Action Research:

Letter Recognition with ELL Students

CHELSEA BOWDEN
MRS. MCADAMS
KINDERGARTEN

Student Background Information

Student A:

Has no previous letter recognition knowledge

Parents speak no English in the home
Moved in Trace Crossings during the beginning part of the semester
Does not interact with the other students (partially because she cant understand them); nonverbal at the beginning of her time at Trace
Blindly writes (doesnt know what she is writing about)
Originally from Guatemala (moved to America in the Summer/beginning of school year)
Student B:
Knows some of her letters (mostly the letters in her name)
Smart and energetic with the other students
Parents speak little English
Blindly writes when instructed to write by Mrs. McAdams
Student C:
Knows very few letters in the alphabet (doesnt recognize the letters in his name)
Quite, but does interact with the other children in the class; very friendly
Easily distracted, has a tad of speak impediment
No prior letter recognition knowledge before entering kindergarten
Originally from Guatemala (recently moved to America)

Essential Research Question

What does the research say about the best strategies

to improve and increase letter recognition with

kindergarten ELL students?

Why Is Letter Recognition Important?

Letter recognition is the building block for developing students oral

language skills, cognitive skills, symbolic representation, and early

literacy.
Childrens knowledge of letter names and sounds is the best predictor

of future reading abilities and skills.

Children who struggle with recognizing letters and sounds of letters are

more likely to struggle with learning to read and can eventually be

classified with a reading disability.

Struggling with letter recognition leads to a trickle affect of struggling in fluency, vocabulary,
comprehension, and reading gaps.

(Piasta & Wagner, 2010)

Best Practices for Letter Recognition

Alphabet Flashcards (Baseball)
ABC Bingo
Alphabet Children's Literature
Alphabetic iPad App
Repetitive Practice
Alphabet Matching

Uppercase & Lowercase Letters

Picture with Initial Letter Sound

(Reading Rockets)

Baseline Data (Initial Assessments)

I used four assessments to gage background knowledge of letter recognition:

Uppercase Assessment
Lowercase Assessment
Letter Sound Assessment
Picture Letter Assessment

Data based on percentages:

Student A: 42%

Student B: 53%

Student C: 20%

*I added all the assessment scores together and divided by four to get the percentage of
accuracy for each student

Initial Assessment Chart

Percentage of Letter Recognition Accuracy
60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Student A

Student B

Student C

Strategies Used
Alphabet Flash Cards

Uppercase & Lowercase Letters

Alphabet Matching
Pictures with Letter
Letter Sounds
Repetitive Practice
iPad Games
Letter Bingo
Alphabet Childrens Literature
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom By Bill Martin Jr.
Come Rhyme with Me! By Hans Wilhelm
Have You Ever Seen? An ABC Book By Beau Gardner

Final Data (Final Assessments)

I used the same four assessments for the mid-point and final

assessment
Final Data Percentages:
100%
Student A: 90%

90%
80%

Student B: 67%

7 0%
60%

Student C: 48%

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Student A

Student B

Student C

Beginning vs. Ending Data

Final Data

Initial Data

100%

60%

90%
50%

80%
7 0%

40%

60%
50%

30%

40%

20%

30%
20%

10%

10%
0%
Student A

Student B

Student C

0%
Student A

Percentage of Improvement:
Student A: 48%
Student B: 14%
Student C: 28%

Student B

Student C

Personal Reflections
Key Take Aways:

Differentiate your instruction for the individual needs of the

children you are working with.

Make sure the research is accurate and you are using current
evidence based strategies for improving letter recognition

Plan accordingly for each Action Research session. Having the

materials ready and be prepared, it makes all the difference.

Finally, have a positive outlook and remember you are making

an impact in these childrens lives!

References
Piasta, Shayne B., and Richard K. Wagner. "Developing Early
Literacy Skills: A Meta-Analysis of Alphabet
Learning
and Instruction." Reading Research Quarterly. U.S. National
Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC2910925/>.
"Alphabet Matching." Reading Rockets. Reading Rockets,
n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/
alphabet_matching>.