Alphabet ReviewAlphabet Review part 1
I picked up these songs from Mailbox mag, workshops, and e-mails.
I am not sure where I originally found each one. Have fun.
Melodie.k.ca
Say the sound the letter makes, not the letter name. Sing it to the tune
of ABC..)
When we learn these sounds you see,
Ready to read then we will be.
a, a, apple
b, b, ball
c, c, cat and
d, d, doll
e, e, egg and
f, f, fan
g, g, goat and
h, h, hand
i, i, indian
j, j, jam
k, k, king and
l, l, lamb
m, m, man
n, n, nickel
o, o, ox and
p, p, pickle
q, q, queen and
r, r, rail
s, s, sun and
t, t, tail
u, u umbrella
v, v, vase
I'm nearly through see my happy face.
w, w, wagon
x, x, box
y, y, yard do you see a fox?
z, z, "z" and z, z, zoo
That was fun and now we're through.
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The Alphabet Ghost (From the The Learning Circle by Patty Claycomb)
Materials
Set of alphabet flash cards.
Learning Circle Activity:
1. Begin with five flash cards face up on the floor
2. Ask the children to study the letters.
3. After a short time turn the cards face down.
4. Sing the Alphabet Ghost song to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little
Star.
The ghost flies in right through the door
And hunts for letters on the floor.
He grabs them quick and hides them well.
Where he hides them he won't tell.
Off he goes to wait some more
For letters lying on the floor.
I have the children sit in a circle. I put the letters on the floor in
the middle of the circle. I take a letter and turn the cards face up
and the children guess the missing letter.
Materials: Flash cards
Old McDonald had an Alphabet(from Cozy Cottage)
Old McDonald had an alphabet
EIEIO
And in his alphabet he had an E(or whatever letter you choose)
EIEIO
With an EE here and an EE there
Here an E, there an E
Everywhere and EE
Old McDonald had an Alphabet,
EIEIO
Continue with all or some of the other letters.
I use the sound of the letter when I do this.
Where Has the Letter Gone? (Original Author Unknown)
Sung to:"Where, Oh , Where Has My Little Dog Gone ?
Where,Oh where has our letter "A" Gone?
Oh,where,Oh,where can it be?
It is on a card that we had all along,
Won't you find it and show it to me?
(Hide flash cards with the different letters around the room. Then send
one child to find the letter you sing about.)
Sandy D.
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We just made a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Display. The children made trees
using brown scraps for the trunk, and green leaves, and brown coconuts that
they cut out and glued. Each child receive one large leaf that said,
"____went up the coconut tree to see_______." They picked the letter they
wanted to do, and had to think of something that started with that letter
that they could see, such as "n went up the tree to see nuts". When they
were done with their trees, they spelled their names with letters cut-out
from magazines and glued their names going up the tree. We then arranged
the trees in alphabetical order to put on the bulletin board. Since I have
27 kids, and only 26 letters, the last child used letter stamps to stamp
letters all over the ground and her leaf said, "The whole alphabet up
the...Oh no! Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!
From: wilkyj@old.com
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I LOVE the chicka Chicka Boom Boom board BTW!! The reinforcement for alphabet
recognition that works best with my group(4s) seems to be letter Bingo. I
have made my own and laminated sturdy cards with BIG(upper and lower case in
each box)letters. they never tire of it and the only 'prize' I give is a
stamp on the hand. I've had it for 4 years and it' s in perfect shape,It's a
great activity for the aide to do with small groups. Most of the other
activities that I do with this group have a focus on only 1 letter at a time.
laurie
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One simple game that my children LOVE to play is called "eraser". On
the dry erase/chalkboard, I write a series of 5-10 letters in no particular
order. Then, one child at a time gets to be "the eraser". I say a letter
and the child tries to find and erase the correct one. Then, he/she passes
the eraser on to a friend. I have also done this with letter sounds. I
teach preschool, so this may be a little simple for kindergarten, but I am
sure it could be adapted!
Also, my children love to sponge paint with alphabet sponges after we
have completed the alphabet!
As we look at each letter, we create a language chart of words that
begin with that letter. The parents really get involved and try to help the
children come up with words that aren't on the list! Every year I have been
surprised at what they come up with. As we complete a letter, we display
the chart around the room. Then, when we are finished learning the letters,
I put all of the charts together to form a class alphabet book! The
children just love this!
