MAKE IT MEANINGFUL ALPHABET BOOKS

IF THEY MAKE IT, THEY WILL WANT TO READ IT!

Home School Alphabet Book
This book will provide a hands-on activity that will encourage parents to talk to their children about school and alphabet letters. Write different letters of the alphabet on cardstock. Give each family a letter and ask them help their child draw pictures or cut out pictures of things that begin with the letter. Put their pages together to make a book for your class.

I Can Read!
Take 26 large sheets of paper (12” x 16”) and write a different letter on each page. Put pages between construction paper to make a book called “I Can Read My ABC’s.” Hole punch and bind with book rings. Invite children to bring in words from food labels, stores, catalogs, etc. that they can read. As childrenbring in their words, help them match up the first letter with the same letter in the book and glue their word on that page.
        


Alphabet Art
Write large letters of the alphabet on paper. Give each child a letter and challenge them to create a picture around their letter. “What does your letter look like? Does it remind you of something? Can you use your crayons to turn it intothat object? Try to ‘camouflage’ it so no one knows what your letter is.” Put their drawings together to make a book.
                                      
*Challenge older children to turn their letter into an object that begins with the sound their letter makes.

Alphabet in My Mouth
Use the words and tune to “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” to make thisbook.

     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/…

           
First, take a close up photo of each child with their mouth wide open and their tongue stickingout. Next, cut letters out of construction paper and glue to the tongue on theirpicture. Write words for each page to go with the picture, such as “I’ve got A /a//a/ in my mouth.”

AlphaBODY Book
Challenge children to make letters with their bodies. Or, divide children into small groups and ask them to make letters.

Themes

Make alphabet books that relate to different themes, seasons, holidays, or concepts you are working on. For example:

Pets          Foods              We Like
Insects      Friends           Oceans
Transportation                 Scary Things
Things We Love               ABC’s of Spring 

Our Country                    Sports

CLASSROOM ALPHABET

Instead of putting up the traditional alphabet cards, use one of these ideas to create a unique alphabet.

Children’s Photos
Use children’s first or last names to make an alphabet. If several children have names that begin with the same sound, then group them together. If you don’t have names for letters, then use the school helpers’ names or other common objects.

Sign Language
Cut hands out of felt and glue them to make the manual signs for letters.
                         
Real Objects
Glue small objects that begin with letters to make alphabet cards.
                                            
Environmental Print 
Use labels from food products or clothes to make an alphabet.
Hint! Give each child a letter and ask parents to send in environmental print for that letter.
                                                                      
Giant Letters
Cut out giant cardboard letters for the first letter in each child’s name. Let them decorate these at home with their families. They could use family photos, pictures of things that are important to them, or drawings to decorate their letters.

BADGES AND VISORS AND BEARS - OH, MY!

These are inexpensive, easy to make, and can provide repetition in daily routines.

LETTER BADGES
Purchase plastic name badge holders at an office supply store. (Or you can save these from conferences.) Choose one letter each day and write it on paper cut to fit in the name badge. Wear the badge and at random times break out in this song to the tune of “BINGO.”

     There is a letter you should know,
     What can the letter be oh?
     /F/ /F/ It’s an F.
     /F/ /F/ It’s an F.
     /F/ /F/ It’s an F.
     The letter F you know!

Make letter badges for all the letters in the alphabet and let children choose a different one each day to wear. Let the children walk around the room and shake hands with their friends as they practice identifying each other’s letters. For example: “Hello Q!” “Hello S!”

*Call the children by the letter they are wearing instead of their name.
For example: “D, come sit by me.”

LETTER SUPERVISOR
You will need a plastic visor, index cards, and tape for this activity. Choose a different letter each day and write it on the index card. Tape the index card to the visor. Choose one child each day to wear the visor and be the “letter supervisor.” Every time you leave the classroom the letter supervisor stands at the door with her arm extended. Classmates must name the letter or say a word that starts with that sound before she raises her arm and lets them exit the room.


