1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature

How to Teach the Alphabet
By Jennifer Wagaman
How to Teach the Letter A
Make Your Own Alphabet Book
When teaching students the letters of the alphabet, have them create their own
alphabet book that they can add pages to as they learn each subsequent letter.
Whether you teach the letters in order or not, you can have the students collect each
letter in their own learning book. Having a selection of metal clasp rings will hold the
pages together and provide an easy means for adding pages as you go. If you do a half
page size book, two rings should suffice. If you have the students put together a full
page book, it may be best to use three rings to hold the pages together.
For the letter A, you can have a print out of the letter A, and have the children each
color their own. You can also have the students draw other pictures of things that begin
with the letter A. Allowing students to draw their own pictures and color the letter A as a
final activity for learning the letter is a great way to reinforce the letter and the sound in
a tactile way.
Snacks to Teach the Letter A
To reinforce the letter A during snack time, serve apples, apple sauce, apple pie or
apple dumplings. You can serve dried apricots as another healthy snack option.
Activities to Teach the Letter A
Teach students the letter A by making a variety of A crafts. Have students decorate the
letter A with glitter. Students can cut out several large bubble letter A‟s and tape them
together to create an A chain decoration for the classroom. You can also begin an
alphabet display in the classroom, and have the letter A displayed. Each additional letter
that you learn can be added to this display. One commonly used display is an alphabet
tree to go along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin and John Archambault.
To teach students how to write the letter A, have paper plates with a small amount of
sand, and have them practice making the letter in the sand with their fingers. They can
also finger paint the letter A. Have different pictures that students can color of things
that begin with the letter A. For example, students can color an Apple and an armadillo.
When teaching about the letter A, have students brainstorm different words they know
that begin with A. Make a list that they can see. You can also have the students play
charades and have students guess which A word the student Is acting out.
How to Teach the Letter B
Teach Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case B
When teaching the letter B, think creatively about ways that will help students remember
not only the sound that the letter makes, but what words begin with B. Having them
manipulate the letter and experience the letter B in various ways will help reinforce their
learning.
Make an Alphabet Book
Add a page to the alphabet book for the letter B. The page for the letter B can have a
large B that students color in, and space for the students to draw other objects that
begin with the letter B.
Snacks that Teach the Letter B
During snack time, have a variety of snacks that begin with the letter B to help reinforce
the letter and sound that B makes. You can have the students eat bananas, bologna
sandwiches, bagels, and other forms of bread. For dessert, you can serve a bunt cake,
or banana pudding. Ask students what other foods begin with the letter B, and see what
different ideas the students can come up with that they like to eat at home. Consider
offering a prize to the student who has the most B letter foods in their lunch.
Activities to Teach the Letter B
Teach students how to write the letter B with sand letters. Pouring a small amount of
sand onto paper plates for students to draw the letter B is a great tactile method to
teach students how to form the letter. Have them practice both the upper and lower
case B in their sand plates.
Have students decorate the letter B to add to the alphabet display in the room, and color
pictures of other various objects that begin with B. Have students make baby dolls by
drawing the shape of a doll on construction paper, and cutting it out. Then they can use
different colors to make clothes. Encourage them to use B colors such as blue and
brown.
To help reinforce the letter B, you can have a B Box with items that students can
discover that start with the letter B. Have them try to guess what other items would be in
the box, and if they can guess something that would be in the box, pull that item out
next. Have fun teaching the letter B and get the students excited about what else they
know that starts with the letter B.
How to Teach the Letter C
Teaching students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case C
The more engaged your students are in the activities relating to the letter you are
teaching them, the better they will remember the letter and how to form the letter. Be
sure to have plenty of hands on activities for the students to manipulate the letter C in
order to get them used to what the letter looks like and sounds like.
Making an Alphabet Book
Have students make an additional page for their alphabet book that displays the letter
C. Coloring in a large bubble letter C and drawing various other objects on the page that
begin with C is a great way to introduce students to the letter, or to sum up your lessons
on the letter. Reward the student who figures out that crayons start with C while working
on this activity.
Snacks that Teach the Letter C
Have healthy carrots for snack time to teach students what foods start with the letter C.
Carrot cake is a yummy dessert that you can serve as well. Candy starts with C as well,
but should be used in moderation. Providing a small piece of candy to each student as a
reward or end of the day treat may be a neat way to reinforce the letter C. You can also
serve corn and any kind of cake. If you have a student with a birthday, you can decorate
the cake and make it a party.
Activities that Teach the Letter C
Teach the letter C with macaroni glued onto a large C shaped drawing. Have students
color pictures of things that start with C and emphasize how each students‟ drawings
must be very colorful, since colors start with C. You can have the students draw their
own cartoons for the letter C. If you have enough adult helpers or a small enough class,
you can go along and help the children add dialogue to their cartoon drawings.
You can also teach a Cinderella lesson, comparing and contrasting various Cinderella
stories. Once you together as a class decide what parts every Cinderella story have (a
main character, a party, etc), have the students create their own Cinderella story. They
will love the opportunity to write their own book.
If you have a cat, you can consider bringing in the cat to the classroom. Keeping the cat
in the carrying cage may be a smart idea in case any students have a cat allergy. You
may also need to send a note home to the parents informing them of the class visitor.
See how many other objects the children can come up with that start with C and see
how many they can act out for the class.
How to Teach the Letter D
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case D
To teach the letter D, consider bringing in your pet dog, if it is well behaved and good
with children. Sometimes a class mascot such as a favorite pet can provide quite a
memory technique for students. Consider having students bring in something of their
own to show and tell about that start with the letter D.
Create an Alphabet Book
Add the letter D to the student‟s alphabet book. If you do this at the end of your show
and tell time, students will have plenty of ideas to draw about that begin with the letter
D. The front and back of the book should be made of construction paper so that there is
a bit of extra sturdiness to the cover.
Snacks that Teach the Letter D
Serve your students Donuts on D day for a sweet dessert. You can also serve
Danishes. If you want to serve something healthy and cannot come up with an idea, use
the word delightful to describe the snack and you will have an immediate D snack!
Delicious apples and delightful raisins can be great snacks to teach the letter D.
