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How to Teach the Alphabet

How to Teach the Alphabet with the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.

If you have been part of my learning community for a while, you know that I am all about making learning fun and engaging. I am extremely passionate about giving children a love for learning and a solid educational foundation. The alphabet is one of my favorite things to teach children. I love when everything clicks together and I see them go from identifying letters, to letters sounds, to reading. It truly makes my teacher heart happy.

I know that teaching the alphabet and reading can be stressful and overwhelming for teachers, students, and parents. It’s hard to know where to start, and what materials to use to engage different learners. I have been able to help so many teachers learn how to teach letters and engage their littles with my Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum. It has everything you need in one place to teach letters and phonics. It is critical that children properly learn letters, letter sounds, and phonemic / phonological awareness to have a solid foundation for reading.

The Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum is packed with guided lesson plans, hands-on activities and centers, art projects, science and sensory experiments to help your students master the alphabet. It is a 26 week program that goes from letter recognition and identification to letter sound correspondence and letter writing.  Your students are going to love these alphabet activities for preschoolers and kindergarten.

Fun Letters & Phonics Alphabet Curriculum! Great for Preschool, Kindergarten and RTI. Guided lesson plans, activities and printables included! This alphabet curriculum makes teaching fun and easy!

What’s Included in the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum

  • Detailed Calendar with pictures and text
  • Scripted Lesson Plans
  • Assessments for each letter
  • Circle Time / Large Group Instruction (Guided Practice)
  • Table Time / Small Group Instruction (Guided Practice)
  • Letter Identification Center with 6 Different Activities (Independent Practice)
  • Letter Formation Center with 6 Different Activities (Independent Practice)
  • Writing Center with 6 Different Activities (Independent Practice)
  • Letter Sounds / Phonics Center with 6 Different Activities (Independent Practice)
  • Early Finishers Extra Activities with 6 Different Activities (Independent Practice)
  • Large Group / Games (Applied Practice)
  • Art Projects / Art Center (Applied Practice)
  • Science and Sensory Projects (Applied Practice)

How Letters are Introduced to Teach the Alphabet

I teach letters and letter-sound correspondence simultaneously to help children start reading as soon as possible. I start by teaching letters that occur most frequently in simple words, such as a, t, s, m. Letters that look alike and have similar sounds are separated to avoid confusion.

This is a 26 week curriculum with one letter introduced each week. This can easily be altered if you would like to introduce more than one per week. I have several students who can easily learn 2-3 new letters per week. By starting with one letter per week, it gives you the flexibility to move at the pace your class needs instead of rushing through the alphabet. It’s important that we focus on mastering letters and phonics to build a solid foundation.

Letters: Scope and Sequence to Teach the Alphabet

Here is the order in which letters are introduced in this curriculum (you can alter to fit your needs):

A, T, S, M, D, I, F, R, P, O, N, L, E, C, U, G, H, V, B, K, W, X, Y, Z, J, Q

Here’s a Peek at SOME of the Activities in the Letters & Phonics Alphabet Curriculum:

Calendar

This curriculum includes a detailed calendar with pictures and text. This is a large file since it is a 26 week program. I prefer to print the calendar and have it spiral bound so I can easily see the lessons and materials needed. If you prefer not to print this document, you can easily pull it up on your computer or tablet to refer to each lesson.

Circle Time

Circle time  is included every day with the same activities. It’s a great way to start off the day with children and prepare them for what they will be learning throughout the day. Each day includes a book and song that focuses on the letter we’re learning that week.

How to Teach the Alphabet with guided lesson plans, hands-on activities, centers, assessments, art projects, science, and more! Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.

Small Group Instruction

Now that you have warmed everyone up and introduced the letter during circle time, it’s time to work with smaller groups. This allows you to differentiate your students based on their individual needs and tailor the instruction to them. Small Group Instruction is where you will use the Guided Lessons to reinforce letters and their sounds. The students will work in their workbook and complete hands-on activities.

