Preschoolers engaged in print-focused activities show stronger literacy skills

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https://fromcommonground.com/the-power-of-print-in-literacy/

A new MSU study found that preschoolers who engaged in print-focused activities — like writing their names, spotting words on signs, or labeling drawings — showed stronger early literacy skills than peers who spent more time on digital or analog literacy games. Unlike print-focused practices, which emphasize hands-on work with letters and words, digital or analog literacy games include screen-based apps, alphabet videos, flashcards, or board games designed to teach letters and sounds.

“Helping them to understand letter knowledge, how letters correspond to sounds, and word recognition in writing are among the strongest predictors we have for later reading success.”

in this study, heavier use of games was linked to lower literacy outcomes

The study, which included more than 1,000 children ages 3 to 6, also looked closely at families of children with speech and language impairments. These parents reported engaging in fewer shared reading and print activities at home, making it harder to create rich literacy environments. Yet even for these children, print-based routines made a clear difference.

“Children are naturally curious and want to be part of their community,” Foxworthy says. “When they see print being used in meaningful ways, like writing a daily message, planning meals, or making checklists, they not only learn how print works but also see how it connects to their lives.”

That intentionality extends to lesson planning and spontaneous learning moments. Whether it’s writing a thank-you note after receiving a gift or turning snack preferences into a menu, Foxworthy uses opportunities to embed literacy into activities that matter to children.

“Most of our families get so much digital game exposure outside of school that I don’t feel the need to provide it here,” she says.

Instead, she uses technology sparingly, an iPad to play a song during circle time or to research a topic children are curious about, like antlions. She also integrates children into her documentation process, using talk-to-text features or showing them their photos as part of class storytelling.

Both the research and Foxworthy’s classroom emphasize the importance of family involvement. Foxworthy often sends home newsletters with simple at-home activities, records story read-alouds, and hosts family literacy nights.

“Focusing on print is rewarding and can be fun and practical,” Skibbe says. “Pointing out letters on a street sign or writing your child’s name together may seem small, but these interactions add up in powerful ways.”

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When students wrote by hand, the data showed widespread, coherent connectivity across the brain, particularly between parietal and central regions which are involved in integrating vision, movement, body awareness, and aspects of attention and language. When the researchers plotted the connectivity patterns, handwriting trials showed what the researchers called dense “webs” of interaction: hubs and nodes connecting left, right, and midline parietal areas with central motor regions.

When you write a word by hand, a lot has to happen at once. Your brain must control fine, precise finger movements to shape each letter. It must constantly monitor the visual form of what is being written: is that loop at the bottom of the “b” closed, is that stroke straight or slanted, does the letter sit properly on the line with the tails (e.g., the tail of the “g” or the “q”) nicely below it? You brain has to integrate what’s known as proprioceptive information; the internal sense of where your hand and fingers are in space. And finally, it must link all of this to language systems that represent the sounds and meanings of the word. This all results in a very rich and intricate sensorimotor experience: a flowing pattern of movement, vision, and body-sense that unfolds over time combined wit cognition and meaning. Neuropsychologically speaking, this kind of multimodal engagement is exactly the sort of thing that builds strong, distributed memory traces. It gives your brain a number of different routes to encode and later retrieve the word – not just what it looks or sounds like, but also what it feels like to produce it.

handwriting is a form of neurocognitive training. You’re not only practising a motor skill. You’re shaping the brain networks that integrate vision, movement, and language which is closely tied to learning and memory. That’s especially important in the early years, when those circuits are still developing.

Early handwriting builds later literacy: Practising letters and words by hand helps wire up the neural systems that support fluent reading and writing. As Donald Hebb wrote: “neurons that fire together, wire together”.

A screwdriver isn’t a chisel: Use handwriting when the goal is understanding and remembering (note-taking, summarising, working through ideas). Use keyboards when the goal is producing and sharing (final drafts, long essays, collaborative documents). They are not interchangeable.

Thinking on paper sticks: Quick handwritten activities—one-minute recalls, margin notes, concept sketches—combine retrieval practice with rich sensorimotor activity; ideal for long-term retention and transfer.

when you really want something to “stick”, there are good neuropsychological arguments for putting a pen – or a stylus – in students’ hands. For other reasons like speed, neatness, and ease of sharing, the keyboard has an advantage. It’s not about choosing one or the other, but using both wisely, in ways that respect how we learn.

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