Welcome to the treasure trove of Alphabet Activities!
I have learnt over the years that the best way to lay a foundation for future reading, is through teaching phonics, and beginning with letter sounds. I found this interesting article over at phonicshero.com about the importance of teaching letter sounds before letter names. Head over there when you have time. I found it very helpful.
SKILLS & STANDARDS COVERED
- Follow letters from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
- Identify and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
- Identify and pronounce beginning letter sounds.
- Form all upper and lower case letters correctly
PHONICS SONGS
On Mondays the two letters of the week are introduced through singing the Jolly Phonics Action Songs. All children Love these and they remember the words and actions pretty quickly.
Another absolutely adorable channel I recently found on YouTube is Bounce Patrol. They have a super cute song for each letter of the alphabet, sung to the same tune, which means the children can sing along after only a few times.
We then have a look at some words that begin with the letters of the week on Starfall, which the children Love as well. It’s a great online interactive site, that is easy for children to navigate on their own too.
For the last 5 minutes we look at the picture cards of things that begin with the letters of the week and we separate these under the correct headings on the picture/ word wall.
LETTER CRAFTS A – Z
Twice a week the children do letter crafts of the letters of the week. The children adore these and it’s a great way to learn letter recognition, while practicing scissor skills, as well as develop visual discrimination skills. There is a wall up in the class with all of these Letter Crafts and the kids are encouraged to make one at home too.
PRINTABLE BOOKS
I have created a few printable books that can be used throughout the first semester. Click on each image to go to the product page. It’s a bargain, and saves you lots of time!
PRINTABLE CENTERS & ACTIVITIES
Centers are a great way to get kids to talk to each other and learn from each other. Below are 13 Phonics Centers that will review all the letter sounds while having tons of fun. Click on each link to have a look at each center.
Beginning Sounds Picture Cards
Click on the images to download the Picture Cards.
26 sets of picture cards, each with 10 – 12 pictures that begins with the same sound as the letter on the card. These cards go on the word wall on a Monday morning and we review it each morning during Morning Meeting time. On Fridays we play the ‘Stand Up, Sit Down’ game which all the children absolutely love!
The teacher shows the cards to the children and name the picture on the card. If the teacher says the wrong name, everyone has to sit down as fast as possible. The children that sit down last or too slow, are out.
Bingo
This set includes 20 Bingo cards and 52 Upper and Lower Case cards A – Z. Each child gets a bingo card and 8 counters to cover the pictures. Place the letter cards face down in the center of the circle.
Children cover the pictures with the same beginning sounds with the counters as the teacher calls them out. The first one that has covered all the pictures shouts ‘Bingo!’ and you have a winner. Continue the game until everyone had a chance to cover all the pictures on their cards.
Spin & Color
This center includes 4 spinners and 8 coloring pictures. After laminating and assembling the spinners, the game is ready to be played!
The spinner game can be played in groups, in pairs or as the whole class during circle time. Children take turns spinning the spinner and everyone colors one picture on the sheet beginning with that sound. The first child that colored all the pictures is the winner.
Cover/ Color
A pack of 26 color posters and 26 black and white posters of each letter of the alphabet. Each poster has 13 – 15 cute illustrations of things that begin with that sound as well as things that does not.
These posters can be used for recognizing beginning sounds and to learn new vocabulary.
The aim of the game is to cover all the pictures of the things that begin with the sound in the middle of the poster. I normally use cubes or plastic counters, but you can get creative and use seeds, pebbles, or anything that you think will make the activity more enjoyable for the little ones.
Children take turns rolling a dice and covering a picture that begins with the sound in the middle every time the dice falls on an even number.
Matching Cards
26 Beginning sound matching cards with colorful pictures. Simply cut, laminate and match!
Dominoes
Click on the image to download the Dominoes.
A Literacy center that includes 2 sets of colorful alphabet dominoes. Each domino has a picture and a letter. The children sit in a circle and take turns to match the pictures to their correct beginning sounds. If a child does not have a picture or beginning sound to match with a domino, they lose a turn. Great for reviewing beginning sounds.
Letter Puzzles
26 Letter Puzzles. Each puzzle includes 5 cute illustrations of things that begin with the letter indicated in the center.
These posters can be used for recognizing beginning sounds and to learn new vocabulary.
Just laminate, cut-out and have hours of learning fun with the little ones.
Look, Sort & Record
5 Sets of beginning sound sorting mats. Each set has 15 pictures.
The children can use magnetic letters to match the beginning sound of each picture by placing it underneath the correct picture. A recording sheet (that can be printed and laminated for re-use, or just used as a worksheet) is also provided for the children to write down each letter as they match it.
Roll, Read & Write
In this pack you will find 10 ‘Roll, Read and Write’ writing sheets with both upper and lower case letters.
The aim of the game is to roll the dice, look at the sheet which letter the number corresponds too, and write the letter in that column. The game can be played individually, in pairs or in groups
.
‘I have/ Who has …?’ cards
Get all your children to sit in a circle. Hand out the cards evenly. The child with the first card says; ‘I have the first card. Who has b?’ The child with the b says; ‘I have b, who has m?’. Continue the game until all the cards are finished.
Pack 1: Beginning Sounds – Use this pack for practicing beginning sounds and learning new vocabulary.
Pack 2: Upper Case letters – Identifying and naming upper case letters.
Pack 3: Lower Case letters – Identifying and naming lower case letters.
Dice Game
During Literacy center time, children count all the pictures that begin with the sound in the middle of the card and clip a clothes peg onto the correct number.
Play Dough Mats
This is an awesome activity where children get to improve their fine-motor muscles while learning how to form the letters of the alphabet correctly and getting creative and learning about beginning sounds! Each page has an upper and lower case bubble letter and 2/3 boxes with pictures in (for example: Letters Aa, pictures, ant, apple and arrow – the children try to make their own ant, apple and arrow using play dough).
Upper & Lower Case Graphing
Ask children to count the amount of each letter and then to find it under the graph and color the same amount of blocks.
The last recording sheet has no letters. I always make notes of which letters need review and then use these activity sheets, by writing these letters on it. The children grab some foam or magnetic letters, count, and color the same amount.
Alphabet Pattern Blocks
Wooden shape manipulatives are great for developing fine-motor skills. Your students will absolutely love getting their little fingers busy to build letters. Enjoy!
Sorting Mats
This pack includes 26 sorting mats and 216 cards with illustrations. There are 9 pictures for each sorting mat. Just cut out and laminate.
There are various ways to use these mats:
* 2 – 4 players: Each child gets a sorting mat with a different letter. Shuffle the cards of the pictures that begin with these sounds and place it face down in the middle. Children take turns to pick up the cards and place it underneath the correct initial sound.
* Print 2 packs of the cards with the illustrations, stick on cardboard and laminate. Now go and have some fun with your little learners, playing a memory game. Mine always love these!
PACING GUIDE & PLANS
BUNDLE
Go over to my TpT store by clicking on the image below to get the whole bundle of everything you will need for the first semester to make learning phonics fun and easy for your little learners and you. Enjoy!