Activities that Teach the Letter D
To teach students the letter D, have them practice in sand plates. Drawing the letter D
in the sand will help teach tactile learners what the letter feels like. Be sure to have
them say the sound of D “D says duh” while they draw the letter. They can also draw
the letter D, and decorate the letter D. If you bring in a variety of wrapping paper,
students can decorate a life size D to display in the classroom. Use a cardboard box to
create the stand up D for display.
You can also have the students play dress up to celebrate the letter D. Dresses for the
girls and dress shirts for the boys will have the students dressed up in the letter D. You
can also have the students play the game “d is for divide”. Divide the class up by
category. For example, the class can be divided between those who pack lunch and
those who are buying. They can be divided between boys and girls. Have the students
come up with ways to divide the class.
Be sure to use rich vocabulary words that begin with the letter D when talking to your
students. It is ok to use words like Delve and Divulge even if the students do not know
the words. Use the word in context and then define the word immediately. This is an
excellent way to teach students new vocabulary words, and they may surprise you at
how quickly they pick up on some of the advanced language.
How to Teach the Letter E
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case E
Teach students the letter E with various activities that reinforce the sound that E makes.
Vowels are interesting letters to teach because they make two sounds instead of just
one sound. Teach students this letter with all of your senses through snacks, crafts and
other activities.
Make an Alphabet Book
Have the students add a page in their alphabet book for the letter E. Students should
color in both an upper case and lower case E. They can also have time to draw other
items that start with the letter E such as elephants, eggplant, eggs, elbows and eyes.
Encourage students to be creative as they come up with things to illustrate their E page
for their alphabet book, and then add the page to the growing book. Consider keeping
each student‟s book in the classroom to prevent the book from getting lost before they
complete it.
Snacks that Teach the Letter E
Teach students the letter E through snack time. Have them taste eggplant for a healthy
snack. You can also discuss the variety of methods of cooking eggs and serve some of
those suggestions. For example, you can serve boiled eggs, deviled eggs, and
scrambled eggs. You may want to stay away from eggs over easy and eggs Sunny side
up. Be sure that none of your students have an egg allergy first as well.
Activities that Teach the Letter E
Teach students how to write the letter E with sand letters and rainbow drawing. To have
students‟ rainbow draw, have them choose three or four different color crayons. Then
with one crayon, they can write the letter E. Each subsequent color they can draw over
top of the last color so that the letter turns into a rainbow of colors.
You can also create necklaces with elbow macaroni pieces and beads strung up on a
string. To encourage a reluctant child to make a necklace, you can plant the idea that it
can be a gift for mom. By purchasing large beads and string from a craft store, the
children will be able to make quite a colorful and creative E necklace. Look for some
type of bead that has the letter E on it as well.
Have your students enjoy learning about the letter E by having them guess what word
you are demonstrating. For example, you can Empty a can, and erase the board.
Encourage students to think up as many E words as they can, making it a game to see
how many words they can come up with.
How to Teach the Letter F
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lowercase F
Teaching students the letter F can be fun, fantastic and fabulous! Use as many F words
during your lessons on the letter F. If you have any students whose names begin with F,
have them be the star students of the day or week. Encourage students to find as many
F words as they can.
Adding a Letter to Alphabet Book
The F page for the student‟s book can contain words that begin with F, and both an
upper and lower case F that the students can decorate. Encourage students to make
their F page fun and festive!
Snacks that Teach the Letter F
Have a fiesta for students to enjoy the tastes of the letter F. A fiesta is simply an
elaborate party. Decorate with streamers and balloons, and if you have the space, hang
a piñata. Serve fried macaroni and cheese for an interesting twist of a favorite childhood
food. French Fries are another favorite F food, and for a festive flair, consider having a
bowl of cheese dip for students to dip their French fries in. For a healthier snack, you
can serve gold fish and fruit. Ask students to name other foods that they enjoy that
begin with the letter F.
Activities that Teach the Letter F
Have students make and play with Flubber on Fabulous F day. To make Flubber, you
will need to mix ¾ cup water, a cup of Elmer‟s glue, and a few drops of food coloring.
Mix well, and then add two teaspoons of Borax and another half cup of water. Have
students play with the mixture and answer questions such as: does it stretch? Can you
pour it? Can you roll it into a ball? Encourage students to be scientists and to observe
everything they can about Flubber.
Teach concepts that begin with the letter F such as friendship and fellowship. Have
students demonstrate what a good friend acts like, and how friends should never treat
each other. Ask students to come up with examples of when people are in fellowship.
Use the opportunity to teach students how to avoid a fight, and how to help someone
who is fearful. Have students demonstrate what “funny” would look like.
How to Teach the Letter G
Teach Students to Identify the Upper and Lowercase G
Teach the letter G with an alphabet book page, dirt dessert and sand trays. The more
creative you are with your G lessons, the better your students will remember the letter
and its sounds. Be sure to teach both the hard and soft G sound.
Making an Alphabet Book
Through your studies of the letters of the Alphabet, the students should be putting
together an alphabet book of their own. Each page illustrates one letter. The page for
the letter G should include a Giant capital and lower case letter G that the student can
decorate with glitter. Glitter can make a big mess and is very difficult to clean up, but
students love the glitter effect on paper.
Foods that Teach the Letter G
Teach the letter G with great snacks. Gummy bears are a favorite treat, as are gummy
worms and other gummy candies. To make a great Gummy dessert, make the worms in
dirt dessert.
For healthier snack choices, you can serve grapes and grape fruit. Students will most
likely not like the grape fruit, so be prepared to add sugar or honey. Grape tomatoes
can be another great healthy snack.
Activities that Teach the Letter G
Teach students to write the letter G with sand plates. Pass out paper plates to each
student. Purchase plates that have a ridge around the edge, if possible, to contain the
sand. You can also put newspaper down to help clean up. Pour a small amount of sand
on each plate, and have the students draw the letter in the sand. As the students draw
the letter, they should say “G says Guh”. Teach them both the hard and soft sound of
the letter G with words like guitar and genius.
Teach the letter G through snack time and crafts. The more involved the students are in
the learning process, the better they will remember the sounds that G makes. Have
them come up with examples of words that use both the hard G sound and the soft G
sound.
