If you’ve ever taught a class full of preschoolers, you know firsthand the wide range of skills and developmental stages they bring. Each child enters the classroom with their own set of strengths, challenges, experiences, and background knowledge, creating a rainbow of unique learning profiles. This makes our roles as preschool teachers especially exciting (glass half full?)! Through engagement, observation, and assessment, we can begin to learn to unique learning profile of our class.
While children enter the classroom with a range of skills and readiness levels, teaching the alphabet following the science should ideally set every child up for success...right? Research-based practices, such as celebrating children’s names, introducing the alphabet as a meaningful whole, and teaching in letter cycles, support cognitive development and foster building a strong alphabet knowledge foundation.
While it is our hope and mission that every child will succeed with these practices, the reality is that not all children in your classroom will be able to acquire the skills you are hoping for despite your best practices. Let's dive into some possible reasons why children may struggle to learn the alphabet.
5 Possible Reasons that Children May Be Struggling to Learn the Alphabet
Let’s explore five possible reasons why some children may struggle with alphabetic knowledge. Remember, these are just potential factors. Always take a proactive approach by sharing observations with families and gathering insights from specialists before drawing conclusions.
Reason #1: Working Memory Capacity
Young children’s working memory capacity is still developing, which can impact their ability to retain and recall multiple letter names and sounds. Working memory is the brain’s “short-term storage” system, allowing a person to hold and manipulate information for brief periods. In preschool-aged children, this system is not yet fully developed, making it harder for them to retain several letter names and sounds at once.
Research has shown that children’s working memory abilities play a crucial role in early literacy acquisition, especially for letter-sound correspondence and word decoding. For example, Baddeley’s model of working memory explains how limited capacity in young children can mean they’re quickly overwhelmed when exposed to multiple pieces of new information (Baddeley, 2003). A child with a small working memory capacity may struggle to remember the letter they’re working with, much less retain a sound associated with it. Children with higher working memory capacity have an advantage in acquiring reading skills, as they can retain more information long enough to understand and apply it.
Reason #2: Limited Exposure
Children’s literacy development is heavily influenced by the literacy-rich environments they experience at home and in the community in the very early years of life. Children with limited exposure to books, storytelling, and rich language are less familiar with letters and sounds. Studies have shown that children from homes with more books and regular reading experiences develop stronger foundational literacy skills, as early print exposure helps them recognize letter shapes and names more easily. Exposure doesn’t mean formal instruction but rather being surrounded by print in a way that invites curiosity and exploration. The reality is that children who lack immersion in books, meaningful conversations, and rich language exposure may miss the foundational skills needed to retain and learn the alphabet effectively.
Reason #3: Phonological Awareness Deficits
Phonological awareness—the ability to identify and manipulate sounds within words—is crucial for learning letter-sound relationships. Children with weaker phonological awareness skills often find it harder to connect letters to sounds, a foundational literacy skill. Research underscores that phonological awareness is one of the greatest predictors of later reading success (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). Children need activities that involve rhyming, segmenting words into sounds, and playing with syllables to build these skills. If children have had limited exposure to word play in the very early years of life through poetry and song, and have not had any practice with more complex skills as they have grown older (such as segmenting syllables and blending and segmenting basic sounds in words aloud), they may struggle to make connections between letter sounds and symbols.
Reason # 4: Limited Multisensory Learning Opportunities
Preschoolers benefit most from hands-on, multisensory activities. Children learn best when they can touch, move, see, and hear together. Activities that incorporate tactile elements, like tracing letters in sand or using playdough to shape letters, engage children in ways that are more effective than visual or auditory learning alone. Research shows that multisensory approaches can improve memory retention and help children better understand abstract concepts like letters and sounds. A multisensory approach supports all learning styles and provides a richer experience for preschoolers who may struggle with traditional letter-learning activities. Another reason why I love our Moving Little Minds Alphabet Motions Cards! Grab them HERE!
Reason #5: Lack of Meaningful Connections
Children struggle to learn letters in isolation without context that connects letters to things they care about, such as their names, favorite stories, or relevant objects. Research has demonstrated that integrating letters into meaningful activities, such as writing a child’s name or labeling objects around the room, promotes engagement and memory. You may notice that children quickly begin being able to identify their classmate's names in print. This is because their classmates are important and meaningful! By using real-world connections and embedding letter learning into familiar activities, children gain a deeper, more contextualized understanding of letters and their sounds.
Tips to Help!
Working Memory Capacity:
Teach a Few Letters at a Time
Use Repetition and Frequent Review
Engage Multiple Senses
Limited Exposure:
Prioritize Daily Read-Alouds with Conversation
Use Environmental Print in Activities
Empower Parents to Create Literacy Moments at Home
Phonological Awareness Deficits:
Explicitly Teach Skills
Play Phonological Awareness Games Beyond Rhyming
Segment Words with Movements
Limited Multisensory Learning Experiences:
Incorporate Tactile Letter Formation
Use Movement-Based Learning
Integrate Auditory Cues with Visuals
Lack of Meaningful Experiences:
Celebrate Names and Family Letter Connections
Labeling Familiar Items in the Environment
Bring Learning to Their Favorite Things
If you notice a child struggling, start conversations early by sharing observations with family members and encouraging open communication. Check out research-based interventions. When struggles persist despite classroom interventions, seek input from specialists, like speech therapists or early intervention providers, who can offer targeted assessments or strategies. Finally, promote a collaborative approach by partnering with families and other educators to ensure consistent support. It’s never too early—or too late—to work together and create a pathway for literacy growth for each child.
Interested in More Research-Focused Teaching?
If you’re ready to dive deeper into research-based strategies for teaching, we’re thrilled to introduce Alphabet Academy, a self-guided online course. This course will walk you through everything you need to know about teaching the alphabet effectively, from research to implementation, and will provide you with all the tools you need to ensure your students’ success.
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We believe that every child deserves a bright future, and this begins with a strong foundation in early literacy skills. At Moving Little Minds, we are dedicated to providing research-based literacy activities in fun and engaging ways! By merging instruction with play, we ensure that children are reaching their full potential and embark on their educational journey well-prepared for the future! Let's build those KEY emergent literacy skills together.
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