Improving Letter Recognition Ability In Children Aged 4-5 Years Through the Letter Card Play Method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30605/cjpe.9.4.2026.9628Keywords:
Letter Recognition Ability, Letter Card Play Method, Early Childhood, Early Literacy, Classroom Action ResearchAbstract
The urgency of this study lies in the need for an engaging and developmentally appropriate learning method to improve letter recognition skills among children aged 4–5 years through play-based activities. Letter recognition ability is one of the basic elements in early literacy education that should be developed from the age of 4-5 years. Observation results at SPS Dahlia 46 showed that some children still had difficulty recognizing, distinguishing, and naming letters correctly due to unengaging learning. This classroom action research aims to improve letter recognition ability through the letter card play method. Letter recognition ability is defined as children’s capability in recognizing the meaning of letters, letter shape identification, naming of letters, and distinguishing vowels and consonants as the foundation for the development of early reading skills. The development of letter recognition ability in early childhood occurs gradually, including recognizing letter names, recognizing letter shapes, distinguishing letters, and connecting letters with their sounds. This ability is influenced by internal and external factors. Internal factors include learning interest, motivation, attention, and the child's developmental readiness, while external factors include parental support, availability of learning media, the teaching methods used, and a conducive learning environment. The letter recognition ability provides great benefits in developing children's early literacy, improving reading and writing readiness, and supporting language development at the next level of education. Children's ability to recognize letters aged 4-5 years old in SPS Dahlia 46 is enhanced by the use of the letter card play technique. In the pre-cycle and Cycle I, results had not met the success indicators. Following improvements made during Cycle II, 75% of children fell under Developing as Expected (BSH) and Developing Very Well (BSB) category, thus making this approach successful in enhancing letter recognition ability
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