Michelle
michad@cjnetworks.com
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I read Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom and then have the kids make a coconut
tree and add stickers with letters on them . I make sure they have
their name going up the trunk of the tree. spread the rest of them all
around. It is cute. Judy
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Alphabet corner
Set up an alphabet corner in you house. Stock it with letters to trace,
plastic letters for word building, alphabet stamps, alphabet puzzles and
games, picture cards, alphabet books from your library, materials to make
letters (pipe cleaners, glue,stencils) Alphabet flash cards, dry-erase
boards
or mini chalkboards, alphabet cassettes and cassette player, clay,
paints, and
any other materials you want to include.
Alphabet concentration
this classic game can be played with almost any skill. Limiting the game
to 8
to 12 cards, make a set of letter cards -- one letter to a card, two
cards for
each letter. Place cards facedown on the table. Have children turn over
2
card at a time. If the cards match, children keep them. The object is to
make as many matches as possible. You can match uppercase only. lowercase
only or upper to lower case letters.
Name scramble
Have children use letter cards to spell their names. Then have them
scramble
and reform their names. Write other family members names down and have
them
attempt to spell with a guide to look at.
Through the year alphabet book
Have the children use large sheets of colored construction paper to
create a
personal alphabet book throughout the year. They should write the upper
and
lower case form of the letter on one page, then paste or draw pictures of
objects whose names begin with the sound the letter stands for.
Alphabet caterpillar
Children will have fun creating this letter perfect creature. Write each
letter of the alphabet on a paper circle. Mix the circles and spread
them out
on the table or floor.
Have children put the caterpillar together by placing the body parts in
alphabetical order. Attach antennae to the a circle for the caterpillars
head.
Alphabet book tape
Make a tape recording of an alphabet book. After reading the text for
each
page give activity directions.(ex. Find the letter S on page 22, find the
picture of the sun. Sun begins with the letter S)
Alphabet tic-tac-toe
This form of tic-tac-toe is played like the regular game-with one
exception.
Here each child is given a letter. Children play game using assigned
letter.
Silly sentences
Help children create silly alliterative sentences, for example, "Six silly
snakes sell soda." Create a book using the sentences and have child
illustrate his or her sentences.
•How about teaching the kids to sign those letters while we are teaching them
to recognize, write and sound them out. I learned sign language when I was
young and although I could not sign to someone, I could figure out what they
are signing. I also remember most of the alphabet, the signs for each letter
are pretty easy to remember.
•Make a braille letter on an index card for each highlighted letter. Use glue
and make dots to dry. Make need to put a second coating on the dot to make it
stand out for little fingers to detect.
•When I choose to use letter themes, I usually draw up coloring sheets using
the letter and several objects that begin with that letter.
•Another idea would be to write the chosen letter at the top of a piece of
construction paper and have the kids find pictures in old magazines that
begin with that letter, cut them out, and paste them on the paper.
•Have you tried letter tubs! Ask your local grocer to donate 1lb.
containers. Mark each A, B, C, etc. In the tub you place "SMALL" items that
begin with that letter! B - bracelet, ball, etc. Parents are great helpers
with this project, when they clean out junk drawers!!! You can BUY the set
for $400.00 Needless to say we made our own!.
•An idea for letters "A", "B" and all the rest. Each week, or twice a week:
Cut out large capital letters from construction paper. Find stickers (or
pictures from computer clip-art) that start with that letter. Have kids put
stickers on the letters. For preschoolers and up..teach the sound that letter
makes. Have them learn to write that letter.
•Here is another idea for formula cans. If you have enough, dedicated
one to each letter of the alphabet and put objects in them that start
with that letter. Cover the outside with colored paper and write the
letter in upper and lower case. It's a great hands-on way for the kids
to learn the letters.
• Probably others do this, but we trace a large letter each week, and have
the kids fill the letter with something that starts with the letter-- letter
Q; Q-tips, letter R red rice, etc.
•Matching games
•felt pieces of letters
•Cut out from cardboard the letter A (etc) find material that starts with A
and have the kids glue it to the cardboard letter a. Example acorns .
also make a chart with all words that start with the letter A. Hang the
chart up next to the letter A when it dries. follow with b. (balls,
bananas, bark from a tree, buttons, bugs, )
•alphabet sponge painting. they sell the sponges or cut them out yourself.
