February 28, 2008 issue
Letterland Characters Appearing Around Town
Letterland characters have helped young children learn the shapes and sounds of letters for seven years in Watauga County. Between now and mid-March, they will be showing up in area businesses in addition to the usual classrooms and childcare facilities.
Letterland is a program that gives each letter of the alphabet a fictional character to help children remember the shape and sound of the letter. For example, Harry Hat Man, who “must bend his knee over so he can hop and make his sound,” represents the letter “h.”
Two local teachers introduced Letterland to Watauga County in 2000. The teachers attended a national convention where they became intrigued by the characters and how each one assumed the shape of the letter it was named after. Knowing that Letterland had been proven successful for teaching phonics to children, the teachers offered training to local educators so they could offer Letterland to their students. Watauga County Schools implemented the program for students in kindergarten through second grade, and students soon began to show improvement in reading and spelling scores.
Letterland has since spread to other public and private educational settings in Watauga County and beyond. The Children’s Council of Watauga County has been instrumental in making the Letterland program available to local preschools. The organization offered training to all of the local preschools and provided materials and costumes to all of the participants.
Last year, through the efforts of Burke County teacher Kathy Oliver, Tweetsie Railroad used Letterland characters to offer a fun and phonics filled day for 350 students. Students rode Talking Tess’s Train and Golden Girl’s Go-carts. They had fun playing in the park with Peter Puppy and were welcomed to the park by Quarrelsome Queen, who of course, refused to go anywhere without her umbrella! Tweetsie and Letterland have agreed to continue this collaboration for five more years.
The excitement of Letterland continues to spread throughout the High Country and the state. The characters are now making an appearance at several businesses in town, helping children see the link between what letters mean in school and reading to how letters relate in our everyday life. Sometimes the characters are just “hanging around” by an item that their letter represents. Other times the characters are the first letter in a word important for the business.
Places to look for Letterland characters include Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Big Lots, Boone Drugs, Boone Pediatrics, Chick-fil-A, Ci-Ci’s Pizza, High Country Bank, Hungry Howie’s, Boone Fire Department, Lowe’s Foods, Mellow Mushroom and the Watauga County Library.
So while you are out shopping in the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if you hear a child say “Look Mom! There’s Annie Apple!”
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