encourage its use among kumu and keiki. Because our initial goal was to remove as many barriers as possible between keiki and their intended learning outcomes, we sought to decrease the need to build on-the-spot background knowledge. However, because we also believe that curricula should provide mirrors as well as windows on the world( Bishop 1990; NAEYC 2020), we did not eliminate all possibilities for new concept learning. We wanted keiki to learn about peoples, places, and concepts they would otherwise not encounter, but we worked to ensure that the scales were tipped toward the familiar when deciding how and when to introduce novel ideas.
Creating Culturally Responsive Instructional Materials for Alphabet Learning
To structure her alphabet instruction, Kanani( and all our partner kumu) had been working with two purchased resources: A flip chart created by a commercial educational publisher and elements of a comprehensive preschool literacy curriculum with promising evidence as determined by the What Works Clearinghouse, an initiative of the US Department of Education’ s Institute of Education Sciences. Each resource provided a poster-sized illustration and accompanying short poem for each letter of the alphabet. Because the illustrations were mostly unfamiliar to keiki, kumu often found that conversations intended to support alphabet knowledge were instead spent clarifying misconceptions and introducing new vocabulary. The available materials created a barrier to meeting learning objectives in their contexts. We needed something else.
To provide alphabet instruction that was more relevant to keiki and more responsive to their prior knowledge and experiences, we set out to create a single image for each focus letter that contained familiar items and actions beginning with the letter’ s sound. To accomplish this, we first generated a list of familiar places, practices, and objects that keiki would recognize and be able to discuss. We organized our ideas into a shareable document and asked kumu to review it and add their suggestions. We sought to incorporate English words and‘ Ōlelo Hawai‘ i when possible.
Working from a list of words that were likely familiar to keiki and easy to depict visually( Wright et al. 2022), we then reviewed all the words for each letter and narrowed our focus to those that could tell a( mostly) cohesive story. When deciding on keywords, we prioritized selections that began with the target sound and target letter. For example, we would not create a circus scene for the letter C because circus does not reinforce the / k / sound. Likewise, we would not include a picture of a phone as a visual for the letter F.
Once we had a plan for the scene that each image would depict, we began to craft short-form poems to accompany them. While the images reinforced letter-sound relationships, the short poems incorporated many words beginning with the target letter. This supported letter recognition. We knew that, when used in combination, the images and corresponding poems would create opportunities for kumu to ask open-ended questions and model print concepts— strategies that inject authentic opportunities for meaning making into foundational skills learning( McKay & Teale 2015).
The resulting alphabet posters we created depict realistic scenes in settings that are familiar to keiki. They also incorporate known objects that reflect the rich traditions of Hawaiian culture and the lived experiences of the keiki on Hawai‘ i.
From Pig and Panda Pals to Poi and Poke for Pā‘ ina
As discussed, the intentional creation of culturally sustaining curricular materials must reflect children’ s lives. The commercially produced poster that Kanani was using for the letter P showed a cartoon panda sitting on a chair next to a table. With pencil in hand, he writes on a piece of paper. Two items are positioned on the table: a pumpkin on the right, and a pear on the left. Two pans hang on the wall behind him. The poem describes the panda as drawing a perfect picture of the pumpkin and the pear with a pencil. The second resource showed a panda, a pig, a penguin, and a prairie dog wearing pajamas and party hats sitting on the floor with pillows. The panda holds a pineapple and other snacks, including two stacks of pancakes, a box of
20 Young Children
Summer 2025