How to Teach the Letter H
Teach Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case H
The letter H can be taught with both snacks and crafts. You can also revise your
classroom management plan by having helping hands to pass out to those students
who are following the rules and helping out in class. The child with the most helping
hands at the end of each day can receive a special prize, such as a pencil or a piece of
candy.
Alphabet Book for Children
For the letter H, have them draw a happy face on the capital and lower case letter. They
can also draw hippos, hearts and horns. Have them trace their hand on the page for a
background and place the letters in the palm. The other objects that they draw can go
either in the fingers or outside the tracing of the hand.
Snacks to Teach the Letter H
Give your students snacks to reinforce the letter H. Some ideas include hot dogs and
hamburgers. If you have access to a microwave, making the children hot dogs for lunch
can be a relatively cheap idea that will be sure to thrill each child. You can also serve
healthy snacks by taking any fruit or vegetable and serving it as a happy healthy snack.
Activities to Teach the Letter H
Have students create a helping hand card. This is a particularly great craft for students
to make for Mother‟s Day, Father‟s Day or another gift giving holiday. On various colors
of construction paper, children should trace their hand and cut the drawings out. On
each hand cutout the children can draw or you can write for them, various helping
hands activities such as cleaning up, helping with the dishes, and taking out the trash.
These hand cutouts can then be stapled together, and given as a helping hand gift to
either mom or dad.
Help students learn the proper way to write both the capitol and lower case letter H. See
how many words students can come up with that begin with the letter H as well. You
can also have an H scavenger hunt to see how many words the students can find the
letter H in. This can include words that begin with H, and words that have an h in the
middle such as clothes.
How to Teach the Letter I
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case I
Encourage students to use their imagination and have fun inventing things while
teaching the letter I. Hold a contest during the letter I lessons to see who can invent the
greatest game or the most unique story. The students who use the most I words in their
stories and games can win a prize.
Alphabet Book for Students
Have students add a page to their alphabet book for the letter I. Encourage students to
make the letter I out of something that starts with the letter I. For example, an I shaped
igloo or Ice cube. Ask students to share their creative ideas with the entire class. Tell
students that they are using their imagination to create these fancy letters and that
starts with I too!
Snacks that Teach the Letter I
If it happened to snow before teaching this letter, consider making homemade snow ice
cream. In order to do this, you need to have two large bowls, sugar, vanilla, milk and a
spoon. Go outside and collect a large amount of clean snow. You will need to do this
several times before each child has a small amount of ice cream, if you have a large
class.
Mix a little milk in to make the snow the right consistency for ice cream. Add a small
amount of vanilla (a teaspoon will be more than enough) and sugar to taste. If you add
more snow, it will thicken the ice cream. Dish into bowls and enjoy.
Activities that Teach the Letter I
Purchase sugar cubes to make igloos. Read An Igloo on the Lake: A Woodland Fantasy
for Those Who Love Secrets of the Forests by Marian Moore Lewis [Trafford Publishing
2006] and look carefully at the pictures of the igloos. Depending on the number of sugar
cubes you were able to acquire, you may need to team your students up. With white
glue, have students build an igloo on a piece of cardboard. As a final touch, they can
use a paint brush and paint to add the letter I to the side of the igloo.
Another great book you can read is Imagine, by Alison Lester [Houghton Mifflin/Walter
Lorraine Books, 1993]. Encourage students to use their imaginations while reading this
book, and have them participate in some more imaginary fun after having read the
book. See how creative your students can be in coming up with an imaginary world.
Remember to spend time teaching students how to write the upper and lower case letter
I as well. Sand plates are a great way to reinforce both the proper way to form the
letters as well as the proper way to say both the long and short I sound.
How to Teach the Letter J
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case J
Teach students the letter J through various activities and snacks that begin with the
letter J. Students will love the ability to move around the classroom and act out the
various things that begin with J such as joker, jaguar and jiggle. Encourage students to
identify other objects in the classroom that begin with the letter J.
Alphabet Book to Teach the Letter J
Teach students how to write the upper and lower case letter J with sand plates before
having them make their J page for their alphabet book. Pouring a small amount of sand
in a paper plate and having them practice drawing the letter with their finger while
saying the sound that the J makes. Students whose name begins with J can receive a
special J prize, which can be a simple letter J sticker or other letter J item. See how
many creative ideas students can come up with that begin with J to draw on their
alphabet page.
Snacks that Teach the Letter J
Serve your students Jell-O for the letter J. To make this snack healthier, you can add a
can of mixed fruit to the Jell-O mix before you put it in the refrigerator so that the fruit
suspends in the Jell-O as it congeals. You can also serve juice to drink, and juicy fruit
candies. As a twist on the Jell-O snack, you can make Jell-O Pops by filling ice cube
trays with the jell-o mixture and sticking a pop-sickle stick in as it congeals enough to
hold the stick upright. Children will love this fun snack on a stick.
Activities that Teach the Letter J
Teach students the letter J with paper bag jester puppets. Read The Jester has Lost His
Jingle by David Saltzman [Jester Books, 1995]. Talk about what a Jester is, and that
each of them will be making their own jester puppet. With a small paper bag for each
student and a variety of crafty items, your children will have a blast creating their very
own jester. Construction paper cut outs for the various outfit decorations as well as
cotton balls and glitter are a few ideas for puppet making decorations.
The more creative you are with your letter lessons, the more excited children will be
about learning each new letter. Make the letter J a jolly set of lessons that will have the
students practicing their J‟s long after you are finished learning them.
How to Teach the Letter K
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case K
Do not be afraid to get a little messy as you explore various things that begin with K.
Ask students to help you come up with other words that begin with K, and make a list for
them to see.
Homemade Alphabet Book
The letter K can be illustrated with kites, kangaroos, and other items that begin with K.
Have students practice writing the letter K before having them draw the page, or have a
print out of a large K for them to decorate.
Snacks that Teach the Letter K
Serve Kiwi fruit for a healthy snack to teach the letter K. You may only want to serve a
small amount of this little fruit because it can be expensive and many children may not
like it because of its strong flavor. You can also serve kettle corn. Children will most
likely love this sweet treat that looks like regular popcorn.
