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Alphabet Avenue
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This is a brand new website that will be devoted
entirely to learning the alphabet. This page was
originally on my other site (Carl's Corner), but
the site became too huge for most servers to
support. Most of the items for individual
letters have been relined and I will be adding
more and revising some of the old things in the
near future. I know that many of you are anxious to
have access to these materials and I appreciate
your patience!
Most early attempts at literacy start out as
barely recognizable drawings and doodles. Until children have learned to
perceive the attributes and characteristics of letters, they will
continue to use and confuse them. On this page you will find research
based activities to use at home or in your classroom. Most of the
activities are geared toward kindergarten and first grade, but I
recently found that they helped older children who had already learned
to write in their primary language: Arabic!
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Alphabet Avenue
Literacy Center
I would
include an assortment of alphabet charts,
alphabet books to read, sorts for letter
attributes (circles, sticks, colors, lower case
and capitals, etc.) and a wide variety of letter
fonts so that children begin to take a critical
look at the way letters are formed. The
PowerPoint presentation and the handout above
include many suggestion for assembling a wide
collection of materials for use in a center that
is devoted to learning the alphabet.
Task
Board Sign
Classroom Center Sign
Magnetic Mountain
Literacy Center
Magnetic
letters stick to many surfaces that make readily
available centers in out of the way corners of
the classroom. For example, I had several metal
cabinets, a small refrigerator, the white board,
cookie sheets, and serving trays that make this
center an easy one to set up. You can have the
children sort letters and/or build words. Tasks
may be similar to those in Word Way. However,
children appreciate the opportunity to have open
ended centers, so I often allowed them to
explore with the letters and record their
results or read them to a friend. These are
often used for practicing high frequency words.
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Alphabet Flip Books
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All Aboard for ABCs
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Alphabet Go Fish Set
Alphabet Go Fish Set 2
Nature ABC Set
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ABC Menu
for Literacy Centers
( 1 of 7)
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Handwriting Activity
This page is a black-line
reproducible for K-1 teachers. It includes the
head, belt, and foot line. You'll need to add
the word or letters that you'd like the children
to trace. We've used it successfully with
kindergarten students who were not writing their
names when school started.
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Promoting
Knowledge
of Letters and Words
This page contains lecture
notes from an Apprenticeship in Literacy seminar
with Linda Dorn. An explicit discussion of
activities to support instruction in primary
classrooms is included.
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Letter Lotto
Download and print the
playing cards, mount on vellum, and laminate for
use. This lotto game comes in two formats: one
to review beginning consonant sounds and the
other for letter recognition. Comes with
directions for playing and enough cards for six
children.
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Little Critter Letter
Match
Little Critter Letter
Match Modern
Mercer Mayer is my all
time favorite author illustrator. Kids
absolutely love his little critter books and so
do I. He came to San Diego in 1983 for a
conference and we had a blast, with an insider
trip to the San Diego Zoo and a hilarious visit
to my school. He's just as funny in person as he
is in his books! I have made an activity for
matching capitals and lower case letters. I hope
he doesn't mind!! Enjoy! By the way, you'll need
to print them in color or the yellow T-shirt
won't show.
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Sequence With a Smile
Use the
graphic on the link for sequencing activities
(number order, alphabetical order, story
sequence, etc.) Allow students to work
collaboratively if needed.
Accountability Piece: Duplicate the recording
sheet so that children can show the work they
accomplished during center time. You may want to
assemble the recording sheets in a sequencing
log.
Option:
Use the graphic as a template. Fill in some of
the boxes. Laminate and allow the children to
use wipe off pens or place in sheet protectors.
Make a transparency and use in the overhead
projector center.
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My Phonics Sticker Book
When you reproduce this book, you'll need to cut
the pages into fourths, collate and bind. Print
as many as you need for a group and use with
alphabet stickers below. Students can "read'
their sticker book, saying the name of the
picture and the capital and lower case letters
while pointing. This builds 1 to 1 and provides
an anchor for automaticity in letter recogntion.
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Alphabet Stickers
Use with the Phonics
Sticker Book above or in your instructional
program if you're a reading teacher. Use laser
labels (Avery Dennison #5260 or MACO #ML-3025),
thirty labels per sheet, 1" x 2 5/8". Some
teachers prefer that children draw their own
pictures, but emergent readers rarely remember
what it was they drew. This method produces a
colorful book to read again and again.
