the object together to determine which initial letter to use, then cut out big letters from magazines or newspapers and invite the child to tape them on items that s/he wants labeled.
At home or out together, point out letters and words that are likely to be of special interest to your child. Try simple activities such as reading logos of favorite foods and stories, identifying street signs, writing grocery lists together and playing with magnetic letters on the refrigerator door while singing the alphabet song. Remember, children learn through play!
The Write Stuff
Long before a child learns to form letters with a pencil or marker, s/he has taken many steps toward learning to write. Children must have many opportunities to use their hands to do various things before they can successfully print letters.
Molding with clay or playdough, using large and small Lego’s, picking up beads and playing with knobbed puzzles all prepare the fingers and hands for writing. Scribbling with markers and crayons, controlling a pencil for use with a stencil, using chalk on the sidewalk and painting with fingers/large brushes are a few of the many ways children practice for later writing.
We stock our room with plenty of paper, paper clips, staplers, markers and crayons, and we make sure that these materials are available for children to use. Children may want to “write” notes to their friends or messages to their teacher or parents. They use writing materials in their dramatic play – making signs for a store, tickets for a show, menus for a restaurant, and so on.
As children experiment, developmental stages of writing become evident. Children move from random scribbling to controlled scribbles, to random alphabet letters, to consonants that represent words. Only with lots of opportunities to practice can children move through these stages.
If your child does not have a proper pencil grip, cannot purposefully manipulate a crayon or simply shows no interest in learning to write, s/he is probably not ready to do so. Take care not to push. Children enjoy learning a new skill only when they are ready for it. Getting ready is just as important as mastering the skill.
Make Your Own Storybooks
Children love stories and love making things so take advantage of this terrific combination and make some books with your child. Preschool children are ready to help write and illustrate stories from their own experiences or imagination. Here’s the idea:
- Write down a story as your child tells it. Be sure to write the child’s words, not yours, and repeat the words as you write. This process helps a child recognize that print is “talk” written down.
- Place an appropriate number of words at the top of separate pages of paper and reread the story with your child.
- Invite your child to illustrate each page and, if s/he wishes, to create a cover, title page and dedication.
- Arrange pages in order and place in a notebook.
- Encourage your child to “read” this new book to you.
The same process can be used with photographs that describe a trip to the zoo, a vacation or a visit from Grandma or Grandpa.
These unique books make wonderful gifts. You might want to photocopy them (colour photocopies are great!) and give them to several members of the family and close friends.
Remember, whatever the topic, we adults act only as the scribes for the child’s words and as assistants in putting the book together. Children should make all the decisions about the content and creation of their own storybooks!
And, of course, HAVE FUN!
Stages of Children’s Writing
Educators look at writing very differently than they did a generation ago. The things that young children seem to do naturally when given a paper and markers are now viewed as true forms or writing.
There are at least six different forms of writing:
Drawing: Children draw and “read” their drawings as a form of communication. They may draw unrecognizable forms and say “I played at the house centre today with my friends”. Or they may draw a treelike form and say “This says remember to take me to the park”.
Scribbling: Young children believe they are writing when they scribble and often “read” what they just scribbled. Children often will move the pencil like adults, making their scribbles from left to right.
Invented Letters: Many young children make up their own letters. A circle with a line drawn down from the bottom (resembling a lollipop) is a common invented letter. Again, children believe they are writing.
Random Letters: As children become more aware of the alphabet, they often write the letters in long strings, usually at random.
Invented Spelling: Invented spelling takes many forms but is related to the sounds the child hears in each word. At the beginning of this stage, children may write one letter to represent a word. Later, words are represented by two letters, the initial and ending letter sounds. As the child’s writing continues to mature, most sounds are represented in their invented spelling. I refer to this stage of writing as Kidwriting when we start Writer’s Workshop.
Common Spelling: The child begins writing more and more words spelled as adults spell.
***Letter borrowed from Tracy Fulton, New Westminister School District***