Educating Young Children Volume 1 - Winter 2026 | Page 56

We see joy when a toddler runs to find their favorite book for an adult to read, a 4-year-old writes their own name, a kindergartner’ s face lights up when using their letter-sound knowledge to sound out a word, or a second grader glows with pride when they write about a new idea they figured out!

In addition, it’ s important to balance teacher-led and child-led literacy opportunities. Both can be playful and engaging, but we do know that some literacy activities, such as introducing new letters and sounds or explaining the meaning of new words, need to be teacher-led to ensure that all children have access to ideas they need to learn.

For example, beyond introducing a new sound-letter relationship, teacher-led learning might include supporting children to find and sort objects( or pictures) that do and do not start with that letter and sound. Young children think it’ s really funny when adults ask silly questions like“ Does dog start with the / m / sound?” They love to play games like I Spy:“ I spy something that starts with / t /.” We can also create opportunities for children to use literacy in their self-directed play by putting literacy materials( texts and writing materials) in play centers, inviting children to act out books and stories, and including games( like matching games, letter bingo, and alphabet puzzles) in our classrooms. There is nothing in the research that requires literacy instruction to focus on worksheets or skills drill. Teaching children to read and write can and should be a joyful experience!