•playdough with alphabet cookie cutters
•alphabet magnets on the fridge
•alphabet pasta for lunch
•alphabet cereal for breakfast
•alphabet jello or cookies for snack
•alphabet sticker collage
•make letters from wood pieces
•Sesame st. home page has alphabet print outs for tracing or drawing or
cutting
•Chicka chicka boom boom book... Lots of fun
The book contains 13 sheets of regular, white paper which is divided in
half horizontally. Letter the pages (upper and lower case letters) in
sequence, using 1/2 page for each letter. Identify each item
on the pages by printing the quoted words for each letter
A "Apple": 1/2 apple print with red paint
B "Blue Balloon": use the canister that a roll of film comes in; dip solid
end in blue paint; add a blue line down for string
C "Corn": glue feed corn to page
D "Diamonds & Dots": glue diamonds and dots on the page (dots are from hole
puncher)
E "Egg": cut out egg shape
F "Face": students draw a face with eyes, nose, mouth
G "Green glue & green glitter": Glue colored green (food coloring) &
sprinkle with green glitter
H "Hand": paint hand and make a print I "Ink stamps": use a variety of
rubber stamps and ink
J "Jewels": Tag board J with glitter glue dots for jewels
K "Key": crayon rubbing of a key
L "Lavender Lace": 2" piece of lavender lace
M "Mitten": Children trace their hand in the shape of a mitten, cut out and
glue to paper
N "Newspaper Numbers": numbers cut from newspaper
O "Orange": Orange print with 1/2 orange
P "Purple Potato": potato print with purple paint
Q "Quilt": squares of a variety of wall paper glued into a quilt
R "Ribbon rectangles": rectangular shapes of ribbon... I also found "Ruler
Ribbon" at Wal-Mart which would work as well
S "Sand": With glue, form an S. Then sprinkle with sand
T "Triangle": 3 toothpicks in the formation of a triangle
U "Upside down": cut objects (bears, babies, toys, people, etc) from
magazines. Glue them to the paper upside down
V "Valentine Hearts" Hearts cut and glued to paper
W "Wall paper": wall paper scraps
X "Extra X's": tic tac toe board; students make more x's than o's
Y "Yellow Yo-yo's": Two yellow circles with a real string
Z "Zipper" crayon rubbing of a zipper
•Also when studying any letters or numbers you can make numeral or letter
bread: Roll bread dough into a snake, make the number or letter you like.
Decorate with chocolate chips, raisins, etc. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350.
• Make a Letter Log
Take a spiral bound scrapbook or unlined notebook with enough paper for the
entire alphabet - 2 pages min for each letter. Open the book until you have 2
blank pages together. On the left side of the paper print the letter and
then give the child magazines to cut pictures from that start with that
letter. As they continue to learn letters and words continue on and include
drawings and stickers.
• Texture letters.
Trace and Cut letters out of tag board. Use something that represents that
letter to cover it. For example. F Glue feathers on the letter A
Cover it in Apple seeds. When the glue dries, the letters will be come hard
and the Ss will be able to feel them, trace them, and make rubbing with them
• Fence Letters
We took Surveyors tape (plastic strips) and weaved it in the fence to make
the alphabet on the playground. When the groups want to go inside, we say
"Meet me at the letter F" or "Go to the first letter in the word Bed" If
there are several groups on the playground, this helps to break the children
up a bit. (The first day this was up one of my students associated the T to
the T's on the cover of The Tiny Seed.
• Sequence Cards
I have taken 4X10 colored note cards and cut them in half long ways. Then I
create a matching game using letters. There are two cards that match. One
Card may say B E D or C A T . I use letter stickers to make it more
colorful. ( A less advanced game would be stickers that have to do with a
theme. For example a sticker of a tiger, a bear, and a Zebra for Zoo
animal week.) The children love playing with the cards and they are learning
so much
• Letter Bags
Create a Ziploc bag for each letter. Each day send the bag home with a
child. Instruct the parents to search for things in their house that start
with that letter. Each day the bag goes home with a different child--getting
fuller every day. At the end of the week add the stuff to a letter can made
from Formula Cans. This way the children can always bring out the letter
material
•Whole Alphabet Tray Play
Cut several pieces of construction paper into small squares. Write one
letter of the alphabet on each square, making two sets of letters. Then place
one set of letters aside. Cut pictures from magazines which correspond to
each letter (a for apple, b for banana, etc). Glue picture to back side of
the letters in the second set. Place 1st set in one shoe box, 2nd set in
another. To play, have child pick letter from first set and try to match
with picture from 2nd set. Child can check by turning picture over, looking
at letter.
• ABC Board
Materials:
one sheet of foam core board
library pockets
3x5 card
glue
Glue on the library pockets any way you want. I glued them on in straight
rows.
