Kindergarten

Letter Recognition in Kindergarten

As we all know, literacy exploration starts with learning the alphabet. Therefore, letter recognition is one of the most essential skills students need to learn. It helps them understand the relationship between spoken language and written symbols. In the first few weeks of school, the Kindergarten students began the inquiry of letters by listening to a story about a young mouse who has a long name called Chrysanthemum. Students learned the letters in their names so they could compare them with Chrysanthemum’s. Not only that, the students also compared their names to their friend's and teachers’ names to find out who had the shortest and the longest name. The activity allowed them to develop their observation skills and support their mathematical thinking.

Students continue to engage in letter recognition activities using different kinds of manipulatives, such as letter construction, letter blocks, playdough, and letter magnets. The students explore these objects and try to create their names or their friends and teachers’ names, as well as looking at other words. As they play, the teachers point out the letters and have them say the letter sounds out loud.

Moving forward, students have begun their phonics exploration by focusing on one letter each week. For example, in Week 5, students explored the letter S in both English and Indonesian. Students shared their ideas on objects that start with S, watched video presentations about the letter, and tried some fun activities such as painting, stamping the letter, decorating, and colouring objects that begin with the letter. 

It’s important to note that every student develops at their own pace and that letter recognition is just one step in learning to read. Children will continue to learn more basic reading skills as they get older. Some children may take longer to develop these skills than others, but with the proper support at home and school, they will all develop the skills they need to become successful readers.