Developing pre-literacy skills in Slovenia and in Mallorca

Children already begin to develop preliterate skills in their preschool period and enhance them at the start of primary school, where it is more systematic. Parents play a big role in helping their children develop their pre-writing skills, as they bring them in contact with their first written text and try to bring them closer to the child through various activities. Later, upon entering kindergarten, children discover pre-writing, where they uncover the world of words and letters with other children and educators. We need to keep in mind that when entering school, children are at different levels of reading and writing abilities and different personalities. The teacher’s task is to enable all pupils to approach pre-writing the way it suits them, and will enable them to progress to the best of their abilities. A big role is played by motivation, both internal and external. We must initially motivate pupils to learn the purpose and value of writing and reading and encourage their desire for knowledge. The aim and purpose of this master thesis was to find out if there are any differences in the field of pre-writing in Slovenia and in Mallorca. In the study we used the method of observation the pre-writing activities in Mallorca. There we observed three different kindergartens to establish differences between the activities in Mallorca and Slovenia. The research was supported by the analysis of the curriculums used in Mallorca and in Slovenia. We primarily focused on the main goals, activities that promote pre-writing skills, cooperation with parents and the kindergarten, and the start of pre-writing activities. The results showed that there are differences between pre-writing activities. The main difference is that in Mallorca they begin to learn about letters at the age of three, while in Slovenia we start at the child's entry into elementary school. The research and its results will be useful for kindergarten teachers and teachers of the 1st grade of elementary school