With dimensional paint (purchased from the local craft store) I wrote the
alphabet first in capital letters and then underneath the capital letter I
wrote a lower case of the same letter. I then wrote the alphabet on the 3x5
cards. Capitals on one card and lower case on another card. If you wanted
you could put them both on the same card. I found colored pockets and the
same colored 3x5 cards at a local teachers store. I plan to match the color
to the pocket. This is self correcting because they can match the letter to
the card. And if you do different colors then they can match the letter
that way also. My kids love this game. This is the second one I have made.
They wore out the first one. You can also do the same type of thing with
numbers.
Variation on the alphabet book: Drop the letter page. Just make a page with
a picture for each letter of the alphabet.
To introduce the letters and sounds we have "Alphabats." I laminate the
alphabet on bat shapes, capital on one side, lowercase on the other. After
introducing the letter and sound we sing the "Batman"(from the original show)
song according to the beginning letter sound. "B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B,
Batman". For F: F, F, F, F, F, F, F, F,Fatman.Each week children trace a
small black alphabat on black construction paper, write the capital letter on one
side, lowercase on the other in white crayon and take the "alphabat" home to
practice letters and sounds.
Idea from: Sarah
We use this in our classroom every other morning. The kids try to fill in the
blanks with words they know begin with the sound we are working on. It
works great with all beginning sounds. I got the idea from 2 different sessions
at a reading conference.
(tune: Old MacDonald)
What's the sound that starts these words
_______, _________, and _________.
/ / is the sound that starts these words
______,__________ and ___________.
With a / / here and a / / there, Here a / /,
there a / /, everywhere a / /.
/ / is the sound that starts these words
__________, _________, and _______.
The Consonant Tree
This song, sent in by Kim, goes to the tune of Mulberry Bush. It is from
Phonics Fun K-1, Published by Carson Dellosa CD-0030. This book
sounds like a real find! It contains poems, word lists, activities, worksheets,
lesson plans, and more!
Here we go 'round the con-so-nant tree, the con-so-nant tree, the con-so-nant
tree
Here we go 'round the con-so-nant tree, sing-ing the sound of let-ters.
This is the sounds that b can make:
"b""b""b""b""b""b"
This is the sound that b can make, in words like bell and baby
-- Use any letters except the vowels.
This is the verse for x:
But X just likes to have its way.
It doesn't say "X" all day.
It'd rather sound like "Z""Z""Z"
When it's a beginning letter!
Wouldn't it be great to combine this song with the book Chicka Chicka
Boom Boom (by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois
Ehlert).
Hide index cards with the different letters around the room. Then send
one child to find that letter. Repeat with all of the letters.
Adopt A Letter
Choose a letter of the alphabet and show it off! Draw a fancy design using
the letter. Promote the letter. Tell what is great about it. Have a beauty
contest and enter your letter against other letters.
Alphabet Soup Name Bracelet
It's fun to make name bracelets out of alphabet egg noodles. Spell out your
name with some uncooked noodles. Then cut out a small narrow strip of thin
cardboard, just big enough to fit your name on. Paste the letters of your
name on this strip. When the paste is dry, paint the whole bracelet with
poster paint. Carefully poke a hole at each end of the bracelet and pas a
small string through both ends. Just slip the name bracelet on your wrist
and tie the two ends together. You can make name bracelets for your friends
too.
Chalk And Sandpaper Letters
Materials:
Sandpaper of different textures cut into different letters
Shallow containers
Water
Directions:
Cut sandpaper into desired sizes and pour water into containers. Have the
children dip colored chalk into water and then draw designs on the
sandpaper. Encourage them to use several different colors.
Lacing Letter
Make a twelve inch cardboard set of several letters. Punch holes in the
outline of each letter about one inch apart. Attach a two-foot piece of yarn
to the letter. Allow children to lace the outline of the letter.
Pretzel Letters
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 envelope of yeast
4 cups flour
1-tsp. salt
Directions:
Mix all ingredients
Give each of the children enough dough to shape into the first letter of
their name. Brush dough letters with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse
salt. Bake at 425 degrees for twelve minutes.
Use Your Noodles
Here's a game that will make you and your friends use your noodles. The
rules are simple. Each player is given a big handful of uncooked alphabet
noodles. The idea is to spell out as many names of animals as possible in a
five-minute time limit. All kinds of animals count-birds, bees, elephants,
etc. The winner is the one who spells the most names of different animals by
the end of the time period. When you've gotten really good, try it with more
noodles and a longer time limit. You might even try different categories:
towns, rivers, and automobiles, etc. Use your noodles.
Alphabet March: Once or twice a day have an alphabet march. Have
the kiddies line up and march as they say the alphabet to the rhythm
of their marching feet.