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Alphabet Trace
and Write
Lower Case Set
Capital Set
Lower Case Modern Set
Capital Modern Set
(sample) |
Alphabet Mixed Review
Set
(Sample) |
Alphabet Matching
Set
(Sample) |
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Long and Short A
Concentration
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Number Fonts for Sorts
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Writing Fine Motor
Skill Activities
Zip File Set
(samples: 2 of 11)
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Alphabet Readers
Zip File Set
(sample) |
I've Been Working On My
Letters
(Song)
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Alphabet Workmat
Set
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Alphabet Following
Directions
Set
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Alphabet Partner Puzzles
Set
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Alphabet Word Wheel
Zip File
Set
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Alphabet Match and Color
Set
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Alphabet Find and Color
Set
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Alphabet Where's That
Sound?
Set
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Alphabet Song Collection
(27 pages)
Please note that
not all letters have songs yet!
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Font Sorts
Zip File
Set
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Color, Cut and
Paste
Zip File
Set |
Handwriting
(Standard Set)
Handwriting
(Modern
Set)
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Alphabet Peekover Flip
Books
Zip File Set
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Snap That Sound!
Beginning Consonant Sounds
Set of 20
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Long Vowel Spelling
Posters
(Set of 5)
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Alphabet Mini Books
(Set of 24)
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Recommended Reading
I would strongly recommend that teachers
read two excellent sources for a better
understanding of letter identification
in young children. Please note that I
didn't say letter "recognition."
There's a big difference! Recognition
implies automaticity or "knowing"
without having to think about it. We
recognize our names, but we would have
to "identify" unfamiliar and unknown
words. The same holds true for children
who are just beginning to explore the
world of print. They often recognize
many of the letters in their own names,
but have to work hard to learn to
identify unfamiliar letters. Lecture
over. Here are the two book titles:
Clay, Marie (1993). Reading Recovery:
A Guidebook for Teachers in Training.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. (Pages 23-28,
and 55-56 discuss learning to look at
print with concrete suggestions for the
teacher, particularly for children who
seem to have difficulty with remembering
letter names.)
Dorn, Linda, French, Cathy, and Jones,
Tammy (1998). Apprenticeship in
Literacy: Transitions Across Reading and
Writing. York, Maine: Stenhouse. (Pages
92-95 discuss multiple ways of learning
about print and pages 111-114 describe a
literacy corner for exploring letters.)
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Shared Reading of the
Alphabet Chart
Click on the above
link to download a list of alternatives for
reading the ABC chart. This develops stronger
perception and encourages children to take a
more critical look at the letters of the
alphabet. Mount your chart on vellum, laminate
and keep it handy near your shared reading area.
Purpose: To provide
children with a special set of cues that can be
used during reading and writing activities.
Materials: Use a
large ABC chart for shared reading in the group.
Reduce the chart (or download the
Alphabet Chart
from this page) and place a
copy in each child's writing folder to be used
as a personal resource during journal writing.
Collect a large
variety of quality ABC books to use for read-alouds
and shared reading. Read one a day, particularly
at the beginning of the year. Cover some of the
letters with Post-its and ask children for
predictions before removing the stickers. Share
a variety of ABC books with your child or group
to promote flexible knowledge about letters and
sounds.
A student-generated
big book of the Alphabet with letters and
picture cues may also be used for shared reading
activities.
Procedures: Gather
the children around or in front of the large ABC
Chart. Point to each letter (upper and lower
case) and each picture and you lead the children
in a shared reading of the chart. Read the
letters fluently and pause at appropriate points
to allow the children to lead the reading of the
letters or to say the pictured cues. Read the
chart daily until your child or group is able to
read the chart independently. The chart soon
becomes a familiar resource for associating
letter and sound cues during reading and writing
events.
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Let's Deal!
(Alphabetizing Flash Cards)
My first grade team had a flexible way
of having their students practice
alphabetical order. We purchased
multiple sets of colorful sight word
flash cards that are produced by several
publishers. The picture is on one side
and the word on the other. (We laminated
them for durability.) Each child was
given 5-10 cards each day to alphabetize
as part of their daily seatwork during
reading groups. It was a good way to
practice alphabetizing while reinforcing
sight word vocabulary at the same time.
You can differentiate the activity by
raising the bar for some students with
alphabetizing to the second and third
letter. Struggling students or children
with poor fine motor skills only had 5
cards each day and none began with the
same letter. We encouraged the children
to look at the alphabet line on their
desks or the one on the wall. Before
they copied the words onto a paper, they
had a predetermined buddy/parent helper,
etc. check them. It was painless that
way since they could just rearrange the
cards if needed. It can be used as a
portable center since they can do it on
the floor or on the top of their desks.
Some teachers sort the cards into 3
groups and put them into color coded,
numbered envelopes. It's easy to keep
track of who completes each envelope.
Just copy a class or group list and put
it on the front of the envelope. Kids
can circle or check their name upon
completion. It's good to have the whole
alphabet in front of them or available
for reference. You'll hear some at-risk
students singing the alphabet song as
they work on this activity! I love it!
