Sara*, a Kindergarten 1 student, joined our Preschool Programme in February this year. When she first arrived, she was unable to recognise her own name. In her mind, any word containing the letter ‘a’, such as the word ‘care’, might have been her name. Writing her name was just as challenging, as she could only form three letters at the time. While she had started to identify some letters, she often confused similar ones, such as the letters ‘n’ and ‘d’. There was a lot for her to learn, and just as much to unlearn.
A Unfamiliar World
English was not Sara’s first language, and her exposure to it at home was limited. During sessions, she would often revert to her native language and had a small English vocabulary. To support her learning, we placed a strong focus on oracy and vocabulary development, alongside phonics instruction to help her build a solid early literacy foundation.
In the beginning, Sara found it difficult to grasp the structure of words and sentences. When listening to short stories, she struggled to understand the emotions of the characters. Comprehension questions often left her puzzled, as she had not yet grasped their purpose.
To guide her gently through this learning stage, we used simple sentences followed by direct questions. For example, we would say, “The man was sad because he lost his dog”. Then ask, “Sara, do you know why the man was sad?”
Support To Motivate Confidence
Although Sara had no gross motor concerns, she faced significant challenges with fine motor control. We focused on building her pincer grip and wrist flexibility using playful activities, such as games that involved picking up small objects with tongs. For letter formation, we used hands-on tools like playdough. When learning the letter b, for instance, we divided the playdough into two parts to help her visualise its strokes more clearly.
Since uppercase letters are generally easier for young learners to form, we started there before introducing lowercase letters as her control improved. We also introduced tactile tracing using sago seed trays and created gem-decorated letter cards to provide sensory feedback. These materials were used in class and at home, and her personalised letter card collection continued to grow with each new sound she learned.
Phonics, blending, and segmenting were unfamiliar concepts at first. To make them meaningful, we paired each sound with a physical object. For the sound ‘a’ as in ‘apple’, we used a plastic apple and encouraged the children to open their mouths wide as if taking a bite. For the sound ‘u’ as in ‘umbrella’, we used a tiny umbrella and had them duck while saying uh as though avoiding the rain.
As Sara developed a better awareness of phonics, we introduced blending with a toy car that moved over letters to help her visualise how sounds come together to form words. She continues to benefit from tactile strategies such as blending along her arm, which helps her connect sounds more confidently.
A New Learner Lights Up Her Path
By the end of the year, Sara had made tremendous progress. She was successfully blending and segmenting two-sound words. Her journey from believing every word with the letter ‘a’ was her name to becoming a child with emerging reading skills is a beautiful reflection of what early literacy support can achieve.
Sara’s story reminds us how powerful early intervention can be in helping young learners build a strong foundation in reading, language, and confidence. With patience, personalised strategies, and a nurturing environment, even the smallest steps forward can lead to big transformations.
At DAS, we are committed to providing personalised learning support for children with different educational needs. Our financial assistance programme ensures that every child has access to quality education, regardless of their financial situation.
Find out more about our Preschool Programme here.
*The name in this story has been anonymised for privacy reasons.