Letter of the Day Sticker: Cut out squares, circles, or seasonal
shapes from Con-Tact Paper. Print the letter being reviewed on the
Con-Tact paper. Give to the child AFTER instruction and let the child
apply so the letter is facing the child.
Make sandpaper tactile cards: Cut flash cards out from bright
poster board papers. Cut 26 capital and 26 lower case letters from a
medium coarse sandpaper. Tell the child the name of the letter. Aid the
child in using his index & middle fingers to guide over the letter and show
the correct way to print it.
Alphabet song: self explanatory. Good as a means for redirection.
Play Dough Letters: Have the child make the letter being studied
from play dough.Have the students take the dough and roll into a
snake. Have them bend and break pieces off correctly to form the
letter. You can let the child let it sun dry and take home the
letter also.
Alpha-Bit Sort: Use alphabet spaghetti or cereal and let children
search and sort. Have them look for the letter of the day. Have them
put them in order. FUN FUN FUN for kids!
Tracing Letters: Print all of the letters on tag board. One piece
for capitals. One piece for lower case. Have the students use tracing
paper to trace over the letters.
Pipe Cleaner Letters : Use pipe cleaners and alphabet cards. Let
the children form letters from the pipe cleaners. You can use the
letter being studied or assign a different letter to each child. The
pipe cleaners can be smoothed and reused or taken home.
Glue-A-Letter: Use bright construction paper, glue and any
material of your choice for gluing,paper, sand etc> Have them print the chosen letter with glue. Have
them apply the other material to make a "Rice B" or "Cereal H"Laminated Practice Cards: Make laminated flash cards. Punch a
large hole and attach with shower curtain rings. Children can bring
back and forth from preschool.
Finger Paint Fun: Have child print the letter being studied with
a pencil first. Then have the child print the same letter overtop
with fingerpaint. You can go over and over and over the formation
using the fingerpaints.
Sew a Letter:
Materials:
Styrofoam packing trays
Yarn
Yarn Needles
Scissors
Felt tip Marker
To prepare:
Take the letter being studied and "pre-dot" the letter on the tray. You will
need one tray per child. Precut pieces of yarn that are long enough to sew
around the letter. Thread and knot the yarn needles.
Have children sew around the outside of the letter. CONSTANT
SUPERVISION IS NECESSARY FOR SEWING!
Variation: The children can sew the capital form of the letter in one color
on the tray and the lower case letter in a different color on the same tray.
Letter Search Poster: Group activity: Give the children old
magazines/newspapers. Set the children in search of the letters .....
designate which letters you want them to find. Paste the letters on a
piece of poster board to make a n alphabet poster.
Variation: Use construction paper for an individual poster that they can
each take home.
Print in Clay: Give each child a blob of clay. Give each child a
large piece of paper to work on. With their pencils- let the children
print the letter being studied in the rolled out clay. Have the
children smooth over the surface and reprint the letter(s) over and
over again.
Cassette Tape: Have the parents send in a blank cassette tape.
Make your own instructional tape reading the alphabet. Take the group
singing the alphabet song. Read an alphabet story. Copy the tape for
the group and send home for home study. Use the classroom copy and
add more alphabet stories as you read them.
Feel It Letter Search Game: Spread plastic letters or alphabet
blocks on the table. Show the child a card with the letter printed on
it. Blindfold the child. Mix up the letters on the table. Have the
child find the letter by touch only. Continue the same procedure/
taking turns with various letters.
Magnet Letters: Free play with magnet letters on a metal board or
refrigerator door. I have several sets of these so we can use the
following variations:
a) Find the capital and lower case of various letters
b)Find the letters to create the child's name
c)Sort thru all and find the letter that you are studying
The Magic Hat Game: Cut 26 rabbits, each approx 3" long, out of
construction paper. Color in rabbit features with colored pencils.
Laminate if desired. Glue a small piece of white cotton on each tail.
Print either a different capital or lower case letter on each rabbit
with a felt tip marker. Put the rabbit's in a plastic top hat.are about $1.75 at any party supply store> Have the children take turns
pulling the rabbits from the hat. Have them identify the letter and write it
either on their own piece of paper or on a chalkboard.Alphabet Bingo: Make bingo cards using tag board. If you are using
themes you may put a picture that is symbolic of the current theme in
the center bonus square. There should be 9 squares total. The center
being the bonus. Laminate if desired. Next cut 26 file cards in half
to be used as your calling cards. Have the children cut construction
paper from your scrap paper to cover the "called " letters. Shuffle
the calling cards and let one child be the one to draw and call the
cards.The children then look to see if they have the letter. The
first child to get 3 in any which way/row wins. Winner gets to be
next caller!!`
Erase the Board:
Print some or all letters in capital or lower case on a chalkboard. Use
different color chalk. Put them in random order in various slanted angles.
