Phonics, Alphabet
and Handwriting
Guide
Sounds: s, a, t, p
s
Action: weave hand in an s shape, like a snake, and say ssssss
Writing the letter:
s - snake
Curl round and round to draw the snake and back out we go
a
Action: Wiggle fingers above elbow as if ants crawling on you
and say a, a, a
Writing the letter:
a - apple
Right around the apple, down the stem and flick.
t
Action: turn head from side to side as if watching tennis
and say t, t, t
Writing the letter:
t - tree
Down the tree and around the roots, don’t forget to cross the
branches
p
Action: Pretend to puff out candles and say p, p, p
Writing the letter:
P - Polly pirate
From the parrot, down her plait, up her plait,
round her head and out.
Sounds: i, m, n, d
i
Action: Pretend to be a mouse by wriggling fingers at end of nose
and squeak i, i, i
Writing the letter:
i - insect
Down his body, round his tail, off with the pen and dot on his
head
m
Action: Rub tummy as if seeing tasty food and say mmmmmm
Writing the letter:
m - Maisie’s mountains
From her head to her toes, up and over the mountain, over
the other mountain and flick
n
Action: Make a noise, as if you are a plane, hold arms out
and say nnnnnn
Writing the letter:
n - Neil and his net
From his head to his toes, up, over his net and flick
d
Action: Beat hands up and down as if playing a drum
and say d, d, d, d
Writing the letter:
d - dinosaur
Round his back, up his neck, all the way down and
flick
Sounds: g, o, c, k
g
Action: Spiral hand down, as if water going down the drain
and say g, g, g
Writing the letter:
g - girl
Round her face, down her hair and don’t forget the curl
o
Action: Pretend to turn light switch on and off and say
o, o, o, o
Writing the letter:
orange, all around the orange and out
c/k/ck
Action: raise your hands and snap your fingers
together, as if you are playing castanets
and say ck, ck, ck
Writing the letter:
c - caterpillar
Curl around the caterpillar
Writing the letter:
k - kangaroo
From his head to his feet, up round his tummy,
kick out his leg and flick
Sounds: e, u, r
e
Action: Pretend to tap an egg on the side of a pan and then crack
it into the pan saying eh, eh, eh
Writing the letter:
e - egg
Off with the top, up, around and under the egg
u
Action: Pretend to put up an umbrella and say u, u, u
Writing the letter:
u - umbrella
Down and under, up to the top, down to the
puddle and flick
r
Action: Pretend to be a puppy holding a piece of rag, shake head
from side to side and say rrrrrr
Writing the letter:
r - robot
Down his back, up, over and flick
h
Sounds: h, b, f, l
Action: Hold hand in front of mouth panting as if you are out of
breath and say h, h, h
Writing the letter:
h - horse
Down his head to his hooves, up over his back and
flick
b
Action: Pretend to hit a ball with a bat and say b, b, b
Writing the letter:
b - boot
Down the zip, up the zip, round the toe and back out we go
f
Action: Let hands gently come together as if toy fish deflating,
and say f f f f f f
Writing the letter:
f - flower
Round and down the stem, curl back and draw the
leaves across
l
Action: Pretend to lick a lollipop and say l l l l l l
Writing the letter:
l - leg
Down the long leg and flick
j
Sounds: j, v, w, x
Action: Pretend to be a jelly and wobble, say j,j,j,j,j
Writing the letter:
j - jack-in-the-box
From his head down his body, curl back round his spring, off
with the pen and dot on his head
v
Action: Pretend to drive along in a van and say, v-v-v-v-v-v
Writing the letter:
v - vulture
Down one wing and up the other and flick
w
Action: Blow into your open hands like the wind, say w-w-w-w-w
Writing the letter:
w - worm
Down up down up and flick
X
Action: Pretend you are taking an x-ray with an x-ray gun or
camera and say x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Writing the letter:
x– x-ray
One cross down and then the other and flick
Sounds: y, z, qu
qu
Action: Make a duck’s beak with your hands, and say qu, qu,
qu.
Writing the letter:
q - queen
Round her head, back up to her crown, down her long hair and
flick
y
Action: Pretend to eat yoghurt from a spoon saying, y-y-y-y
Writing the letter:
y - yak
Down one horn, up the other, down and under his chin and
flick
z
Action: Pretend to be a buzzing bee with elbows in and arms
flapping and say z-z-z-z-z-z
Writing the letter:
f - zig-zag
Zig zag zig and flick