Hey Friends!
Iβm so thankful to be guest posting on Sweet for Kindergarten today! Kristina is one of my all-time favorite bloggers & Instagrammers, and I canβt wait to share some ideas with her fabulous community!
Iβm Erin and I blog over at Littles Love Literacy. I taught 1st & 2nd grade and spent time working as a K-3 reading specialist before leaving the classroom to stay at home with my own littles {my daughter is almost 6 and my son is almost 1}. I started Littles Love Literacy on Instagram last year as a way to connect to parents and teachers who are struggling to teach early literacy skills to their little ones.
Why we shouldn't teach a letter a week
One of my favorite things about teachers is that we are lifelong learnersβ¦we love to read, take classes, attend conferences, and update our toolboxes so we can best serve our students. But we are beyond short on time! So today, I wanted to share with you a quick review of a great book I just read about teaching alphabet knowledge called No More Teaching a Letter a Week by Rebecca McKay and William H. Teale. Think of me as your very own Cliffs Notes!
Goodbye Letter a Week!
Despite what you may have seen on Pinterest, Letter-of-the-Week programs are outdated, ineffective, and do not help our students learn the alphabet. And with the Common Core Standards expecting kindergarteners to know the name & sound of upper- and lowercase letters by the end of the year, teachers have no time to waste on ineffective programs.
No More Teaching a Letter a Week is broken up into 3 sections:
1. Letter-of-the-Week Doesnβt Develop Literacy
2. What Research Says About the Sense and Sounds of Letters
3. Inviting Children to Communicate Through Print
Letβs take a quick look at each section:
1. Letter-of-the-Week Doesnβt Develop Literacy
The gist:
β’ Although Letter-of-the-Week is an organized and manageable approach for teachers to introduce the alphabetβ¦itβs not actually effective!
β’ Research does NOT support a letter-of-the-week approach. We can do better!
2. What Research Says About the Sense and Sounds of Letters
The gist:
β’ Not every letter requires the same instructional attention.
β’ Whole-class, scripted instruction on a particular letter is inefficient because some students will already know that letter.
β’ There is not just one sequence for teaching letters and sounds that is best for all students.
β’ A systematic approach to instruction that intentionally teaches letter names and sounds is significantly more effective than an indirect approach.
β’ Some common features of effective instruction include:
β’ repeated and varied exposure and practice
β’ stopping instruction on a certain letter once a child knows its name and sound
β’ mostly small group instruction {which is more effective than either individual or whole-class instruction}
β’ incorporating phonological awareness, print awareness, and the formation of each letter while teaching its name and sound
β’ mixing up the order that letters are taught, which allows kids to have flexibility in thinking about letters and sounds
β’ Teaching a different letter each week is a waste of time and can disadvantage many students who rely heavily on school for their early literacy learning. Again, we can do better!
3. Inviting Children to Communicate Through Print
The gist:
β’ The authors suggest a few teaching strategies and routines based on research, including:
β’ creating a print-rich environment, including lots of labels {materials, supplies, and spaces}
β’ drawing attention to the print in the classroom
β’ reading and writing the morning message
β’ interactive writing {shared writing}
β’ class letters, predictable charts, shared experiences
β’ self-initiated writing
β’ student-made books
β’ class books such as The Letter-Shape Book and The Letter-Sound Book
β’ songs, poems, and games that focus on letter names and sounds
According to the book editor, Nell Duke, βChildren deserve for us to teach them letters and sounds, to develop their phonological awareness and print concepts, in the most powerful way we can find. Moving away from the letter of the week is the right direction for you to go.β
What are your thoughts?
Now Iβd love to know your thoughts! Have any of you read this book yet, or have you heard about the push to move away from letter-of-the-week? What kind of curriculum do you follow for teaching letters & sounds? Do you find that it aligns with the current research and best-practices?
For me, reading this book was very eye-opening and informative, and it reinforced just how much little ones need repeated and varied alphabet activities in order to master this crucial early literacy skill. Thatβs why one of my favorite things to do is make FREE alphabet activities! I have a FREE Activity Library over on Littles Love Literacy that is filled with printable activities that parents and teachers can download and use with their own littles, and Iβd love for you to check it out! Some of my favorite ones right now include:
Feed The Bunny Beginning Letter Sounds Activity:
Great for a center or small-group activity and perfect for this time of year!
Chicka Chika Boom Boom Name & Letter Activity:
Fun activity to accompany everyoneβs favorite alphabet book! No prep, just print and go!
Thanks again to Kristina for letting me share some ideas with this fabulous community!
Happy Reading!
Erin | Littles Love Literacy
You can find Erin here:
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links. This helps support my blog, Sweet for Kindergarten. I only recommend products that I love. All ideas shared are my own.
This looks like a great read – Thank you so much for sharing the book cliff notes to hold me over until I can grab a copy!