The children take turns going to the chalkboard erasing the
letters in alphabetical order. The first student goes and finds A...erases
it....Next child finds B and erases and so on.Kim ;D
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PICK-A-POCKET
Put a child's hanging shoe holder to interesting use with this suggestion.
Drop a letter cutout into each pocket of the shoe holder. Have children take
turns selecting a pocket, reaching into it, feeling the letter, and naming
it or its sound.
ALPHABET DICE
Make an alphabet die for this game of luck. Cut two half-gallon milk cartons
in half. Push one carton bottom inside the other to form a large cube. Cover
the cube with contact paper "before" labeling each of its sides with a
different letter of the alphabet. To use the cube, youngsters take turns
rolling the die and naming the letter.
A TOUCH-and-KNOW SITUATION
Blindfolds and oversized cardboard letters help your youngsters get a feel
for the alphabet in this tactile game. Prepare several ten-inch letter
cutouts and place them in a decorated box. In turn, have each child wear a
blindfold as he draws a letter from the box, feels its shape, and identifies
the letter by touch.
LOOKING UP TO LETTERS
Looking for a really unusual approach to letter review? Try this suggestion
as a before or after nap transition. With your room completely darkened, use
a flashlight to "write" a letter on the ceiling for your youngsters, to
identify. Then give each youngster a turn to do the same.
LETTERS BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS
Each time a new letter is introduced, use colorful masking tape or plastic
tape to create a giant version of that letter on your playroom floor or
kitchen floor. Then instruct youngsters to "walk, hop, crawl, or otherwise
move" along the lines of the letter.
Letter On Plate (from Usborne Books - Starting Lettering )
1.Draw a big letter or number in the middle of an unwaxed paper plate. Cut
strips of masking tape to cover these lines.
2.Add more small pieces of tape around the letter. For example: this month
on PP we are talking about squares and rectangles - tear off little square and
rectangle pieces of masking tape to place around the plate.
3.Pour some paint onto a saucer. Dip a sponge into it then dab all over
plate.
4.When the paint is dry, sponge on a different color paint in patches. When
all the paint has dried, peel off the tape. The letter/number and the squares
and rectangles will be white and the rest of the plate will be beautiful
colors.
Kim ;D
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*make a set of flash cards with a capital on one and a lowercase on
another; use these to play games like Memory, Go Fish and Old Maid (they
love the game twist)
To teach the letters, I usually do it whole group through songs and then
just making letter books, etc. But for one on one I play bingo; have
them write letters in everything - salt, pudding, on magnadoodles, etc.
After writing a letter they turn it into something that starts with the
letter. Like: make an"a" and then turn it into an apple, make a "b" and
then turn it into a bat and ball, etc. My hope is to give them as many
links as possible to help them remember.
TRY LETTER BINGO (MAKE YOUR OWN)
I play the Bingo games a lot. To help keep interest I sometimes use
food, as markers. I covered the boards with plastic wrap. This week we
have been discussing polar animals so we used marshmallows as
'icebergs'. Of course, they get to eat them once everyone has filled up
their board!! At Christmas we used the wrapped peppermint 'star'
candies. You could use M&M's, Gummy worms and teddy bear grahams and
jelly beans.
ADOPT A LETTER
Choose a letter of the alphabet and show it off! Draw a fancy design
using the letter. Promote the letter. Tell what is great about it. Have
a favorite letter campaign and enter your letter against other letters.
ALPHABET SOUP NAME BRACELET
It's fun to make name bracelets out of alphabet egg noodles. Spell out
your name with some uncooked noodles. Then cut out a small narrow strip
of thin cardboard, just big enough to fit your name on. Paste the
letters of your name on this strip. When the paste is dry, paint the
whole bracelet with poster paint. Carefully poke a hole at each end of
the bracelet and pas a small string through both ends. Just slip the
name bracelet on your wrist and tie the two ends together. You can make
name bracelets for your friends too.
CHALK AND SANDPAPER LETTERS
Materials:
Sandpaper of different textures cut into different letters Shallow
containers Water
Directions:
Cut sandpaper into desired sizes and pour water into containers. Have
the children dip colored chalk into water and then draw designs on the
sandpaper. Encourage them to use several different colors.