HIGH FIVE HANDS
Cut hands out of construction paper and write letters you want to reinforce on the hands. Tape to the door. As children exit or enter the classroom they “high five” the hands and say the letters (or make the letter sounds.)
                              

LETTER BEARS
You will be able to get a lot of “mileage” out of these little bears. Cut 26 bears out of construction paper. Write upper and lowercase letters on all the bears. Mix up the bears and then sing this song to the tune of “Twinkle Little Star” as the letters are revealed:
     

     Dd bear, Dd bear, what do you see?
     I see Kk bear looking at me.
     Kk bear, Kk bear, what do you see…
                                                       
*Focus children’s attention while they settle down for a story or lesson with the letter bears. You could also use the bears as a transition activity. Dismiss children to line up, wash their hands, etc. when the letter that their name starts with appears.

Letter Bear Pattern
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljUjloN1BNSUxlOUU/view?usp=sharing


WHO ATE THE COOKIE?
You will need an empty cookie box and cardstock to make this game. Cut 3” circles out of the cardstock and write letters on them. Place in the box. One child at a time chooses a “cookie” (letter) out of the box as you chant?

Who ate (letter) in the cookie jar?
(Child’s name) at the (letter) in the cookie jar.
Who me?
Yes, you!
Couldn’t be.
Then who? (It names another friend and passes the box to them.)
        

Note!  This game is made from all recycled materials!

SUGAR, SPICE, AND ALPHABET NICE

The alphabet ideas I’m sharing are meant to add some sweetness and fun to your curriculum. Hands-on beats worksheets any day!

ALPHABET CUPS
Write letters on the sides of bathroom cups. Let children explore and experiment building with the cups.

*Make a matching game where they match upper and lowercase letters.
*Challenge children to make words (or their names) with the cups.

Hint! Store in a Pringle’s can.


PLAYFUL AND CHALLENGING PLAY DOUGH
Write letters on clear plastic plates, plastic placemats, sheet protectors, or leftover laminating film with a permanent marker. Make play dough from the recipe below. Children roll play dough and place it on top to make the letter. Can they make objects that begin with that letter?       
Homemade Play Dough
2 cups flour
2 cups
2 TB cream of tartar
2 TB vegetable oil
2 cups water
Food coloring

Mix ingredients together in a pan until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture forms a ball and sticks to the spoon. Cool and knead. Store in zip baggie

* Add unsweetened Kool-aid, vanilla, cinnamon, or other spices to give it an aroma.

Alphabet Cookies*Let children press magnetic letters in play dough to make alphabet cookies.

                                                  
Play Dough Pictionary
Each child will need a small ball of dough to play this game. Call out a letter. Children try and make something from their dough that begins with that sound. Take turns trying to guess what friends molded.


LETTER POPS
You will need jumbo craft sticks, magnetic letters, and E6000 glue (or similar craft glue) to make letter pops. Glue the magnetic letters to the jumbo craft sticks and you’re all set to begin.
           
Song Props
Pass out the sticks and have children hold up their letter as you sing ABC songs.

Letter Hunt
Ask children to walk around the room and match their letter on classroom print. Can they match their letter to an object in the room that begins with the sound?

Library Pointers
Place the letter pops in a can in the classroom library. Children choose a letter and then match it up with that letter in a book.

Making Words
Let older children get together with friends and make words with their letter pops.

Match Up
Make a set of letter pops with uppercase letters and a set with lowercase letters. According to the number of children in your classroom, use the appropriate number of uppercase and lowercase letters. Distribute uppercase letters to half the class and matching lowercase letters to the other half. Children can walk around the room and match up.

LETTER LAND VIDEO

P.S. If you missed my FB Live yesterday on alphabet letters you can watch it today.
http://bit.ly/drjeanLetterLand


You'll also find our Monthly HAPPIES half off today!

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The discount code is Happies50.

LETTER OFFICE AND LETTER LOOKER

LETTER OFFICE

Children will enjoy making their very own letter office and then using it for the activities below. First, tape two file folders together.  Let children decorate the outside, and then glue a copy of alphabet letters on the inside.