Activities that Teach the Letter K
Have students make their very own kites for the letter K. With a bit of string,
construction paper and crayons, students will be able to make a makeshift kite that is
unique to them. Teach students how to draw and cut out a diamond shape in a single
piece of construction paper. Now with crayons and stickers, allow students to decorate
their kites. Tape a piece of string to one end of the kite for students to fly the kite around
the classroom.
You can also have students create a keepsake box. To do this, you will need to go to a
craft store, and purchase a small box for each student. They are made of basic wood
and will often have a hinge on the lid. Purchase small paints for students to share, and
letter stickers.
Pour small amounts of each color paint on a paper plate for students to share as they
decorate their keepsake boxes. Before painting, write each student‟s name on the
bottom of the box. After the paint dries, stick letters on the top of the box that spells
keepsake. Students can collect little treasures to keep in their keepsake box.
As you teach the alphabet, you should be adding a large letter to the alphabet display
on the wall in your classroom. This will remind students what letters they have already
learned, and will give them a visual reminder of what each letter looks like. Have
students continue to practice each letter as they learn new letters, and teach those
words that they can make with combinations of letters that they learn.
How to Teach the Letter L
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case L
When teaching students about the letter L, you can have them sing favorite songs by
replacing the words with the sound “La” to reinforce what sound the letter L makes.
Alphabet Book Page for the Letter L
It is very easy for students to draw the letter L. The lower case letter L is a simple line.
The upper case letter l is two lines together. Be sure to have students write the letter to
touch the line if you are having them write on lined paper. Have students write their own
letter L for the alphabet page. Students can also add drawings of other objects that
begin with the letter L such as light bulb and lightening.
Snacks that Teach the Letter L
Have a taste test for snack time to teach the letter L. Have students tie a bandana
around their eyes to blind fold each other, and then have them taste different foods such
as lemon, lime, and licorice. See if students can correctly identify each food. You can
also have lemon-lime pie, and lemonade to drink.
Activities that Teach the Letter L
Teach the letter L by having students make a lion puppet. Have a lunch bag sized paper
bag for each student. Have orange construction paper for each student, and show them
how to cut out a lion‟s mane by cutting a ragged circle. Glue the circle on the mouth part
of the paper bag, and then cut out eyes, nose, mouth and ears from other colors of
construction paper.
Once the lion face is glued together on the bag, have students use yellow, orange and
brown crayons to color the rest of the bag. Using crayons will help the bag look like hair
like you may see on an actual lion. Allow students to make other puppet creatures, and
put on a puppet show. To make a big show out of it, have students practice their puppet
show and invite parents to come in and watch the production.
How to Teach the Letter M
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case M
Make letter M day a great learning experience for students. Use great vocabulary words
like marvelous and mystical when you interact with the children. Have a prize for the
student who can use the best M word. The prize can be an extra special letter M sticker.
Making an Alphabet Book
Students should add a page to their alphabet book for the letter M. They should practice
both the upper and lower case letter M before writing them on their alphabet page, and
then they should decorate the paper with pictures of other things that start with M. You
can provide Magazines for them to go through and cut out items that start with M to glue
onto their page.
Snacks that Teach the Letter M
Serve mandarin orange salad for a tasty snack on letter M day. This is a super easy
snack to make that will easily serve your entire class. All you need is cool whip, cottage
cheese, mandarin orange slices, crushed pineapple, and orange jell-o mix. Each of
these gets mixed together in a large bowl, after draining the mandarin oranges and
pineapple. If you use low fat versions of each of the ingredients, you will have a healthy
snack to serve as well.
Activities that Teach the Letter M
Many M words are fun to act out. Play charades to see how many ideas the students
can come up with. They can act like monkeys, march around the room, pretend to be
mad, and pay with money. Have foam letter M‟s to hand out as prizes to the students for
coming up with so many M words and being able to guess what each student acted out.
Provide a paper plate for each student to create their very own mask. They can
decorate the mask any way they like, but some ideas for them include tiger stripes,
monkey face, and teddy bear face. Provide various crafty items for them to decorate
any way they like, including colored cotton balls from a craft store, glitter, foam shapes,
and yarn for hair. Encourage students to use crayons as well, and help them cut out
holes for their eyes, nose and mouth. Attach a piece of yarn to either side of the mask
with tape to fix the mask on each child‟s head.
How to Teach the Letter N
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case N
Teach the letter N with notes, noodles and 'Nilla wafers, along with other N activities.
Your students will enjoy learning new songs and coming up with words that begin with
n. Use a variety of vocabulary words that begin with N to teach the children new words.
Make an Alphabet Book
Purchase musical note stamps at your local craft store, and a couple of ink pads.
Students can then decorate their N page for their alphabet book with notes and any
other N stamps that you can find. You can also purchase these stamps online. Have
students either draw or color in a large upper and lower case letter N on their page as
well.
Snacks that Teach the Letter N
Serve „Nilla wafers for letter N day. Although you can also serve noodles, it may be
more fun to make jello notes. Purchase molds for different notes in a local party store
or online. Serve the students the notes and encourage them to come up with other
words that begin with N as they enjoy their snack. As students come up with words that
begin with n, make a list, and give the students an N reward (sticker or foam letter N) for
coming up with a certain number of N words.
Activities that Teach the Letter N
Teach your children all about notes for letter n day. The lessons you can teach
regarding notes include high notes and low notes, fast notes and slow notes, and long
notes and short notes. Have students sing Engine Engine Number Nine for fast and
slow notes, and high and low notes. Sing the song at different speeds to simulate the
train moving at different speeds, and there are higher and lower notes throughout the
song. See if the students can identify which notes are which.
Sing John Jacob Jingle Hymer Schmidt to teach long and short notes. Have students
stand up for the long notes and sit down for the short notes. This also teaches loud and
soft notes as you get quieter with each repeat.
To conclude your lesson on the letter N, have students role play various N words such
as naughty and nice. See if students can help identify the proper way to act and interact
with other students. This is a great opportunity to teach appropriate and inappropriate
behavior.