Guided Lessons

This curriculum includes detailed guided lesson plans for easy instruction. These lessons cover letter and sound recognition, making connections with the letter, and writing uppercase and lowercase letters. These lessons include scripted instructions on what to say as you introduce each letter / sound. For example, “This is the letter B. It is called uppercase B or capital B. It makes the sound /b/…”

The scripted lesson helps teachers, substitute teachers, and parents know EXACTLY what and how to teach. That can be one of the most overwhelming things for people. The scripts are there if you need them. You can also use them as a guide on what to teach, but use the language and way that works best for you.

  How to Teach the Alphabet with guided lesson plans, hands-on activities, centers, assessments, art projects, science, and more! Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.

Student Workbook

Children will work in their workbook each week. There is one page for each uppercase letter and one page for each lowercase letter.

Student workbook for letter identification, letter writing, and beginning sound correspondence. Included in our Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.

Learning Letters Hands on Activities

During guided instruction, children will work in the learning letters binder. This will help them to reinforce the skills you are targeting. There are six activities for each letter. I prefer to store these activities in page protectors in a binder. You could easily print on card stock or laminate the pages.

How to Teach the Alphabet. Fun guided lessons, hands-on activities, art projects, science and more! Letters and Phonics Literacy Curriculum for preschool and kindergarten.    How to Teach the Alphabet. Fun guided lessons, hands-on activities, art projects, science and more! Letters and Phonics Literacy Curriculum for preschool and kindergarten.

Letters and Phonics Centers

This curriculum has 4 center stations included with six activities per center. The centers are broken down by skill taught: Letter Identification Center, Letter Formation Center, Letter Writing Center, and Letter Sound / Phonics Center. The hands-on activities included in each center keep children engaged and learning. You have to make learning fun to get kids excited and wanting to learn. That’s what this entire curriculum does.

Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum lesson plans. Detailed calendar with circle time, lesson plans, small group instruction, centers, activities, art projects, science experiments, and assessments.

Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum lesson plans. Detailed calendar with circle time, lesson plans, small group instruction, centers, activities, art projects, science experiments, and assessments.

Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum lesson plans. Detailed calendar with circle time, lesson plans, small group instruction, centers, activities, art projects, science experiments, and assessments.

Letter Identification Center

There are 6 activities included in this center to master letter recognition and identification.

Letter Recognition and Letter Identification hands-on activity. Perfect for mastering uppercase and lowercase letters in preschool and kindergarten.    Letter Recognition and Letter Identification hands-on activity. Perfect for mastering uppercase and lowercase letters in preschool and kindergarten.

Letter Recognition and Letter Identification hands-on activity. Perfect for mastering uppercase and lowercase letters in preschool and kindergarten.    Letter Recognition and Letter Identification hands-on activity. Perfect for mastering uppercase and lowercase letters in preschool and kindergarten.

Letter Formation Center

There are 6 activities included in this center to master proper letter formation.

Letter Formation Activities for learning the alphabet. Fun center activity for preschool and kindergarten.    Letter Formation Activities for learning the alphabet. Fun center activity for preschool and kindergarten.

Letter Formation Activities for learning the alphabet. Fun center activity for preschool and kindergarten.    Letter Formation Activities for learning the alphabet. Fun center activity for preschool and kindergarten.

Letter Writing Center

There are 6 activities included in this center to master writing uppercase and lowercase letters.

Alphabet Writing Practice hands on activity for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.    Alphabet Writing Practice hands on activity for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.

Alphabet Writing Practice hands on activity for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.    Alphabet Writing Practice hands on activity for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.

Letter Sound / Phonics Center

There are 6 activities included in this center to master letter-sound correspondence and beginning sounds.

Fun hands on activity for learning beginning sounds and letters sound correspondence. Phonics center for preschool and kindergarten.    Fun hands on activity for learning beginning sounds and letters sound correspondence. Phonics center for preschool and kindergarten.

Fun hands on activity for learning beginning sounds and letters sound correspondence. Phonics center for preschool and kindergarten.    Fun hands on activity for learning beginning sounds and letters sound correspondence. Phonics center for preschool and kindergarten.

Early Finishers / Extra Activities

Six extra activities are included for you to use as needed. These are great for children who finish centers early or for those who need additional intervention. There are four no prep worksheets that you can also send as homework.

Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum center activity. Letter Sound Find and Match hands on activity for letter identification and letter sounds.    Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum center activity. Letters and Phonics Write the Room hands on activity for letter identification and letter sounds.