LACING LETTER
Make a twelve inch cardboard set of several letters. Punch holes in the
outline of each letter about one inch apart. Attach a two-foot piece of
yarn to the letter. Allow children to lace the outline of the letter.
PIPE CLEANER LETTERS :
Use pipe cleaners and alphabet cards. Let the children form letters
from the pipe cleaners. You can use the letter being studied or assign a
different letter to each child. The pipe cleaners can be smoothed and
reused or taken home.
GLUE-A-LETTER:
Use bright construction paper, glue and any material of your choice for
gluing ( rice, macaroni, cereal, ripped paper, sand etc.) Have them
print the chosen letter with glue. Have them apply the other material to
make a "Rice B" or "Cereal H"
SEW A LETTER:
Materials: Styrofoam packing trays, Yarn, Yarn Needles, Scissors,
Felt tip Marker
To prepare:
Take the letter being studied and "pre-dot" the letter on the tray. You
will need one tray per child. Precut pieces of yarn that are long
enough to sew around the letter. Thread and knot the yarn needles. Have
children sew around the outside of the letter. CONSTANT SUPERVISION IS
NECESSARY FOR SEWING!
Variation: The children can sew the capital form of the letter in one
color on the tray and the lower case letter in a different color on the
same tray.
ERASE THE BOARD:
Print some or all letters in capital or lower case on a chalkboard. Use
different color chalk. Put them in random order in various slanted
angles. (scatter them) The children take turns going to the chalkboard
erasing the letters in alphabetical order. The first student goes and
finds A...erases it....Next child finds B and erases and so on.
LETTER BAGS
Create a Ziploc bag for each letter. Each day send the bag home with a
child. Instruct the parents to search for things in their house that
start with that letter. Each day the bag goes home with a different
child--getting fuller every day. Add the stuff to a letter tubs. This
way the children can always bring out the letter material. Materials to
use for graphs, counting, collages, gluing onto letter shapes etc. In
general you can use the real objects OR clip art OR little erasers
(Oriental trading has many different kinds, stickers with pictures of
objects, Fun foam
*I have included long and short vowel sounds and the hard and soft
sounds for g and c for those teachers who want them.
A = Apple Jacks, fingerprint ants, plastic ants, animal crackers,
Alpha-Bets cereal, apples ( I cut them from red construction paper)
B = Bandaids, brown bears on blue B's ( I cut bears from construction
paper), beans on brown or blue paper.
C = corn (unpopped popcorn), Colored cotton balls, circles, cinnamon,
colored cats (I cut), cotton
D = dirt (potting soil) or Dotted D (add dots with paint & Q-tip),
doilies, dots
E = egg shells, e.....eyes......googly eyes from the craft shop,
elephants (I cut from gray paper), Plastic Easter Eggs
F = Fruit Loops , fake fur, Feathers, fingerprints, goldfish crackers,
flowers,
G = glue, glitter, Green and Gold Glitter G's on green paper
H = hands, hay, Hearts or Hockey stick and puck,
I = ice cream sticks, insects
J = jellybeans, J-we made jazzy J's with lots of glitter,ribbon,etc
K = Kleenex , koolaid......powdered, not wet! , keys -- Ask parents to
donate old keys. Hershey kisses, kisses on paper made with sample
lipsticks
L = lace, licorice (shoestring type) , lentils,
M = M&M's, .mini marshmallows, Mickey and Minnie Mouse clip art,
fingerprint mice, money (play money_
N = noodles, nails. They stayed on pretty good using a lot of glue...and
I don't know of any kid that doesn't like to use a lot of glue! ,
numerals from grocery ads
O = paper hole reinforcers for O's , oatmeal, orange slices & owls
clip art, ovals (I cut), Oreo cookie, orange peel,
P = peppermints, popcorn, peas (dried split green peas), pennies,
peppermints, pretzels, pink paper on purple P's
Q = paper picture or quarters, quilted material squares, Q-Tips,
question marks, zeroxed quarters on gray paper ,
R = raisins, ribbon, ribbon rectangles on red R's , rainbow, rectangle,
red objects, rice
S = sand, suckers, stickers, small plastic spoons from lunchables stars,
sandpaper , squares (I cut) , sunflower seeds, sun
T = tea leaves, triangles (I cut)
U..... clip art umbrellas & unicorns, arrows showing up & under
V = vines, velveteen......flocked paper, Velvet material cut into
squares
W = watermelon seeds, wire, worms, waffle......Chex cereals, Woodsies,
watermelon drawn or scented stickers, whale, worm, wallpaper
X = Q-tips to make the bones in an x-ray construction paper strips into
the size and color of the keys on a xylophone and glued them up one side
of the X and the hammer up the other side.
