As a former kindergarten teacher, learning the alphabet was the first thing I taught every year. Over time, I have collected multiple alphabet activities for primary learners that can be used in whole group, small group, and intervention groups.
Now, with my own preschooler doing distance learning at home, these activities are coming in handy once again. ? I hope that you are able to grab some of these great activities and use them in your classroom with your primary learners. Activity #4 is my preschooler’s favorite. ?
Activity #1 ~ Alphabet Foldable Booklets
These booklets can help your young learners all school year. There are 3 different versions for each letter. You can use them with all of your students, regardless of their academic level. Start with learning just the letters and words that start with that letter. Move onto one sentence per page with the same images. Lastly, students can practice reading two sentences per page with the same images. Students can learn print concepts, identify letter names and sounds, and practice sight words and fluency skills with these foldable booklets.
#2 ~ Alphabet Poster Cards
These posters can be used in two different ways. You can use them as posters in your classroom that students can reference and you can teach from. Also, cut them apart and use them as flashcards in a small group or during an intervention group.
#3 ~ Make a Match
Using a die-cut machine, create 26 pairs of objects and write the uppercase and lowercase of each letter of the alphabet. Students can play in pairs or groups to “make matches”.
Activity #4 ~ Alphabet Printables
My son loves these and this one sheet has it ALL for each letter. Kiddos get to practice writing the letter, both upper and lowercase, distinguishing between the upper and lowercase letter (with daubers), identifying pictures that begin with that letter sound, and finding that letter on a keyboard. So many different ways to practice one letter and it is all on one piece of paper! (Save on serious printing!) ?
#5 ~ Alphabet Crowns
My kinders loved being princes and princesses with their alphabet crowns. Each crown reinforces practice with writing the letter (both upper and lowercase), as well as identifying and writing words that begin with that letter’s sound.
#6 ~ Picture Sorting Mats
Using picture cards that you have on hand, create sorting mats for the letter sounds you are studying. Students will sort pictures that begin (or end) with that particular letter sound. We have a set of Picture Sorting Mats for you!
Activity #7 ~ Roll a Word
Have students sit in a circle. Using the letter sounds you are currently working on, flip over a letter card. You start with the ball and roll it to a student who has to say a word that begins with that sound. They then roll the ball to a new student who says another word and so on. When they can no longer come up with words, move on to a new letter sound. This is a great activity to do outside if weather permits!
#8 ~ Play Dough Mats
What child doesn’t LOVE playing with Playdough?! Work on fine motor skills while teaching your children/students letters of the alphabet. They can form the letters on the mats and then practice writing them underneath. So much fun!!
#9 ~ Alphabet Booklets
Each booklet focuses on one letter of the alphabet. Every no prep booklet has these activities:
- Uppercase and lowercase letter identification
- Letter writing practice (uppercase and lowercase)
- Beginning sound identification (color pictures)
- Letter art decorating
- Writing words that begin with that letter
- Fill in the blank sentences with words beginning with that letter
Activity #10 ~ Magazine or Newspaper Ad Scavenger Hunt
Students will go through old magazines and newspapers, searching for pictures that begin with a given letter sound.
#11 ~ Letter Game Boards
Print out a couple of free game board templates. Fill in the blank spaces with letters that you are working on. Find a die and a couple of cubes or other math manipulative items and students can play a letter identification game.
#12 ~ Letter Matching Clip Strips
Students will match uppercase to lowercase letters with this hands-on activity. You can choose to write the uppercase letters on the clothespins and write the lowercase letters on the sentence strips, or vice versa. I like that this activity involves both letter recognition and fine motor skills for little hands.
Activity #13 ~ Pancake Flip
Cut out 5-10 brown circles and write the letters that you are currently working on in class (may want to do 3-4 circles for each letter). Using a spatula, students “flip” over the circles and say the letter name.
#14 ~ Letter Building STEM
Students can build letters using popsicle sticks. They can then count how many sticks were used to build that letter and record the number.
#15 ~ Alphabet Sensory Tubs
These are best used in a preschool setting. Take a set of magnetic letters and bury them in some kind of sensory substance (sand, rice, water beads, etc.). Students will then have to “search” for the letters and match them to a corresponding sentence strip.
Activity #16 ~ Write and Wipe Puzzles
I let my students each have a set of these. They were able to practice cutting out the puzzle pieces and writing each letter of the alphabet. They kept all of the pieces in an envelope, so it was a center they could do over and over again while practicing the beginning sounds of words.
#17 ~ Alphabet Watches
Students can wear their letters and sounds with these watches. This is just a different version of the crowns for those of you who would rather have your students wear alphabet practice around their wrists instead of their heads. They can “check the time” as they practice identifying the letter name and then pictures/words that begin with that particular letter.
#18 ~ Floor Puzzles
I always started the school year off with alphabet floor puzzles as one of my literacy centers. Students were able to practice teamwork and collaboration while learning the letters and sounds of the alphabet. There are so many different kinds of alphabet puzzles out there. You can have long puzzles shaped like a train or rectangular puzzles with the alphabet. Help your students practice social skills, phonics, fine motor, and spatial relationships with this activity.
Activity #19 ~ Digital Alphabet Activities
For those of you who are teaching virtually or parents who prefer not to print out a lot of papers at home, I recommend using digital alphabet activities. This bundle includes alliterations, keyboarding practice, and beginning sound hunts. Your students or children will be engaged for hours with these alphabet practice activities.
#20 ~ Paper Tube Alphabet Match
This alphabet activity idea is so cool! We have more than enough toilet paper and paper towel tubes laying around. Why not repurpose them as an alphabet activity?! Write different letters of the alphabet around the tube and then corresponding letters on circle stickers (as an extension, you could write either uppercase or lowercase letters to match).
#21 ~ Alphabet Dot Art
Students get to work on fine motor, letter recognition (of different fonts), and letter/sound correlation with this activity. Students can use the dot-art piece to dab a Q-tip in paint and “dot” the image. They then cut out the pictures of objects that begin with that letter and glue them onto the different font representations of that letter. It is a fun activity for little learners!
Activity#22 ~ Alphabet Animals
My son and I did these free animal alphabet printables last year! After creating each one, I glued it onto a piece of construction paper and we turned all of the animal pictures into a book. It is one that he likes to “read” to me from time to time. ? Get these free printables at LearnCreateLove.com.
#23 ~ Alphabetical Order Mats
Do you have some students who need to take their alphabet knowledge a step further? Try these alphabetical order mats. They are categorized by different themes and include 10 words per mat. Students can manipulate the word cards on the mat to put them in alphabetical order. I always give my students a sentence strip with the alphabet when they first start, so they have a visual of alphabetical order.
These alphabet activities for primary learners were a cornerstone of my teaching when I was in the kinder classroom. Now, I find myself using these tried and true activities again with my preschooler and his friends. If you have any best-loved alphabet activities for primary learners that you use every year, please share them in the comments below. ?? I would love to hear them, and try them out with my little guy.
Written by: Janessa Bailey-Fletcher
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