Why Printing Matters in Kindergarten
When students learn to print, they build cognitive, fine motor, and foundational literacy skills. When we print with fluency, we reduce our cognitive load and create more mental space to support the mastery of advanced literacy skills. Learning to print fluently in kindergarten is important because it lays the groundwork for so much of the learning that comes afterward.
Kids need to form letters correctly. When we teach correct letter formation, we reinforce knowledge of letter identification and letter shape. Once printing becomes automatic, our brains are free to concentrate on more complex parts of writing, like spelling words, building sentences, and composing more complex text.
How Does Fluent Printing Happen?
There are three key processes that are connected to each other. Each component contributes to printing mastery. The first process is orthographic coding, which involves determining the correct way of printing each letter. Students must remember what each letter looks like and they must be able to print letters correctly with automaticity.
Secondly, learning to use our motor movements to print fine and broad strokes is an essential skill if we are to be able to orthographically code letters.
The third process that students must grasp is visual motor coordination. This means knowing what each letter looks like and sounds like, and understanding how to move their eyes across lines and track their printing on the page.
Instructional Design
When planning printing instruction for kindergarten students, here are some points to keep in mind:
- Align handwriting instruction to a phonics scope and sequence. If students are learning to read the letter, they should be learning to write it too. Minimize confusion with multiple scopes and sequences.
- Gradually release responsibility through modelling, guided practice, and independent practice.
- Prioritize printing lowercase letters, since they appear more often in print.
- Have students practice in brief but frequent sessions. Students must form letters the same way each time to strengthen motor memory and build automaticity.
Instructional Delivery
- Explicitly teach students where to begin, which direction to go, and where to stop. Using a script is recommended. Many phonics programs have scripts to use to support letter formation. Prompts such as “Start at the top of the middle line, make a straight line down…” are examples of direct instruction.
- Model, monitor and reinforce correct pencil grip.
- Support students with prompt and clear feedback, both affirmative and corrective. Encourage metacognition by asking students to identify their best letter.
Printing in Kindergarten: The Big Picture
Alphabet knowledge is a key skill that we need to develop in Kindergarten. When children can identify, name, and print letters—quickly and in any order—they’re building a strong foundation to support them in becoming fluent readers and writers for life.