How to Teach the Letter O
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and lower Case O
Have students practice drawing the letter o with air letters. Make sure that the students
are standing far enough away from each other to not hit each other, and then have them
use their outstretched arm and finger to draw the letter O in the air. As they draw the
letter, they should say “o says aw, O says oh”.
Making an Alphabet Book
Students can decorate their letter O page for their alphabet book any way they like.
Drawing the letter O is relatively easy, and they can choose to fill their page with circles
or draw just one circle and draw pictures of other things that begin with the letter o. If a
student fills the page with o‟s, they can then draw faces and other pictures inside each
O, coloring some in and even using glitter or construction paper for decorations.
Snacks that Teach the Letter O
Serve Orange Jell-o and Oreos to celebrate O day. You can also cook a hot dog cut into
an octopus for each child. To do this, carefully cut the end of the hot dog about a third of
the way in like you are splitting the hot dog in half. Now rotate the hot dog and cut
another slit, resulting in four “legs” on one end of the hot dog. Repeat on the other side
of the hot dog and you have an octopus! Orange slices are another excellent healthy
snack option.
Activities that Teach the Letter O
Have students make puppets that represent the letter O. Students can make an owl or
an octopus. For an octopus, you can have students cut out eight squiggly legs out of
gray construction paper. Glue the legs around the head of the bag puppet, and then cut
out a gray blob shaped body to glue on and cover where the legs were glued on. An owl
requires a brown or tan oval body. Cut out black construction paper eyes, and an
orange beak. See if the children can come up with other great ideas for a letter O
puppet.
How to Teach the Letter P
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case P
Teach students to write the letter P with sand plates filled with a small amount of sand.
Students should say “p says pf” as they write the letter p in the sand. Be sure to not
allow students to say “puh” because this is not what the letter P says. “Puh” is how you
say pu. Be sure that students do not add vowel sounds when saying the sound of a
consonant.
Making an Alphabet Book
Once the students are comfortable writing the letter p in the sand, provide them a paper
to practice on. Once they have a good hang of writing the p, allow them to write and
illustrate their P page in the alphabet book. They can draw and color different objects
that begin with the letter p such as panda‟s and piano‟s.
Snacks to Teach the Letter P
There are plenty of snack options for teaching students about the letter P. You can
serve popcorn and potato chips. While the popcorn is a relatively healthy snack, the
potato chips may not be the best option for students. For a healthier snack, you can
serve a variety of fruits including peaches, plums and pears. You can serve these fruits
either dried or fresh.
Activities that Teach the Letter P
Have a party for p day with a piñata. Fill the piñata with individually wrapped candies for
a sweet treat to send home with the children, or fill it with stickers and other small
prizes. If you do not have a safe outside area to beat at the piñata, clear a large space
in the classroom. You will want to use a plastic bat, and make sure to keep all of the
children clear of the area so that no one gets hit accidentally.
If you have a keyboard at home, bring it in and allow students to have a turn playing the
piano. An electric keyboard may even have preset songs that you can play for the
children. You can also have students play with play dough, and sculpt various objects
that begin with the letter P.
How to Teach the Letter Q
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case Q
Teaching the letter Q will be a memorable lesson for students. Q never goes anywhere
without the letter U, so teach students to never find Q without the U and have a QU
wedding. You can also make quirky snacks to serve and add a special wedding page to
the alphabet book.
Homemade Alphabet Book
Make a special page for the alphabet book to celebrate the QU wedding. This teaches
students that you never see q without the u. You can take a picture of the qu wedding
and make a print for each student‟s page, or they can illustrate their own wedding
pictures for their q page. Have them draw a picture of the Q and the U dressed up for
the wedding, with hearts and balloons and other wedding decorations.
Snacks that Teach the Letter Q
Serve quick and quirky snacks to celebrate Q day. A great idea is to serve ants on a
log. This is a traditional snack that involves cuts of celery, peanut butter and raisins.
Spread the peanut butter on each celery stick, and place several raisins on top of the
peanut butter and serve to the students. You can also serve fruit punch and cake to
celebrate the QU wedding together. Instead of a cake, you can also make cupcakes,
and have the students decorate them before enjoying them. Have pink icing and colored
sprinkles for the children to make their wedding cupcakes.
Activities that Teach the Letter Q
To teach students the importance of keeping Q and U together, explain that they will be
having a wedding. Pick a student to be the groom and a student to be the bride, and
have dress up clothes available for them to put on. To purchase cheap dress up
clothes, visit your local thrift store and purchase cheap dress clothes for the children to
wear. Have balloons and streamers decorating the room for the wedding, and have
snack time after the wedding, just like you would have a wedding reception afterwards.
You can assign other wedding roles to the other children such as preacher, mother of
the bride, mother of the groom, and so on. If you have extra time, you can have the
students perform the wedding several times, rotating who gets to play the bride and who
gets to play the groom. As a special wedding toast, read the QU poem. (source
unknown)
How QU Came To Be
Q and U once made a bargain.
It was very long ago.
They agreed to walk together
Wherever they might go.
"I will be your loyal helper,"
said the little vowel u.
"You are so kind and I thank you,"
Said the grateful letter q.
"Now if you will stand beside me,
And will be my right-hand man,
We would work quite hard together
As two alphabet letters can."
"What if we should quarrel or quibble?"
Asked the little vowel u.
"Then we both would be unhappy
And I'm sure that wouldn't do."
"Let us come to an agreement,"
Said q to the letter u.
"When I'm quick to lose my temper,
I'll apologize to you."
So q and u are always friendly,
And together they can be seen
In many words on our book pages,
And everybody thinks it's keen.
How to Teach the Letter R
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case R
Teach students the letter R with rainbow letters and other illustrations for their alphabet
book. You can also make a variety of R snacks and crafts. Decorate the room with
rainbows, and see how many words students can think of that start with the letter R.
Making an Alphabet Book
Have students practice writing the letter R with rainbow letters. Choosing three or four
different color crayons, students write the letter R with teach crayon, one letter on top of
the other so that it looks like a rainbow letter. You can also make a rainbow with the
colors, remembering to teach the children the easy way to remember each color and the
order with the name Roy G. Biv (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet).
They can use their rainbow letters for the R page in their alphabet book. They can also
decorate the page with a rainbow, and other things that begin with the letter R. Allow
students to have creative license to draw whatever they want on their page since they
are illustrating their own book.
