January 13, 2026
Alphabet Knowledge
I had the opportunity to implement the first principle called Alphabet Knowledge in my language and literacy group (3-5 years of age). To help children access learning the alphabet and its accompanying sounds, it is recommended to introduce the letter, then the sound, then find the letter in text, and then incorporate writing.
This is how I do it:
First, I visually introduce the letter on a dry erase board (both capital and lowercase), while I sing a piggyback song from Handwriting without Tears ® to the tune of 5 Little Ducks.
“I see Capital S and beside lower case s is half the size. The Capital S is tall, tall, tall, the lower case s is small, small, small.”
Then I introduce the sound represented by S using Sounds in Motion. Sounds in Motion has a motion for each letter sound and incorporates movement, an important ingredient in early childhood learning.
Once we learn the letter name and sound, I have the children find the letter S in a rebus story (see picture below) which includes a letter S character that the children get to take home and find all the things the letter S. The children LOVE to find the letter in the story.
Lastly, the children get the chance to have exposure to writing by using Handwriting without Tears ® wood pieces for letter formation. This was the first time introducing a writing component into my class. I plan to expand next month to physically writing using the Handwriting without Tears ® guide.
Stay tuned next week for how I expand alphabet knowledge with the stimulability approach, Sounds in Motion and using a phonics song!