Darcy Gimmestad is an ECEAP preschool teacher for Renton School
District. She has been teaching preschool children for more than
27 years, and has had firsthand experience with many early-literacy
philosophies that have come and gone. Carefully and thoughtfully,
she has tried and tested different strategies to teach literacy
skills, finding success with some and not others. Over time, Darcy
learned that the best strategy to support young children’s
literacy development is to be deliberate and planful.
As Darcy searched for ways to become more intentional about supporting
literacy development, she took a workshop where she learned about
spatial memory. Spatial memory is closely aligned with spatial intelligence,
one of Howard Gardner’s seven areas of multiple intelligences.
Spatial memory supports one’s need to see what is being learned
over and over again. Repeated visual exposure makes an imprint on
the brain, which increases memory. Darcy became curious about what
role spatial memory plays in conjunction with children’s ability
to learn about and identify letters of the alphabet.
 With
spatial memory in mind, Darcy worked with children over this past
school year to significantly boost their visual exposure to letters
and words. As a result, she has seen a greater increase in children’s
literacy development than in any other of her 27 years of teaching.
Here are some tools Darcy recommends to increase spatial memory
in her students:
• Children love new words and concepts. Explain to children
that spatial memory means that the more we see things, the more
likely our brain is to remember them. Tell children that you will
be helping them remember letters by writing them down and displaying
them in the classroom. When a child sees a letter and remembers
it, reinforce the concept by saying, “You used your spatial
memory to remember that letter!”
 •
Pre-write the agenda for group time on a whiteboard for children
to see. Refer to each written item as group time is carried out.
Talk about the letters and words you have written. Ask children
if they recognize any letters or words. Explain that lists show
us what we need to do and help us stay organized.
• Write on a whiteboard or big piece of paper as you talk
to children. Talk about what you write; highlight specific letters;
talk about why we use uppercase and lowercase letters; and discuss
words, sentences, and even punctuation.
• As children begin to learn specific letters, write the
uppercase and lowercase letters on a large paper and place in high-exposure
areas in the classroom, so children will continue to see and refer
to those letters as they move through the day.
 •
During group time, spread attractive letter cards out on the floor.
One by one, ask children to choose a letter they would like to identify
and talk about. While children wait for a turn, watch them stretch
their necks and move their eyes as they search for a letter to choose.
Descriptively reinforce what you see by saying, for example, “Milano,
I see you waiting for your turn. You’re really concentrating
to find the letter you want to name.”
• Create table placemats labeled with each child’s
name and all the letters of the alphabet—this leads children
to trace letters with their fingers, identify letters they know,
talk about the letters in their friend’s names, and relate
the letters to what they talk about as they eat.
 •
Make a word wall by hanging several magnet boards together or by
using magnetic paint. Use self-adhesive business card-sized magnets
to make letters and words. Encourage children to string letters
and words together. Read the words, phrases, and sentences they
have constructed no matter how silly or creative. Have fun with
this so children see that they can have fun with letters and words.
• Make alphabet strips more relevant by taking pictures of
individual children holding the letters. Place small and large versions
of alphabet strips throughout the classroom environment so children
will see them while playing, reading, or writing.
 •
Create laminated letter books to send home with children. Make sure
the pages are large enough for children to have room to write. Include
a variety of pages: blank, wide-ruled, samples of upper- and lower-case
letters, etc. Remember to send home watercolor Visa-Vi fine-tip
markers so that children can easily practice and erase over and
over again.
Have fun trying these spatial memory boosters. And remember this
Chinese proverb, “When I hear I forget. When I see I remember.
When I do I understand.”
For more information about spatial memory, contact
ELOP staff.
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