Snacks that Teach the Letter R
Teach the letter R with Raisin bread. You can also serve raisins and roasted almonds
for snack time. For a sweeter treat, you can purchase a bag of Reese‟s pieces for the
students to enjoy.
Activities that Teach the Letter R
Have the students make a rain stick for craft time. Purchase a bag of dried beans, the
smaller the better. You will also need wrapping paper, an empty paper towel roll for
each student, construction paper and tape. First, have students decorate their paper
towel roll with strips of wrapping paper. They should then cut a piece of construction
paper and tape it securely on one end of the paper towel roll. After placing a few beans
in the roll, they can then tape another piece of construction paper on the other end to
secure the beans inside.
Add the letter R to the bulletin board of each letter of the alphabet. See how many
words students can write with the letters they have learned so far. Have students act out
different objects that begin with the letter R and reward those who are able to guess the
correct answer with foam letter R‟s.
How to Teach the Letter S
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case S
The letter S is a great lesson to teach in the winter. Students are all excited about snow,
and will be excited to make paper snowflakes and snowmen. You can also make snow
ice cream if you actually have snow on the ground. This takes very little advanced
preparation, and is a tasty way to involve the children in snack time.
Homemade Alphabet Book
Provide your students with black paper to make their s page for the alphabet book.
Then, with white crayons and colored pencils, the children can make a snowy S page.
They can draw snowmen, snowflakes, and snow angels.
Snacks that Teach the Letter S
There are many snacks that you can serve for the letter S. You can make sugar
cookies, squash, and anything else you have in the cupboard because snack starts with
s! For a fun treat, have the children make s‟mores. You need chocolate bars, graham
crackers and a bag of large marshmallows. Once each child puts their s‟more together,
place it on a paper towel and microwave it long enough to make the marshmallow
warm.
Activities that Teach the Letter S
There are many activities that you can have students do to learn about the letter S.
First, you can teach them how to draw the letter with a sand plate. Fill a small amount of
sand in a paper plate and have the children draw the letter s while saying its sound.
This provides great multi-sensory practice for your students.
You can have students cut circles out of white construction paper and create a snowy
landscape. You can also have students fold a piece of square paper in half several
times, and cut small shapes out of the edges to create a unique snowflake. Have the
children help you decorate the classroom with snowflakes by making several, and
taping them to the window or on the walls. You can also hang them from the door frame
and you can tape several snowflakes together and string them across the room.
You can also have the children play the silent game, to practice their s‟s. As a twist on
the silent game, you can have them play a speaking game where the only words you
can say must begin with S. This will require students to think about all the vocabulary
words they know that begin with s and is a great summation activity.
How to Teach the Letter T
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case T
Add the letter T to the letters that you are displaying on the wall as a visual reminder of
the new letter.
Making an Alphabet Book
Teach students how to write the letter T before having them illustrate their alphabet
page. Since the letter T is an easy letter to write, you can consider having the letter
already printed on the page for students to simply color in, and illustrate with various
drawings of objects that start with the letter T.
Snacks that Teach the Letter T
For snack time on T day, you can make a pitcher of sweet Ice Tea for students to taste.
You can also serve turkey if you want, or any normal snack that you choose, and use
the term “tasty treat”. Toasted muffins and cinnamon toast are also excellent treats that
begin with t and will be a nice treat for students. If you have a stove, you can make
French toast if you want to serve a meal.
Activities that Teach the Letter T
Have the children organize themselves into a circle, and pick a student to start with the
game telephone. One student decides what message to pass along, and whispers the
message in the ear of the friend next to him. Each student then passes the message
along in a whisper, but is not allowed to repeat the message more than once. The last
student in the circle then has to say the message out loud, and the student who created
the message has to say what the original message was. This shows the importance of
careful listening skills.
For a fun craft idea, have the students make small turkeys. Use an apple for the turkey
body and a cut a small piece of orange or brown construction paper out for students to
fold into a fan. This can then be taped to the back of the apple for the tail. You can have
the children use a marker to draw the eyes, nose and mouth. Then the students have a
great edible turkey! You can also create a construction paper turkey by cutting each
turkey part out of different colored paper.
Have students bring in a favorite toy from home for show and tell to talk about. They can
demonstrate how the toy works, and explain why they enjoy planning with it. If it is
appropriate to let all of the students play with and not get broken, you can allow the
children to have a careful playtime. Otherwise, you can have the children put their toy
right back in their backpack to go home.
How to Teach the Letter U
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case U
Teach students the letter U with fun crafts, snacks and other activities. Reinforce what
the letter U looks like and sounds like. This is the last vowel in the alphabet, so remind
students of each previous vowel that you have learned, and see if they can recall the
two sounds that each vowel makes.
Teaching the Letter U with an Alphabet Book
Have students create an alphabet book page for the letter U. Students can draw
umbrellas and a rain storm on the page with crayons or even finger paint. Children love
to get messy with paint, and having them paint the letter U with their fingers will provide
a great multi-sensory activity for learning the letter U.
Snacks that Teach the Letter U
For snack time, you can serve utterly delicious cookies of any sort that you like to make
or purchase for the students. For a healthier snack option, you can serve Utz pretzels.
You can also purchase little paper umbrellas and make a fun snack in a cup with the
umbrella covering it. A great snack to put in the cup is vanilla pudding and gummy
bears. This makes it look sort of like a beach in a cup.
Activities that Teach the Letter U
Have the students help you to create an interactive bulletin board for the letter U. Either
draw a master or print out a master umbrella picture to make a copy for each student.
Then have the students decorate each umbrella however they like. You can also have
students learn to follow directions as they color their umbrellas by telling them to color
stripes, polka-dots or other types of decorations.
You can then put a number on each umbrella, laminate them and put a piece of Velcro
on the back. Put the other side of the Velcro on the bulletin board and have students
learn to put the numbers in order. You can also teach counting backwards and skip
counting with this bulletin board.
Ask students what other words they know that start with U and see if they can act them
out. Have foam letter U‟s to give as prizes for students who are able to guess each word
that students act out. You can make these foam letters by purchasing a sheet of colored
craft foam from a local craft store and cutting them out, or you can purchase the letters
already made.
