# Using Tablets to Teach Basic Literacy Skills to Kindergarten Students: A Case Study
## 2 Background
### Very Young Students and Emergent Literacy Skills
Others concluded that the ability to recognize letters significantly enhanced children's understanding of the specific relationship between letters and phonemes [3]. It was also suggested that recognizing letter names and letter sounds account for a significant portion of the variability in literacy skills [20]. Research indicated that letter-sound knowledge facilitated children's understanding of the alphabetic principle (the recognition that language comprises discrete sounds and that letters systematically represent these sounds), helps them to accurately decode words, and forms the foundation for phonics instruction, requiring children to apply letter-sound associations to comprehend increasingly complex spelling patterns [21]. The importance of alphabet recognition cannot be overstated, because it involves critical foundational skills. As such, teaching children to recognize, identify, and name lowercase letters, as well as match upper- and lowercase letters is quite important [19]. Given the above it seems that letter name identification and letter sound recognition are crucial for developing phonological awareness, which, in turn, is essential for achieving reading fluency and comprehension [20]. As literacy skills are fundamental components of our world, there are both societal and educational pressures on children to not only read proficiently but to do so at an early age. On the other hand, emergent readers require support in acquiring literacy skills such as letter identification, letter sound recognition, and the functioning of print [22]. Thus, ensuring that young children are equipped with the necessary literacy capabilities to be school-ready is absolutely necessary. Although full-text, fluent reading is generally achieved at the lower grades of primary school, the development of emergent reading skills at the kindergarten level is crucial for initiating the reading process. In kindergarten education, among other objectives, students must demonstrate letter-sound knowledge by identifying and naming uppercase and lowercase letters, producing correct sounds for the majority letters, and understanding that a sequence of letters corresponds to a sequence of sounds. Furthermore, they are expected to apply letter-sound correspondence proficiently when reading and writing [23]. The cultivation of such skills can be significantly enhanced through educational interventions, activities, and tools. However, it has been observed that children who engage in repetitive activities focusing on naming and writing the alphabet without meaningful context are unlikely to retain or effectively apply their knowledge of the alphabet over time [4]. The use of visual cues, such as images, supports the process of writing [24]. Previous studies have demonstrated that play-based, developmentally appropriate interventions focused on letter recognition and phoneme identification can significantly enhance the emergent reading skills of young children, providing them with a solid foundation for becoming proficient readers [17]. Letter sound recognition should concentrate on auditory skills, enabling children to hear and replicate sounds before linking them to written letters [25]. Multisensory interventions, such as phonemic awareness activities led by teachers and parents and multi-sensory games, have demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing letter sound recognition skills. These methods offer engaging and interactive learning experiences that reinforce emergent reading abilities [26]. It has to be noted that it is equally important to consider individual differences among children, such as cognitive abilities and socio-economic status, which can impact the acquisition of these skills [20].