By highlighting the cultural elements in the poems, kumu also introduce keiki to the history, language, and traditions of Hawai‘ i. They now discuss the significance of dressing for a party, eating traditional foods, and the importance of using familiar words from the Hawaiian culture. The poems’ themes of greeting, sharing a meal, and expressing gratitude can be linked to lessons on social skills and emotional literacy. Discussions focus on the importance of welcoming others, sharing, and saying thank you.
Using these culturally responsive tools, alphabet instruction in these classrooms is no longer met with blank stares, confusion, and the need for extensive explanations as described in Kanani’ s prior experience. Now, kumu describe the robust connections keiki make between the gardenia on the alphabet poster and the gardenia growing outside the classroom window. They share the affirmations of Hawaiian identity they experience when keiki discuss the H poster and someone announces that their aunt is also hāpai( pregnant)!
Adapting These Practices
Extending NAEYC’ s definition of developmentally appropriate practice, a developmentally appropriate curriculum is designed to support young children’ s achievement of learning goals by recognizing“ the multiple assets all young children bring to the early learning experience as unique individuals and as members of families and communities”( NAEYC 2020, 5). Curricular materials help young children achieve learning goals that are meaningful when they are culturally and linguistically responsive and developmentally and educationally significant. The alphabet posters we designed are an example of an early literacy curricular resource that simultaneously reflects research-based instructional practices and integrates and affirms children’ s assets, agency, home languages, and social and cultural contexts.
Based on our experiences creating and using culturally responsive alphabet materials, we offer the following ways that educators in other settings can put our ideas into practice to honor children’ s contexts:
Long-Form P Poem
Today’ s pā‘ ina is a party surprise, A Hawaiian treat right before your eyes. A girl wearing poni— that’ s purple you see, Her dress is patterned, so pretty, so free.
She stands so poised, with her long, flowing hair,
Her lei pīkake, so beautiful, so rare. She greets us,“ Aloha!” and welcomes us in, Her woven pāpale with pua on its brim. She shows us a platter of poke and poi, She says,“ Grab a bowl, a spoon, and enjoy!” It’ s time for dessert now. What a beautiful lunch! Papaya and pineapple, Topped off with some punch. Our‘ ōpū are full; time to bid a farewell. We say,“ Mahalo!” and wish everyone well.
the ways in which these practices do or do not reflect culturally responsive and culturally sustaining alphabet instruction.
› Inventory your alphabet instructional materials to identify resources that do not connect to children’ s prior knowledge and lived experiences. Replace materials that require the most teacher scaffolding for understanding with resources that reflect the lives of children and their communities.
› Involve children, families, and other community members in curating materials that reinforce letter-sound relationships and celebrate local practices. If designing a single, unified scene is unrealistic in your setting, consider using digital technologies to create a photo collage to represent each letter.
› Draw attention to alphabet differences across languages, and encourage conversation about these comparisons. For example, there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet, and 27 letters in the Spanish alphabet.
› Reflect on the current approaches to alphabet instruction in your educational spaces. Self-assess
22 Young Children
Summer 2025