Q: Should I teach lowercase letters in Pre-K?
A: Yes—but only if your Pre-K children are ready. Make sure children know all of their capitals first. Capital letters are easy:
- All start at the top.
- All are the same height.
- All occupy the same vertical space.
- All are easy to recognize and identify.
- All are big, bold, and familiar.
For lowercase instruction, begin by teaching lowercase recognition and the capital-lowercase association. Use your wall cards, ABC Touch & Flip Cards, Word Time activities, and My First School Book (pp. 72–75). Teach lowercase writing with a pencil only when children are ready.
Remember to keep the following in mind before you start teaching lowercase:
- Lowercase letters start in four different places (a, b, e, f).
- Lowercase letters are not all the same size:
- 14 letters are half the size of capitals.
- 12 are the same size as capitals.
- Lowercase letters occupy three different vertical positions: small, tall, descending.
- Lowercase letters are more difficult to recognize because of subtle differences (a, b, d, g, p, q ).