Because our approach at WIL to literacy instruction has its emphasis on children's developing awareness, we do not directly "teach" the alphabet but instead provide many opportunities to encounter the letters, their names, and their sounds.​

 

To support children's alphabet learning, WIL features one new take-home alphabet book each month. These are to be used first at school. We ask teachers to change their classroom alphabet displays on a monthly basis using the pictures we supply. And, we suggest, after teachers have discussed the new alphabet with children, that they tape the cards below the classroom chalkboard so the pictures are at these young children's eye level.​

 

After serving as the classroom alphabet for a month, the alphabet books are meant to be sent home for families to read together. You can consider the books as additions to the Read-At-Home program.  Research has shown that repeated readings of alphabet books aid children in alphabet knowledge and recognition.