My students need hands-on, sensory methods for alphabet exploration, such as alphabet stamps, alphabet beads, giant alphabet tracing cards, and textured alphabet books.
Learning the ABC's should be joyful! By the end of the year, I want my students to love not just their new knowledge of letters and sounds, but to love books and literacy.
It seems so simple to learn the alphabet.
But what if your family has just immigrated to America within the last few months, and you've never been exposed to any alphabet, much less the English alphabet? What if you've never been to preschool, or never seen crayons? Nearly 80% of our school's students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Last year two-thirds of my kindergarten students were English learners. In my classroom students spoke a total of nine languages. This year's students will benefit greatly from working with their hands to understand the alphabet. Kindergarten students become knowledgable about their worlds by touching and manipulating objects. With these tactile ABC supports, my students will not only learn deeply, but love the process.
My Project
My students will use these materials during the segment of our day titled Word Work. They will choose from a menu of activities that is differentiated for their needs. For example, some students may stamp and then write individual letters. Some students may stamp and then write out entire words or sentences. Students will practice writing, stamping, and even feeling the alphabet and building words. During this time, I will confer with students one-on-one about their Word Work and their goals. When students feel power and form goals, they practice-- and attain mastery.
These alphabet materials are crucial.
Previously I have had to make due with various photocopies and alphabet sets I was able to put together through garage sales and the Target dollar bin. These high-quality materials are deeply sensory, and as such are highly appealing to children. When children enjoy using literacy materials, they learn more, and more quickly. My children already encounter many barriers, but through access to multi-sensory materials, I hope to jump-start them into reading.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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