There is certainly some debate about which letters to teach children first. Some say to teach in alphabetical order to avoid confusion. Some say to teach the easier sounds and progress to the more difficult. I’ve heard some teach the vowels first and move on to consonants after the vowels are mastered. Most early childhood educators agree that every child should start with the letters of his name first. Toddlers and preschoolers are self centered. They are still convinced the world revolves around them. The most important letters are the ones that make up their names.
I have the children’s names in at least 3 places in the classroom. The helpers chart, our birthday wall,
their cubbies, and a place for them to practice their names.
These recycled DVD cases make wonderful dry erase boards for name writing practice.
After introducing the letters in a child’s name, my preference is to introduce the letters in which the capital letters have straight horizontal and vertical lines.
L, T, I, H, E, F
We then move on to letters with curved lines starting with O and moving to C, S, Q.
We then progress to letters that combine straight lines with curved ones.
J, U, B, D,G, P,
Lastly, we learn the letters that have the diagonal line which I have discovered is the trickiest to master.
R, K, N, M, W, A, V, X, Y, Z
I always teach lowercase letters alongside the uppercase letters. While it may seem like a lot of information, I believe it’s important for the child to begin to associate the two together from the beginning.
While there are thousands of activities we as parents and educators can use to teach letters, let us not forget that our environment itself can aid in literacy development. Having books available at a child’s reach encourages the child to see the written word well before the concept of reading has been learned.
This book stand from Lakeshore is one of my favorite items in my classroom. It allows for the covers of the books to be displayed which is more appealing to the children than the binding. https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/infants-toddlers/furniture/heavy-duty-no-climb-bookstand/p/DG115/
I also make sure to have books in every center encouraging children to see the importance of books in all area of our learning.
I have other words displayed around our classroom as well. Each area or center is labeled, posters are on the wall, and our schedule with words as well as pictures is at the children’s eye level. I have been asked before why I do this if I teach pre-readers. Words displayed all around a child’s environment allows a child to understand that print has meaning. Before the child begins to put together the meaning and sounds of the consonants and vowels, the child can see that the string of letters is important.
Long before a child puts together letter blends and recognizes that vowels in the English language have various sounds, they may recognize the logo of their favorite fast food restaurant or of Mom’s favorite place to shop. Recognition of a symbol for what it stands for, is the first step in reading. Let’s make sure to flood our environments with literacy rich materials that the children in our care may realize the importance of the written word.
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