The Early Childhood Programs and Elementary Language Arts offices work to provide teachers with research-based materials and professional learning to support high quality instruction of English Language Arts, utilizing a balanced literacy approach. No More Teaching a Letter a Week is a resource provided by the Early Childhood Programs office to support the instruction of English Language Arts standards. No More Teaching a Letter a Week embeds letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness, and print concepts for a balanced literacy approach to teaching and learning. This resource provides teachers with research-based practices for the intentional, systematic teaching of the alphabet as well as strategies and activities to implement in the classroom.
Under the Recommended Practices tab, you can find a description of the practices and features that recur in effective instruction, a scope and sequence, a planning template and a sample weekly plan.
Under the Suggested Activities tab, you can find a chart with an overview of literacy self-concepts and strategies to develop them, activity plans, and a PowerPoint of poems and rhymes.
Under the Other Resources tab, you can find a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and data sheets for tracking phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge.
Based on feedback collected from teachers and other stakeholders, prekindergarten and kindergarten teams should continue to use resources, activities, ideas, etc. from Words Their Way for PreK-K and No More Teaching a Letter a Week in some capacity with all students. More information can be found in the Language Arts Expectations document.Links to an external site.
School-based book study guides can be used by teams to learn more about the theory, research, and practice behind No More Teaching a Letter a Week. Book studies include facilitated discussion, practical application, and reflection.
Johnston, F., Invernizzi, M., Helman, L., Bear, D.R., & Templeton, S. (2015). Words their way for prek-k. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Recommended Practices
Teaching the alphabet intentionally and systematically has been established as more effective than informal, catch-as-can approaches; however, there is not one instructional approach that is best. Research shows that a number of features recur in effective instruction:
Exposure and Practice: Repeated, Varied, and Not Too Much
A teacher should be sure a child has many experiences and as much practice as needed, but once he or she knows a letter name and its associated sound(s), it is time to move on to unknown letters, sounds and other aspects of literacy instruction.
Small-Group Instruction
Small-group is the most effective and time-efficient in developing young children’s knowledge of the alphabet because children's knowledge about letters and sounds is so varied. Individual or whole-class instruction can still be used at times.
Multi-Component Instruction
Letter knowledge has positive effects on young children’s print knowledge and potentially positive effects on their phonological processing and early reading/writing when paired with phonological awareness training. Instruction should have several components: teaching letter names should be related to teaching letter sounds should be related to teaching phonological awareness should be related to print awareness. Letter formation is an additional component that is directly linked to building muscle memory.
Considering the Order of Teaching Letters
While there is no evidence showing the superiority of one order over the other, research shows some letters are easier to learn than others, based on features. Furthermore, a cyclical approach, where instruction focuses on letters in sequence from each "advantage" for a total of six cycles of instruction, has shown to be successful. In this cyclical approach, students learn about the letters and their associated sounds from different points of view, thus promoting flexibility and repeated exposure.
Letters in own name advantage cycle
uses letters in children’s names
Letter name-letter sound relationship cycle
begins with the consonant letters that have the letter sound at the beginning of the letter name (b, d, j, k, p, t, v, z,); then,
consonant letters with the sound at the end of the letter name (f, l, m, n, r, x); finally,
consonants with no letter name-letter sound association (h, q, w, y) or with more than one sound (c, g, s)
Letter frequency advantage cycle
letters are taught from most to least frequently used: consonants (r, t, n, s, l, c, d, p, m, b, f, v ,g, h, k, w, x, z, j, q, y) and vowels (i, a, e, o, u).
Consonant phoneme acquisition order advantage cycle
letters are taught according to typical sound production: (p, m, h, n, w, b, k, g, d, t, f, j, r, l, s, z, v or p, m, h, n, w, b, k, g, d, t, f, y, r, l, s, z, j, v)
based on previous acquisition order; updated 2017-2018 consonant phoneme order pending
Distinctive visual features advantage cycle
children recognize letters by attending to and recognizing their “distinctive features”:
straight lines (E, F, H, I, L, T, i, l,)
diagonal lines (A, K, M, N, V, W, Y, Z, k, v, w, y, z )
curved lines (B, C, D, G, J, O, P, Q, R, S, U, a, b, c, d, e, g, h, j, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, u)
intersecting lines (X,x,t)
etc.
Alphabet order advantage
letters are taught from a to z
Pace
Teaching letters early and intensely to the degree needed by each individual child: Children need repeated, varied exposure and practice with each individual letter over time, not just in one week. Children come to school knowing different letters.
Children Who Need Extra Support
There are always children who have difficulty with some letters/sounds, and they benefit from specialized, individual instruction provided outside the regular classroom program. The time these children spend learning the alphabet should be no more than necessary in order to minimize the number of things they miss in the regular curriculum.
Other Practices Worth Considering
In addition to the instructional practices directly related to developing alphabet knowledge, other evidence-based early childhood practices will contribute to young children’s knowledge of print and alphabet principles:
No More Teaching a Letter a Week identifies eight literacy self-concepts along with strategies to help students create an identity through print. Please refer to the chart below:
I can find joy in the aesthetics of language- the sound and feel of words, the patterns in a text, the rhythm of words and sentences, the levels of meaning a word can contain- and can see language as a tool for invention and play.
The following activity ideas to foster self-literacy are just a sample of what can be found in the books No More Teaching a Letter a Week and Literacy Beginnings. This list is in no way comprehensive of the many suggestions found in these books as well as ideas from real teachers.