Sing and Track
Have children point to the letters as you sing various alphabet songs. (“The Alphabet in My Mouth,” “Who Let the Letters out?” or “Letters You Should Know” all work well.)

I Spy!
Play “I Spy” and other games where children have to identify letters. Can they find the letter that makes the sound at the beginning of “hop”? Can they find the letters in their name? What comes between G and I? Can they match up magnetic letters with the letters in their office?

Partner Play
Use the offices for working with a friend. Read the capital letters, lowercase, consonants, vowels. Read loud, soft, fast, slow, backwards, and other variations. Let friends take turns calling out letters (or sounds) for their partner to identify.

Family Time
Invite children to take their letter offices home and play games with their parents.

*Take turns naming letters and touching them.

*Sing Alphabet songs and track the letters.

*Look around the house for letters that match.

*Find letters in family members’ names.


LETTER LOOKER

Here’s a simple prop to help your children focus. Loop around the end of a pipe cleaner as shown to make a “letter looker.” Children can identify letters in their letter office and around the classroom with their “lookers.”
*They can also play a game with a partner with their letter looker. Children take turns focusing on letters as their partner tries to identify it.


LETTER WAND

Remove the netting from a butterfly net. (You can find these at most dollar stores.) Add some colorful ribbons. Sing the song below to the tune of “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”
     Do you see the (letter), 
     The (letter),the (letter)?
     Do you see the (letter)
     Somewhere in the room?

A child takes the wand and frames that letter as she sings:

     Yes, I see the (letter),
     The (letter), the (letter).
     Yes, I see the (letter)
     In the room.

Hint! Use the wand to focus on colors, shapes, numbers and other skills you are working on.

ALL ABOARD FOR LETTER LAND

THE TRAIN DEPARTS TODAY AT 12 NOON EST!

I HOPE YOU CAN JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK LIVE WHERE I'LL DEMONSTRATE THESE ACTIVITIES.

All aboard for Letter Land! The next ten days I’m going to be sharing alphabet activities on my blog because this time of year the ABC’s seem to be the starting line in most pre-k and K classrooms.

I have been at this rodeo a LONG time and I want you to know there is NO one correct way to introduce letters or teach children to read. Just take a look around you and you’ll see people of all ages who know HOW to read and they learned TO READ with a variety of different approaches, materials, and reading programs.

Many people ask me questions about how to introduce letters. Should you do capital letters first? Is there a specific order you should follow? There is NO definitive research to support one particular strategy. Children come to you with so many varied experiences and skills that one size will not fit all. There are two principles that I think are important.

First, make it authentic! Teach letters in context and connect with children’s names, units of study, nursery rhymes, and other interests. For example, a trip to the pumpkin patch would be the perfect time to talk about Pp. Talk about the letter Jj when you say Jack and Jill. If your football team is the Falcons discuss the letter Ff.

Second, make it playful and challenging. Use hands-on activities, songs, movements, and games to stimulate multiple senses. Blocks, play dough, puzzles, and magnetic letters are much more REAL than a worksheet or computer game.

Finally, remember that children take it in and take it in and take it in – and then something comes out! They don’t all learn in the same way at the same time, so you have to provide a variety of opportunities to learn.  The key is to keep it fun and make them feel successful.

Over the next ten days I will suggest simple tools that will provide children with multiple experiences in learning letters. Purposeful practice for automaticity (aka repetition) is important for skill mastery so you will want to do these activities many times.

Note! Although I’ll be focusing on alphabet letters, please “harvest” these ideas and make them work for the age and interests of your students. For example, if your children are proficient with alphabet knowledge, use these ideas for sight words. For younger children adapt these activities for learning colors and shapes.


LETTER PUPPETS

Envelope Puppets
Seal an envelope and cut it in half as shown. Write the uppercase letter on one side and the lowercase letter on the other side. Sing the “Hokey Pokey” with the letter puppet.

     You put your (letter) in,
     You take your (letter) out,
     You put your (letter) in
     And you shake it all about.
     You make the (letter sound)
     And then you put it down.

