Relation of Teacher Instruction and Classroom Literacy Environment to Letter Knowledge of Children Who Are At-Risk for Reading Difficulties

While children's letter knowledge strongly predicts later reading ability, research on the impact of teachers' letter instruction and classroom literacy environment is limited. This study of Head Start classrooms examined (a) the amount of letter instruction across different activities and the physical literacy environment; (b) children's letter knowledge growth in relation to instruction and the literacy environment; and (c) the contributions of instruction and the literacy environment to letter knowledge growth. Findings suggest that letter instruction and the literacy environment generally compensated for each other. Children with lower teacher instruction showed improvements in a higher physical literacy environment, and vice versa. However, higher levels of both were not superior to higher instruction with a lower physical literacy environment. Teacher instruction had a stronger impact on letter knowledge than the physical literacy environment, likely due to its direct engagement with children. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.