Y= yarn, yellow yarn
Z = zipper, zebra stripes- I used white paper and drew an eye at the top
and black stripes all the way down and the a tail of yarn on the bottom.
Other activities to do with the manipulative above:
A- fingerprint ants., plastic ants that the kids take on and off a log
with tweezers.
B-Bandaids (We also have a bandaid game where they place 10 bandaids on
a drawn arm. They roll a die from 1-3 and remove the bandaids til gone.)
D- Turn the D into a dog's face and add big ears.
E- eggs (We have brown and white eggs in Mass.) We do the egg in
vinegar experiment. Don't forget to put one in water as a control.
K-Put the letter on a kite
L-Print lemons and limes on the paper first
N-nests Glue on a clump of craft straw with a small plastic egg
O-add arms and wiggly eyes for octopus
Z-Zig zag patterns on the paper before pasting on the z
Trish
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Letter Stories" (poems for charts)
Aa
A is for alligator.
A is for ants.
A is for apples
on my pants.
Bb
B is for bear.
B is for boat.
B is for buttons
on my coat.
Cc
C is for cow.
C is for cat.
C is for caterpillar
on my hat.
Dd
D is for dinosaur.
D is for dog.
D is for doll
on my log.
Ee
E is for envelope.
E is for eggs.
E is for elephant
on my legs.
Ff
F is for fire engine.
F is for fish.
F is for fox
in my dish
Gg
G is for girl.
G is for goat.
G is for gorilla
in my boat.
Hh
H is for horse.
H is for hair.
H is for hippopotamus
on my chair.
Ii
I is for igloo.
I is for ink.
I is for iguana
in my sink.
Jj
J is for jelly.
J is for jeep.
J is for jacket
on my sheep.
Kk
K is for kite.
K is for king.
K is for key
on my string.
Ll
L is for lion.
L is for log.
L is for leaves
on my frog.
Mm
M is for mittens.
M is for mouse.
M is for monkeys
on my house.
Nn
N is for newspaper.
N is for nest.
N is for numbers
on my vest.
Oo
O is for octopus.
O is for ox.
O is for ostrich
in my box.
Pp
P is for pizza.
P is for pan.
P is for pencils
in my can.
Qq
Q is for queen.
Q is for quail/
Q is for quarters
in my pail.
Rr
R is for rose.
R is for ring.
R is for rabbit
on my swing.
Ss
S is for sun.
S is for socks.
S is for snails
on my blocks.
Tt
T is for tooth.
T is for truck.
T is for tie
on my duck.
Uu
U is for underwear.
U is for up.
U is for umbrella
in my cup.
Vv
V is for violin.
V is for van
V is for violets
in my pan.
Ww
W is for worm.
W is for wagon.
W is for wings
on my dragon.
Xx
X is for x-ray.
X marks the spot.
X is for kisses
I have a lot.
Yy
Y is for yo-yo.
Y is for yak.
Y is for yarn
in my sack.
Zz
Z is for zebra.
Z is for zoo.
Z is for zipper
on my shoe.
pmaloney01@ snet.net
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is an idea in response to the teacher with the child that did not know
many of the letters. I would also try a tactile approach. Print the letters
on 4 x 6 index cards, do all letters, upper and lower case. Laminate the
cards and then give the child some "Sticky-Wicks" to press on top of the
letters, to form the letters on the cards. If you do not have Sticky-Wicks
let the child use play-doh. My class loves Sticky-Wicks. I use it when I
introduce a new letter. They reproduce it with the Sticky-Wicks and then we
go into a mini writing lesson. I hope this helps. Good luck. Jaci /KYKTJS
****************************
Since we use letter people-we have a mock wedding between Mr. Q and Miss U
(to reinforce that q and u are always found together). We choose a bride and
groom, and the whole wedding party (groomsmen, ushers, bridesmaids, guest
book attendants, etc.) each child is somehow involved in it. The kids that
are too shy to get up in front of the class are the bakers. We bake cookies
and brownies. We also monogram our napkins with alphabet stamps and make all
of the bridal bouquets and boutonnieres. A local grocery store donates a
miniature wedding cake and last year Gingiss donated a tuxedo for the groom.
We decorate tricycles with balloons and streamers. After the ceremony-the
bride and groom ride around on their bikes while the other children blow
bubbles. It is all adorable and last year we made the front page of the
local paper (in color).
Thanks
Janell/GA/Pre-K
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