*Listen up! Tell children when you say words starting with that sound they can hold up their puppet. When you say a word that doesn’t start with that sound they should keep the puppet in their lap.

*Have children write a letter on one side and draw an animal that begins with that sound on the reverse side.
                                         

*I Have - Who Has Alphabetical Order?
Seal 13 envelopes, cut them in half, and then write the letters of the alphabet on the envelopes. Pass out one or two envelopes to each child and have the child with A say: I have A. Who has B?
The child with B says: I have B. Who has C? And so forth.

*Let children hold up their letter as you sing different alphabet songs.

*Use these puppets to make CVC words.

Paper Plate Puppets
Staple two paper plates together 3/4 of the way around. Write a large uppercase letter on one side and a lowercase letter on the other side.  Or, just write the uppercase and lowercase together on one side.  Children wear these on their hands and hold them up when their letter is sung in an alphabet song. 

                 
*You can also use these to make CVC words or sight words.


Letter Man
Letter Man (or you could make a Letter Lady) is easy to make and sure to capture your students’ interest. You’ll need a small swinging trashcan, felt scraps, googly eyes, pom poms, craft glue (E6000 works great), and magnetic letters.

Decorate the trashcan to look like a man similar to the photo. Spread magnetic letters out on the table. If children can identify a letter they can “feed” it to (put it inside) Letter Man. What a fun way to assess the letters that children know! 

*What’s My Sound?
Place the letters inside Letter Man. Children can take turns pulling out a letter, making the sound, and saying a word that starts with that sound.

*Alphabet Center
Put Letter Man (full of letters), paper, and pencils in an alphabet center. Children take turns choosing a letter and then trying to write the letter.

*Feed Letter Man
Ask children to feed Letter Man all the letters that are blue… feed Letter Man all the vowels… the letters in alphabetical order…and so forth.

*Words
Have children spell their name or sight words and then feed them to Letter Man.

*Sing this song to the tune of “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” as you put letters in the trashcan.
     I know an old man who swallowed a (name letter).
     What would he say if he swallowed a (name letter).
     (sound), (sound), (sound) – (name letter).

Note!  If you don't have a trash can you can use a plastic jug or other container.
           

I'M SO EXCITED!

After all these years I still get excited when I think of something new. So, here's a new twist on something I've shared a gazillion times. I call them "Friendship Bears."

Are these cute or what???

Use the attached pattern to make bears for the students in your classroom. Take photos of their faces and run them off to be about 2 1/2" or to fit in the bear's head. Glue their face on the head and then write their name on the body. Start each day by singing the children's names in the song below to the tune of "Twinkle Little Star" as you hold up their bear.

(1st child's name) (1st child's name) who do you see?
I see (2nd child's name) looking at me.
(2nd child's name) (2nd child's name) who do you see?
I see (3rd child's name) looking at me....

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljUjloN1BNSUxlOUU/view?usp=sharing

Hello!
You could also sing their names to the tune of "Good Night, Ladies."

Hello (1st child)!
Hello (1st child)!
Hello (1st child)!
We're glad you're here today!

Hello (2nd child)! and so forth...

Dismissal

Shuffle up the bears and then hold up one at a time to dismiss children to centers, to line up for play, etc.

Partner Fun

Randomly pick 2 bears at a time for partner projects.  Partners could read together, play a game, draw a picture, or do another activity.

Sign In

Place the bears in a basket near the door where the children enter the room each day.  As they come in, they find their bear and then practice writing their name on the sign-in sheet.

        

If You Give a Kid a Hammer...

If you give a child a hammer, she'll find a million things to hammer.  If you make these friendship bears, I bet you can come up with lots of other ways to use them in your classroom.  (Gosh, if you laminated them you could use them all year.)  Please email your ideas to me and I'll share them on my blog.  I can't wait to hear what you come up with!

P.S.  If your class has another animal theme you could adapt this idea.  For example, if your class is "the bees" you could use a bee pattern.  If your class is "the dolphins" make dolphin friends.