No More Letter of the Week

William H. Teale
Center for Literacy
University of Illinois at Chicago

Tennessee Reading Association Conference

Murfreesboro, Tennessee
December 5, 2016

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Letter of the Week—Alive and Well
Letter of the Week Preschool Curriculum - Brightly Beaming Resources
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Learning the Alphabet with the Letter of the Week
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Letter of the Week—Alive and Well

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How not to help children learn about letters

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 True-False Test
• At the beginning of the kindergarten year, one of the most
powerful predictors of eventual success in reading is the ability
to name the letters of the alphabet.

• During preK and K, one of the most powerful predictors of

eventual success in reading is phonological awareness.

• We have considerable research data on the order in which

young children learn specific letters of the alphabet.

• As a teacher, you can pretty well predict for each child in your
classroom the order in which s/he will learn the letters of the
alphabet.

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 Research Implications for LOTW

Research findings: Therefore, LOTW is problematic because it…

Various letter features, as well as student approaches 26 letters equally in terms of
factors one's name, affect which letters activities provided and amount of time.
children learn earlier and later or which they
find easier or more difficult.

The pattern for alphabet learning varies from treats every child the same with respect to
child to child, but how young children learn what and when letters are taught. Fails to
letter names and letter sounds is neither utilize assessment on child’s knowledge.
random nor completely individual. Instruction is inefficient.

There are statistically and practically focuses mainly on letter naming and letter-
significant connections between phonological sound activities without sufficient systematic
awareness and learning the alphabet. instructional attention to phonological
awareness in conjunction with letter
knowledge.
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 Instructional Practices
More effective
Intentional and systematic instruction
Exposure and repeated practice—varied and
not too much
Small group instruction
Multicomponent instruction
Purposefully ordering the teaching of letters
Pacing instruction: teaching letters early,
intensely, and to the degree needed by each
child
Providing intensive, individual instruction to
the children having considerable difficulty
with alphabet knowledge
Less effective
Whole-class scripted approach
Teaching letters once or twice
Whole class instruction on the same letter
Teaching letters with little attention to
phonological awareness
Teaching letters in the order prescribed by the
curriculum
Teaching “low”: not attending to assessment
information or the needs of the individual child
Relying on a whole group approach with little
consideration to formative assessment of
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students
So—what to do instructionally?
Literacy Self-Concept Strategies That Develop It

I can do things myself because Labeling

of print. Signing in
Self-initiated writing

I can anticipate/plan for what Morning meeting

comes next because of print.

I can communicate to make my Morning meeting

wants and needs understood and Signing in
to consider the wants and needs Inquiry projects
of others.

I can expand my understanding Reading aloud

of the world and myself through Interactive writing
print. Student-authored class books
Inquiry projects cfl.uic.edu 8
Self-initiated writing
So—what to do instructionally?
Literacy Self-Concept
I can use print to hold on to
information that is important to me.
I can see language as a tool for
invention and find joy in the
aesthetics of language—the sound
and feel of words, patterns in a text,
rhythms of words and sentences,
levels of meaning a word can
contain.
I can use print to explain and
describe the world.
I can use print to solve problems.
Strategies That Develop It
Interactive writing: lists, predictable
charts, class correspondences
Inquiry projects
Self-initiated writing
What letter/what word am I thinking
about? Singing songs
Mixing up sentences
Building words as a class
Interactive writing: predictable charts
Self-initiated writing
Inquiry projects
Signing in
Inquiry projects
Self-initiated writing
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One approach that has proven effective
Jones and Reutzel

• Instruction on a different letter each day

• Cycle through the alphabet five times or more, with a

different emphasis each time
• 10–20% of classroom instruction time devoted to review.

• Careful assessment: once a child had mastered a letter, no

further instruction on that letter.

Jones, C., & Reutzel, D. R. (2012). Enhanced alphabet

knowledge instruction: Exploring a change of frequency,
focus, and distributed cycles of review. Reading Psychology.

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https.uic.academia.edu/WilliamTeale
Twitter: @wteale
wteale@uic.edu

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