Alphabet Flip Book activity for learning letter identification and letter sounds. Fun cut and paste no prep printable for preschool and kindergarten.    Dab-a-Dot Letters Alphabet Activity for learning letter identification, letter formation, and writing. Perfect no prep printable for preschool and kindergarten.

Mystery Letter Pictures alphabet activity for learning letter identification, beginning sounds and fine motor skills. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.    Sort It Letter Sound Correspondence activity for learning beginning sounds. Perfect no prep printable for preschool and kindergarten.

Large Group / Games

Children love doing activities with the entire class. This curriculum has two activities that you can do as whole group or small group. They allow children to apply the alphabet skills they have been learning.

Alphabet and Phonics Bingo game for letter identification and letter sound correspondence. Fun game to play as whole group or small group in preschool and kindergarten.    Letter Detectives Pocket Chart game for letter identification, beginning sounds, and letter sound correspondence. Fun game to play as whole group or small group in preschool and kindergarten.

Art Projects / Art Center

Children absolutely love art time. It’s a great way for them to have fun while being creative. Three different art projects for each letter are included each week.

Fun alphabet art projects. The Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum includes 3 different art projects to reinforce letters.

Science and Sensory Projects

STEM is so important in the classroom. Even when teaching letters, we try to use STEM activities whenever we can. When I teach the alphabet, I love to use science experiments and sensory bins. It helps bring learning to life and children love it. This Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum includes one experiment or sensory bin per letter.

Fun Glitter Goop Sensory Bin activity. Included in the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.     Fun Sensory Art Project activity. Included in the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.

Fun Foam Paint Sensory Art Project activity. Included in the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.     Fun Spaghetti Sensory Bin Art Project activity. Included in the Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum.

Assessments

I know that assessments are usually a teacher’s least favorite thing to do. I get it. It is hard to make them fun. I have tried to make the assessments as painless as possible while allowing you to gather the information you need. There is one assessment per letter in this curriculum. They are in the calendar at the end of each week. It covers uppercase and lowercase letter identification, letter writing, and letter sound correspondence. Everything children need to know for a solid reading foundation.

Providing one assessment per letter allows you to ensure your students have mastered the letter before moving on to the next. This gives you the ability to do intervention as needed.

Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum Assessment. This covers letter identification, letter writing, and letter sound correspondence for uppercase and lowercase letters.

Other Things to Know About this Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum

Customize to Your Needs

This curriculum focuses on one letter per week. I have found that to work best for me. Some teachers prefer to teach more than one letter per week. That is okay too. The great thing about this curriculum is that it is designed for you to use as you need. If your students are moving through the lessons fast, it may be good to teach more than one letter that week. If you have students who aren’t quite grasping the skills, you can slow it down.

I have the lesson plans set up to teach the letters out of order. Honestly, this is my personal preference for what works best based in my experience and research. If you would like to teach the alphabet in order from A-Z or in any other order, this curriculum allows you to do that.

Quality over Quantity

It is very important for children to master letter identification and letter sounds to have a strong foundation for beginning reading. That is why I teach one letter per week to give ample practice. Please be patient with students as they are learning the alphabet. It can be very difficult for some and others may soar through the lessons. It’s all about making sure each student has a solid foundation before moving them forward. This Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum has additional activities you can use as intervention or to send home for extra practice.

Practice and Review

We always want to make sure that children are retaining and applying what they are learning. It is good practice to include letters that you have previously learned into your center rotations so children can continue to practice them. The large group games help reinforce retention as well.

Keep it Fun

You all know that I am so passionate about creating a love of learning for children. Activities must be fun and engaging. Changing the learning centers out regularly helps to keep children excited. It also engages their long-term memory to help with retention. Although I have included six activities per center, feel free to use just the ones that you feel will work best for your students.

Questions?

It can be a lot of work and overwhelming to teach the alphabet to children. This Letters and Phonics Alphabet Curriculum truly has everything you need to teach the alphabet successfully. Children will gain a solid foundation and understanding of letters and phonics to prepare them for beginning reading. If you have any questions about this curriculum, please reach out to me at [email protected]. I’m happy to help in any way I can. We’re in this together! ?


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