The Alphabet in My Mouth
(Tune: “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”)
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth,
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth.
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth
and I can read!
I’ve got A - /a/ /a/ in my mouth
I’ve got B - /b/ /b/ in my mouth
I’ve got C - /c/ /c/ in my mouth
And I can read!
I’ve got D…Z
I’ve got all the sounds in my mouth and I’m ready to read!
Your children will LOVE making this book to go with the song. First, take a close up digital photo of each child with their mouth wide open. Enlarge the picture and glue it to a sheet of paper. Next, cut letters out of construction paper and glue to the tongue on their picture. Write words for each page to go with the picture, such as “I’ve got D /d//d/ in my mouth.”(Tune: “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”)
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth,
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth.
I’ve got the whole alphabet in my mouth
and I can read!
I’ve got A - /a/ /a/ in my mouth
I’ve got B - /b/ /b/ in my mouth
I’ve got C - /c/ /c/ in my mouth
And I can read!
I’ve got D…Z
I’ve got all the sounds in my mouth and I’m ready to read!
Hint! If you don’t have 26 students, then use the principal, secretary, custodian, etc. to complete the letters in the alphabet.
Body Letters
Have children make letters with their bodies. Take pictures. Put the letters together to make a book.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofPm7S6-DYxcXunVPjHlRtvINMForqp_yGCztkpl8F_5a27CkK4XMj6MjWVM3dxfmcpk1JNJ-i44v9MI9AJZEpYcF8idJVf9fzhtkLkjQChmsQ1dkzgTA5AI7EtJ7TF8t_TCuloNTtN6j/s320/IMG_3217.jpg)
*Divide children into groups of 3 or 4 and let them lay on the floor to create different letters. Take photos for a book.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XSCg403_2HOtKEvGHg1VyAV73TQ6IpzumnHNOfLguHl47vrihGhZv1Jm2IzR3jZ2RPfGIBD15ar6cxkw09KsahcFTWmOTpWMIAyEiY_YO981hGhoCcaUUvpki9g3wdJwMjA5EBWS8gly/s320/IMG_3218.jpg)
Alphardy (“Sing to Learn” CD)
A for apple /a/ /a/ /a/ (Pretend fist is an apple.)
B for bounce /b/ /b/ /b/ (Bounce a ball.)
C for cut /c/ /c/ /c/ (Open and close index and middle fingers as if cutting.)
D for dig /d/ /d/ /d/ (Pretend to dig.)
E – elbow (Point to elbow.)
F – fan (Fan self with hand.)
G – gallop (Gallop in place.)
H – hop (Hop on one foot.)
I – itch (Scratch self.)
J – jump (Jump up and down.)
K – kick (Little kicks with foot.)
L – love (Hug self.)
M – munch (Move mouth as if eating.)
N – nod (Nod head.)
O – opera (Extend arms and sing dramatically.)
Q – quiet (Index finger on lips.)
R – run (Run in place.)
S – sew (Pretend to hold a needle and sew.)
T – talk (Open and close fingers like a mouth.)
U – upside (Lean over.)
V – volley (Hands in air and pretend to volley a ball.)
W – wiggle (Wiggle all over.)
X – x-ray (Make “x” with arms.)
Y – yawn (Extend arms and pretend to yawn.)
Z – zigzag (Make an imaginary “z” in the air.)
Letter sounds are all you need.
Put them together and you can read! (Hold palms together and open like a book.)
*You can download this book at drjean.org.
http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2005/03_Mar/Alphardy.pdf
*Make the black and white student version for children to take home and sing with their families.
http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2005/03_Mar/AlphardyBW.pdf
*Run off this chart for each student and glue to a file folder. Children can use this for choral singing or for independent work at the listening center. If you give them a pretzel stick or Bugle for a pointer they’ll get a little snack at the end of the song!
http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2010/01_Jan/1books/alphardyChart.pdf
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_5MqsIcBBZfrDyPQqjfnPlOn7z9XAqnNDyGEHyWjsZmBn4ZSY-lTmxDVRHPhZuKrQMHm9ssjbFAAxTbBD9rbwnDwQOwWX8_mqnUWPzZPK9ikJCNbYhUa3RoyaS1f1p1xFoBp3gdRWEAe/s400/photo-3.jpg)
*Insert children’s names in the song:
D for Darren /d/ /d/ /d/
E for Erin /e/ /e/ /e/
S for Sammy /s/ /s/ /s/
H for Hannah /h/ /h/ /h/
*Adapt the words for environmental print:
M for MacDonald’s /m/ /m/ /m/
L for Legos /l/ /l/ /l/
*Take color words, number words, or high frequency words and sing them.
R for red /r/ /r/ /r/
P for purple /p/ /p/ /p/
Letter Tails (Tune: "Gilligan's Island")
This is one of my favorite alphabet books that Barb Smith created several years ago. It's good for letter recognition, phonics, and visual closure (recognizing the whole from the part).
This is a tale about the letter A.
It makes a special sound.
/a/ /a/ /a/ /a/ A!
Let’s learn another sound.
This is a tale about the letter B….