How to Teach the Letter V
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case V
Teach students the letter V with snacks that begin with v and other activities. Watch a
Veggie Tale video and discuss the definition of the word onomatopoeia. An
onomatopoeia word is word that sounds like what it describes. For example, Vroom is
an onomatopoeia word. See if the children can come up with other examples that may
or may not start with the letter V.
Making an Alphabet Book
A creative idea for the letter V alphabet book is to use Velcro for the letter. Have
students write a lowercase v on the page, and cut out a cardboard uppercase v and
decorate. Adhere the Velcro to the V‟s and the student can then un-Velcro the
uppercase v to reveal the lowercase v.
Snacks that Teach the Letter V
You can serve a variety of vegetables and dip for teaching the letter V. Some popular
kid favorites include carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers. You can also make ants on a
log with cut celery sticks, peanut butter and raisins. Put the peanut butter on the celery
stick and place a few raisins on top. For a sweeter treat, consider vanilla pudding.
Activities that Teach the Letter V
Show a Veggie Tales video on the letter V day. These videos are cute and educational
and children love them. They star a variety of vegetables that talk and have different
experiences. Visit the Big Idea website for more information about the Veggie Tales.
On this website you will find a list of products and other information about the company
that makes the Veggie Tales.
You can also make a volcano erupt for students to enjoy. To make the volcano you will
need:









6 cups flour
Two cups salt
Four tablespoons oil
Two cups water
An empty soda bottle
Warm water to fill the soda bottle
Red food coloring
Liquid detergent
Two tablespoons of baking soda

Vinegar
Mix together the flower, salt, oil, and two cups of water to make the volcano. Shape the
volcano around the soda bottle on a cooking sheet. Leave the hole in the top open and
be careful to not drop any volcano down into the bottle.
To make the volcano erupt, fill the bottle almost full with warm water; add a few drops of
red food coloring, several drops of liquid detergent, and two tablespoons of baking
soda. Now carefully pour vinegar in and watch the volcano erupt! This eruption is a
result of the chemical reaction between the baking soda and the vinegar.
Students will enjoy being actively involved in the learning process as you teach each
letter of the alphabet. With snacks, crafts and activities that reinforce the letter V, your
students will remember how to write the letter and what the letter sounds like.
How to Teach the Letter W
Making an Alphabet Book
You can either have the letter already printed on the page for students to decorate, or
you can have the students write the letter after learning how. To teach the students to
write the letter, use sand plates where students draw the letter in sand, or have the
students write the letter in the air while saying the sound it makes.
Snacks that Teach the letter W
Snack time for W day can be made very simple. Each student should be served a glass
of water to drink. If your purchase a watermelon, you will be able to serve the students a
healthy and tasty snack. If you cannot get watermelon because it is out of season,
consider making jell-o in the shape of a w. You can purchase a mold at a local party
store, or online.
Activities that Teach the Letter W
Have the children join you in singing the Wheels on the Bus song. You can even have
them help you come up with new verses for the song. For a fun craft, you can have your
students make a Wish box. Have each student bring in a shoe box or other cardboard
box with a lid. You need wrapping paper, tape and slips of pain paper to make this craft.
Students should first cut strips of different wrapping paper to cover the box. You can
have them use construction paper as well, if they would like to draw their own
decorations on the box. Once the entire box is decorated, cut a slit in the lid and have
them decorate the lid as well. Make sure that you cut a slit in the decorations as well, so
that you can put paper in the box. Now students should write their wishes on the slips of
plain paper and place them in their wish box.
Students can share their biggest wishes with the class, and brain storm ways to help the
wishes come true.
How to Teach the Letter X
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case X
Introduce the letter x to your students through real x-rays and a xylophone if possible. If
you have a music class in your building, you can talk to the music teacher about a field
trip to visit and see the xylophone and learn how to play it. If you have x-rays, you can
turn off the lights in the room and use a flashlight or lamp to show the film, or you can
use an overhead projector.
Making an Alphabet Book
For the letter x, have students make an x ray picture and put a border of x‟s around the
edge of the page. To make an X-ray, students will need chalk and black construction
paper. They can either trace their hand or their foot (take the shoe off first) on the paper
or then draw in the bones to make it look like a real x-ray.
Snacks that Teach the Letter X
Make x-tra special cookies for the students to enjoy on letter X day. When making the
cookies, form the dough into an x shape. Be sure to make the dough uniform so that the
cookies do not fall apart when baking. You can decorate the cookies with colored sugar
to add a bit of color as well. You can also serve x-cellent punch, by either making your
own with ginger ale and lime sherbet or purchase fruit punch.
Activities that Teach the Letter X
Teach students the letter X by having them make stick x‟s. With either pop-sickle sticks
or sticks from a nature walk, have students glue them together in the shape of an x. You
can have the students practice their other letters as well by having them form the letters
with the sticks. Carefully display the stick letters or have them decorate an alphabet box
to store them in.
Create a treasure map where x marks the spot that you have hidden an x treasure box.
You can fill the treasure box with stickers or other small prizes to pass out among the
students. Have the students work together to read the map and search for the buried
treasure. If you can go outside, you can even bury the treasure and have the children
dig it up. It may be easiest to bury the treasure in the sandbox.
See how many other words the students can come up with that start with the letter x, or
have the letter x in them. Have students make a full body x-ray if you want, by taping
enough pieces of black construction paper together for one child to lie down on. Using
chalk, trace the body of the child and then have the students work together to add the
rest of the bones to the x-ray body.
How to Teach the Letter Y
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case I
Have students practice their letters as they learn the letter Y. Now that they are nearly
at the end of the alphabet, they can practice writing each letter that they have learned,
and add the letter Y. Have them practice their Y‟s in sand plates, saying the sound that
Y makes while drawing in the sand with their finger.
Alphabet Book Students can Make
Have students add a page to their alphabet book for the letter Y. Have them brainstorm
words that begin with the letter Y, and write them on the board. Then, since the students
have learned all the letters except for z, they can write y words in their book for their y
page. Some words they can write include yikes, yodel, yow, yelp and yellow.
