A B C D E F G... Learning the Alphabet

I did this. 
You did this. 
Others did this, too. 

Many still do.





Why is learning the alphabet so important anyway?

The image at the beginning of this post looks to be just a jumble of letters. We all know the 'Alphabet Song'. We likely repeated it ad nauseam and just as likely had no real idea what we were saying or why. 

The quirky little song is actually an introduction to preparing us to read.  Knowing the letters of the alphabet and recognizing them in print are early literacy skills that must be mastered in order make sense of the written word, read, and ultimately, comprehend.

Hence the reason these are, and continue to be so popular - the building blocks to reading.



Many of us learned, taught and will continue to teach this song, and many children will learn from it alone. But what about those who have never heard the song, who come from environments that are not rich with language, books, toys, and letters? 

As teachers, it is our charge to enrich all youngsters with letters,, numbers, words, sentences, stories, poems, and songs. Unfortunately this is not always an easy task. We find ourselves searching for new and different, engaging, fun, meaningful ways to introduce, teach, and reinforce these basic early literacy skills.

Some Are Not As Lucky

When my job title changed to Title 1 Reading Teacher, I found myself working with students from 0-20th percentile. This was a completely different population for me! I found myself continually going back a step further, then another and another step further back to a level where students' were functioning. My next realization was how to 'start from nothing', how to work with those without a basis or exposure to letters and/or words! In the past, I'd always worked with students who came with a suitcase of basic knowledge, or at least a backpack. Now what was I going to do?

Having students with little to no exposure to even the concept of letters, I found myself brainstorming and creating meaningful experiences in hopes of creating a positive introduction to the impending joy of reading. This was a challenge for me as it forced me to approach teaching from a completely different view. My mantra became 
More Modalities = More Learning.

Below are some of the ideas and resources I've used to introduce letters to my students. These are in no particular order.

Letter Sorts?

(use to introduce letters)

No formal mats are needed, you can jut have students make categories on the table or floor.

                          curves/no curves                                             color                                           

  

                  holes/no holes                                        tall/small/fall   (tall/short)  

                                                                            (hang down)    (hooks/no hooks)     

                   

Draw a Letter...

    in the sand                                 with dot bottles                      

          

  trace felt letters                         trace sandpaper letters

 rainbow trace

                                                                                                                                                                           

                                               

Get them moving...

Letter Twister

I made these mats from a shower curtain liner from the Dollar Store and then created a grid and printed one letter of the    alphabet in each square. Students loved              this activity!    

I adapted to Twister to Letter Racing. Four students stood at the beginning of the row,with eyes closed. I tapped each on their shoulder and tell them 'their letter. When all had their letter, I'd say, "go". Who was the first to find their letter?  Again, another favorite!

                                                                     Letter Racing

                          

Another adaptation was to toss a bean bag onto a letter (either me or a child) and they had to name the letter.

(I wrote upper case on one side of the mat and lower case in the reverse side.)

Kinesthetic ABC's
I created this product to reach the more kinesthetic learners.

            Product                      

      

Who:  Kindergarten Reading Level Students,

          Struggling Pre-Readers

          Early Literacy

What: Learning that integrates movement, not just listening

When: Early Literacy development, Students struggle with early literacy development

Where:Classroom, Individual Student, Reading Teacher/Specialist

Why:  Integrating movement and multiple modalities enhances learning. Critical for struggling learners.

How:  Letter introduction, learned letters, review all letters

          Small cards can be cut, put on a ring, and sent home

   

  

What's the Scoop???
So many variations.
Child scoops a letter: names letter, says letter sound, both 
Child scoops a specified letter: names letter, says letter sound, both 
Child is given a letter name, sound, or both and must scoop the letter
                               

 

Take it Outside...
Create Twister Board on playground.
Play Red Light, Green Light using letter names and/or sounds for forward movement
Play Mother May I using letter names and/or sounds for forward movement

Play hopscotch with letter names and/or sounds.

Create a Pat of Letters.

Paint letters on rocks and student needs to find the given rock.

                                            

      

 Draw large letters and have students 'trace' by 'walking' the letter.

Introduce, Teach, Practice...
Task Cards

                          Product

Online Resources...

Letter Videos
Letter Songs
HaveFunTeaching Letter Videos
Storybots

Games
abcya
PBS KIDS
Learning Games



I hope I've inspired you and got your creative juices flowing. Looking forward to any of your ideas and/or adaptations!