This paper presents preliminary findings about how literacy is taught at the elementary level in three grade-one classrooms in Jamaica. While this might seem rudimentary, there is a dearth of information in Jamaica about how teachers teach reading and writing. We attempted to fill this gap by conducting an exploratory small-scale qualitative case study. Interviews and classroom observations were conducted to obtain a snapshot of teachers' literacy practices in order to explore how teachers teach reading and writing in grade-one classrooms. Three themes emerged from the data. The findings illustrated that while teachers were working to create engaging classroom environments, they tended to adopt a reading readiness orientation to literacy. Also, while teachers valued the children's home language, they were ambivalent about how to teach literacy in a Creole-speaking environment. The study represents a first step in learning about the teaching practices of grade-one teachers in Creole-speaking environments.