Snacks that Teach the Letter Y
Serve Yellow cake to celebrate the letter Y day. You can use yellow food coloring in the
icing, or spread white icing and pipe a yellow Y decoration on the cake. Another idea is
to pipe small letter y‟s all over the cake, so that each student receives the letter Y on
their piece of cake. You can also serve yams, if you want another snack idea that starts
with Y.
Activities that Teach the Letter Y
Teach students to yodel on letter Y day. Read the book Schnitzel, the Yodeling Goat by
Bil Baird [Thomas Nelson & Sons 1965]. Have students practice and then hold a
yodeling contest to see who can yodel the best. Cut out the letter Y from craft foam to
give as a prize to the winner.
For your craft, you can have students make a Chinese paper Yo-yo. To make this
craft, you will need a 1/8th or ¼ inch dowel rod, cut for each student to have a piece
about six inches long. You will also need wrapping paper, cut in sections that are 7 feet
long and 4 inches wide. Tape one end of the wrapping paper to the dowel, and wrap the
paper tightly. Flick the dowel out and the paper should yo-yo out and back in.
Before finishing your discussion on the letter Y, make sure the children know that you
can use the letter Y as a vowel in some words. Show them some examples of words
that use the letter Y at the end, like party and yummy. Ask them to tell you what sound
Y makes when it is used as a vowel.
How to Teach the Letter Z
Teaching Students to Identify the Upper and Lower Case Z
Teach students the last letter of the alphabet with a trip to the zoo. If you cannot take
them to a zoo, bring the zoo to them with pictures and stuffed animals. Designate each
area of the room as different areas of the zoo. Have an elephant enclosure, a bear den
and more. If you do not have many stuffed animals, ask friends who have children, or
other teachers to see how many you can collect. Be sure to keep a list of what animals
you borrow from whom so that you can return each animal to its rightful owner.
Make a Homemade Alphabet Book
Your students should have been making their own alphabet book as you taught each
letter of the alphabet. As you teach the letter Z, students will be finishing their books. As
students decorate the z page, congratulate them on having made their own alphabet
book. Punch holes in each student‟s last page and hook it into the book, and be sure
that they take their books home with them to show their parents all the letters that they
have learned.
Snacks that teach the Letter Z
For Z snacks, you can serve a variety of zucchini dishes. You can also serve zebra
cookies. Make regular sugar cookie dough, and divide the dough in half. In one half of
the dough, mix in black food coloring. As you put the cookies on the sheet, piece the
black and white dough together into zebra stripes, being sure to pinch the edges so that
the cookies do not fall apart as they cook. Students will enjoy this tasty treat with a
colorful twist.
Activities that Teach the Letter Z
Continuing with the zoo theme, you can have your students tour the zoo in the
classroom, and discuss their favorite animal to visit. Have them make a zoo booklet.
Fold several pieces of paper together and staple at the spine to create a booklet. On the
front of the book, have the students write the word Zoo. Now that they have learned all
the letters, they should be required to write each word in their book, following your
example written for them so that they know how to spell each word.
They can draw or cut out construction paper animals for each page of their zoo book,
with the word for the animal on the top of each page. The children can either make up a
story to go with their zoo animals, or they can simply illustrate a trip to the zoo with the
variety of animals they would see at the zoo.
Congratulate your students on having learned all the letters of the alphabet! Sing the
Abc song as a final activity, shouting the words at the end “now I know my ABC‟s!” Give
each student an alphabet balloon to take home with them as a farewell party gift along
with their alphabet book and zoo book.
Reviewing All the Letters of the Alphabet
Activities to for Students to Review Each Letter
Once students have learned all of the letters of the alphabet, you should spend some
time reviewing them all, to make sure that they remember each letter and sound.
Knowing each letter is the first step towards being able to read and write. Here are
some fun ideas to review all the letters.
Play Letter Charades
Have each letter written on a slip of paper and folded up in box for students to pick from.
Each student should come up and pick a letter, think of something that starts with that
letter, and act it out. The students must guess the word and the. For prizes, you can
give out letter stickers.
Learn Alphabet Sign Language
Teaching your students the sign for each letter of the alphabet is a great visual and
tactile review.
A: Closed fist with flat fingers against palm, thumb sticking out. The palm should be
facing out.
B: Palm facing out, fingers up, and thumb folded into the palm.
C: Hand makes a C shape with finger tips facing out.
D: Middle finger touching thumb, with ring and pinky finger curled next to the middle
finger. The index finger points straight up.
E: Form a fist with the thumb at the tips of each finger.
F: Make the ok sign with the thumb and index finger touching.
G: Index finger and thumb point forward like you are going to pinch something. Other
fingers curl into palm.
H: Index, middle finger and thumb point together across body with the thumb inside.
The ring and pinky finger curl into palm.
I: Make a fist with the pinky finger pointing up, palm facing away from body.
J: Make the letter I, and draw a J shape in the air.
K: Index finger points up, middle finger points out away from body. The thumb should
point to opening between the fingers, just touching the middle finger. Ring finger and
pinky finger curl into palm. Palm should face out.
L: With thumb and index finger, make an L shape. The rest of fingers curl into palm.
Palm points out.
M: Curl the index, middle and ring finger over the thumb. The pinky folds into palm.
Palm faces out.
N: Curl the index and middle finger over thumb. Ring and pinky finger fold into palm.
Palm faces out.
O: Make an O shape with entire hand, fingers pointing out.
P: Make the K sign and rotate the entire hand so the index finger points straight out.
Q: Make the G sign, and angle the hand so the finger is pointing slightly downward.
R: Cross the index and middle finger together pointing up. The thumb holds the ring
finger and pinky finger to palm.
S: Make a fist, with palm facing out, thumb across fingers.
T: Place thumb between the index and middle fingers while making a fist, the palm
facing out.
U: Stick the index and middle finger together pointing up, palm away from body, thumb
folded in.
V: Make the peace sign.
W: Same sign as V with the middle finger up as well.
X: Index finger up, point tip down, and the rest of hand makes a fist.
Y: Pinky and thumb extended with other three fingers curled, palm facing out.
Z: Draw a z in the air with the index finger.