Fluent letter recognition is one of the (if not THE) predictors of reading success (Adams, 1990).

Removing letters from their meaningful context removes the meaning and purpose from the letter.

Children who are taught letters in isolation have difficulty placing that information into literacy activities (Wood and McLeMore, 2001).

It is more meaningful to introduce letters as they become meaningful to the students.

Just because you and I were taught with the LOTW many years ago does not mean it is the BEST way to teach letters.  Remember the Virginia Slims saying "We've come a long way baby"?  Well, we have come a long way in education and current research supports teaching letters in context and not in isolation.

Teaching with LOTW slows readers down, yet it's too fast for others, it doesn't meet the needs of all learners and there is no room for differentiation. 

The students who struggle the most with learning the letters are the ones who are least helped by teaching letters in isolation. They need something to help them make connections - isolating letters doesn't do that.

Morning Message

Reading and Writing Workshop

Word/Name Wall

Building Blocks

Environmental Print links below:

Q: How do you start teaching your students the letters and sounds in the very beginning of the year? 

A: Letters and sounds are taught in integration.  In the beginning of the year we introduce letters via student names.  We talk about our names as we are getting to know each other, we do lots of name activities such as the ones on the names page (www.pre-kpages.com/names.html).  We read stories about letters such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  You might also find some useful info on the Welcome to School theme page: http://www.pre-kpages.com/schooltheme.html 

Q: Do you at start with one particular letter? 

A: No, since letters and sounds are taught via integration there is no need to focus on one particular letter (ie Letter of the Week).  You will find that children learn their letters much, much faster when they are taught via integration vs. isolation. 

Q: When do you start teaching the letters? 

A: The first or second day of school.  We read Chicka Chikca Boom Boom and do several name activities; "getting to know you" types of activities.  Some students may learn a letter or two these first few days just from that limited exposure.

Q: I'm worried that I might not cover all the letters if I don't use LOTW.  How do you know that you have covered all letters?

A: Our district has mandatory assessments four times per year in Pre-K for report cards, Language Arts, Math etc.  During these assessments we can clearly see exactly how many letters each student knows.  I have several of my assessments on the following page for download: http://www.pre-kpages.com/organize.html, you may find them useful.  I keep a clipboard next to my chair with a spreadsheet of who knows which letters.  When choosing letters for morning message or other literacy activities throughout the day I refer to the spreadsheet.  Many students do not need to have a letter "covered" in a formal unit to learn it.  Some students learn more quickly than others and they will learn their letters naturally via integration.  For example; some students may learn a letter the first time they see it (letters such as "O" and "S" are good examples) just by pointing it out in a big book or other activity. 

Q: How long does it take for you complete all letters?  

A: Since letters are taught via integration there is no time line for completion, each student learns them at his or her own natural pace; we are learning about all letters every day all year long.  However, I can give you hard data that may better answer your question, see the charts below: