Ideas for Teaching and Documenting

Observe children's interactions with letters and print.  Watch and listen to the children reading stories.  Record when children identify letters and notice environmental print on walks or in the classroom.   Document when children ask you to label their work or take dictation.

Plan small group shared writing activities where you model writing in various forms (such as a thank you letter, charting responses to a science activity, or recipe) and talk about print and letters in context. 

Use meaningful writing throughout the classroom and draw children's attention to it.  Provide materials such as magnetic letters, letter stamps, pencils, markers, and other writing materials, for children to experiment with independently.

Read often and talk about the print. 

Use books such as Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins that have words only on some pages, or are wordless, and discuss. 

Model writing for various purposes; use functional writing throughout the day.  Document children's interest, responses, and understanding.

This information is also available in the ELS Guide Book for future reference.