This is a good lead-in to using the
dictionary. If your kids have personal
writing dictionaries, have them add new
words during your guided reading or
skill lessons. Ask them where they will
find the first letter of the word: at
the beginning, middle, or end of the
alphabet and refer to your alphabet
chart. This will quickly eliminate
turning countless pages while looking
for the right letter!
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My Little Book of
Words for Writing
This is a handy little reference book
that is meant to support early and
emergent readers and writers. It
contains Dr. Edward Fry's first three
hundred high frequency words. Each
letter of the alphabet has its own page
with a colorful graphic that serves as
an anchor for the sound. I would suggest
laminating the cover and then binding
the book at the top.
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Ways of Learning
the Alphabet
Check Linda Dorn's book, Apprenticeship in
Literacy, page 93, for a discussion of looking
at letters and concrete suggestions which
include looking at:
The name of the letter
Show your child a
letter card and ask him/her to tell you the name
of the letter.
The way the letter looks
Talk about the shape of the letter. What is the
composition of the letter . . . circles, sticks,
tails, etc.?
The sound the letter makes
Show your child a letter card and ask him/her to
make the sound that the letter produces.
Remember that each vowel makes two sounds.
The feel and look of the
letter in our mouths (look in a mirror)
Focus on the pronunciation of the letter and the
production of the sound. Where is the tongue,
and what is it doing? Where are your teeth? (It
helps to look in a mirror for this exercise.) I
purchased a round makeup mirror with a stand at
the local drugstore for this purpose. It was
easy for children to handle, easy to store and
the magnified side is great.
The movement of the letter
as it is written (talk it through in steps)
Talk through the method of producing the
letter in printed form.
A word or anchor that
children associate with the letter
Example: A, a, apple gives children an
anchor to use as a memory tool.
The way the letter looks within a word
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Mrs. Word Bird
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(Lyric: Cherry Carl Tune: Its a Small
World")
Mrs. Word
Bird wants to eat.
Fill her tummy with a treat.
Look for pictures here and there
Under every chair!
Look for
bathtub and bacon and butterfly,
Youll find baby and books if you
really try.
There is block, boat and bee,
This is fun youll agree.
If youll find just one for B.
Variation: other
verses to follow for other letter sounds.
Reproducible Copy with
Picture
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Alphabet Activities and Worksheets
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The following
database has alphabet matching worksheets,
poetry, songs and shape books. "Where's
That Sound?" addresses phonemic awareness
skills and listening for the location of the
specific sound. When you print these out, change
your printer setting to grayscale and
draft and then change the copier to the
lightest setting so that you get a good copy for
the children to color, while conserving your
ink.
I have added colorful
picture books for you to reproduce on
vellum, laminate and bind for whole group or
independent reading. There are new
Student Reading Books
that are good for phonemic awareness and
learning a few basic sight words. These are also
available in a separate database on
Little Book Lane,
which makes them easier to locate.
I have most of the "Pictures
for Sorts and Stuff." I'm in the process
of adding words to each database.
I'm also working on
Word Wheels for
each letter. These are self-checking and
reproducible in color for a center activity.
New to this section is the
handwriting practice sheets. I've also
added Workmats for
each letter sound. Print them on vellum and
laminate for durability. Use for tracing
practice, building letters with clay and other
manipulatives. Hope you enjoy them!
Another new item is
Following Directions sheets and
Match and Color for
each sound. My sister worked with a special day
four and five year old class last summer and
asked for some new things. That's where the idea
for Workmats and Following Directions came from.
Please note that this
section is not finished. I've been working on
adding to "Word Way" and will try to spend more
time on this page in the future. I hope to have
at least 15 activities for each letter and
sound. If there's something you need right away,
let me know at
carl1404@msn.com
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ABC Books
for Beginning Readers
Awesome
Alphabet Links
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Animal Food
Recipe Link:
http://members.tripod.com/AngieCooks/kids/AnimalFood.html
Astronaut
Pudding Recipe Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe157.html
Ants on a Log
Recipe Link:
http://www.weekiwis.com/ants.html
Ants in the
Sand Recipe Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/00/rec0060.html
Link to
Literactive Aa handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_05.pdf
Link to Animal
Fair Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/animalfair.htm
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Banana Bumpy Recipe Link:
http://www.abc.net.au/children/play/make/recipes/banbumpy.htm
Bugs and Dirt Recipe Link:
http://chefmom.myria.com/recipebox/recipes/824.htm
Link to Literactive Bb
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_06.pdf
Link to Baa, Baa,
Black Sheep Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/animalfair.htm
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Peanut Butter Clay Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/peanut-butter-clay1.html
Peanut Butter Caterpillars
Recipe Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/pb-caterpillars1.html
Link to Literactive Cc
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_07.pdf |
Dandy Candy Whirl Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe13.html
Dirt Cups Recipe Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/dirt-cups1.html
Link to Literactive Ee
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_08.pdf
Link to Diddle, Diddle,
Dumpling Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/My_Son_John.html
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Link to Literactive Ee
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_09.pd
Link to Eeney, Meeney, Miney,
Moe Poem:
http://www.smart-central.com/eeney.htm
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Flutternutter Recipe Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe134.html
Face Crackers Recipe Link:
http://www.abc.net.au/children/play/make/recipes/facecrackers.htm
Link to Literactive Ff
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_10.pdf
Link to Five Little Speckled
Frogs:
http://www.smart-central.com/frogs.htm
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Link to Literactive Gg
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_11.pdf
Link to Go In and Out the
Window Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/goinandout.htm
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Honey Crispies Recipe Link:
http://chefmom.myria.com/recipebox/recipes/823.htm
Link to Literactive Hh
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_12.pdf
Link to Hokey Pokey
Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/hokey.htm
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Link to Humpty Dumpty
Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/humpty_dumpty.htm
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Link to Hot Cross Buns
Song: http://www.smart-central.com/hotcross.htm
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Link to Literactive Ii
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_13.pdf
Link to If You're Happy and
You Know It:
http://www.smart-central.com/ifyourehappy.htm
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Link to Literactive Jj
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_14.pdf
Link to jack and Jill Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/Jack_and_Jill.html
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Link to Literactive Kk
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_15.pdf |
Link to Literactive Ll
Handwriting Font:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_16.pdf
Link to Looby Loo Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/looby.htm
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Link to Literactive Mm
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_17.pdf
Link to the Muffin Man Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/muffinman.htm
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Link to Literactive Nn
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_18.pdf |
Link to Literactive Oo
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_19.pdf
Link to Oh, Dear, What Can
the Matter Be Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/ohdear.htm
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Playdough (Edible) Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/edible-play-dough1.html
Link to Literactive Pp
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_20.pdf
Link to Paw Paw Patch Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/pawpaw.htm
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Link to Polly Wolly Doodle
Song: http://www.smart-central.com/pollywolly.htmŻŻ
Link to Pease Porridge Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/pease.htmŻŻ |
Quick Snack Recipe Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe80.html
Link to Literactive Qq
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_21.pdf
Link to The Queen of Hearts:
http://www.smart-central.com/queenofhearts.htm |
Rudolph Sandwiches Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/00/rec0075.html
Link to Literactive Rr
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_22.pdf
Link to Row Your Boat Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/RowRow.htm
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Cinnamon Snails Recipe Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe163.html
(You'd have to make these at home before school, but
they're too good to believe. The kids love them!)
Spider Pretzels Recipe Link:
http://www.weekiwis.com/spider.html
Link to Literactive Ss
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_23.pdf
Link to Sing a Song of
Sixpence Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/Sing_Song_Sixpence.html
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Teddy Bear Sundaes Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/teddy-bear-sundaes1.html
Peanut Butter Turtles Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/kids/00/rec0015.html
Link to Literactive Tt
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_24.pdf
Link to Twinkle, Twinkle
Song:
http://www.smart-central.com/TwinkleStar.htm
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Link to Literactive Uu
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_25.pdf |
Link to Literactive Vv
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_26.pdf |
Walking Safari Salad Recipe
Link:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe168.html
Link to Literactive Ww
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_27.pdf
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Link to Literactive Xx
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_28.pdf |
Link to Literactive Yy
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_29.pdf |
Link to Literactive Zz
Handwriting:
http://www.literactive.com/Download/work_files/ABC_US_30.pdf
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Link to alphabet PowerPoint:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/alphabet.ppt#1 |
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Alphabet Shape Books
(Directions)
We use these with our K-1 groups
to reinforce the letter names and beginning sounds. Here's
how I use them: I run enough for each child in my group,
fold them in half, and staple one or two folded sheets of
blank paper behind each cover, and cut around the graphic.
They can write and illustrate the words in their shape books
or find pictures in magazines. With my K-1 group I have
assorted letter books from a variety of publishers. Reading
these reinforces phonemic awareness, as well as building
vocabulary. This also gives the children the opportunity to
copy the corresponding word to go with their pictures.
Emergent writers will need to dictate the words to the
teacher or a parent volunteer. It has been suggested that
teachers and parents leave out the "is for" when reading the
title of the books and the pages within. "A is for apple"
becomes "A a apple." Children are more apt to develop an
"anchor" for the letter this way.
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Click on the following site to link to other excellent
sites for teachers:
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/perl/rankem.pcgi?id=ccarl
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