Alphabet Activities: Learn Letters and Sounds

STEP 1 Learn Letter Sounds

If our goal is to build a reader we need to focus on learning letter sounds, not letter names. Furthermore, we should focus on lowercase letters rather than uppercase or capital letters. I know that it is easier for children to learn capital letters, however it is just not as useful. Take a look at any paragraph of pretty much any book and notice the number of lowercase letters compared to the number of uppercase letters. Lowercase letters are much more prevalent and that makes them much more useful to beginning readers.

It would be overwhelming and take too long to learn all of the letters of the alphabet before we actually started to read. We want our children to experience success quickly and easily, so that they feel confident in reading. Once a child develops a love for reading they are more likely to continue to read and engage in reading activities. We do not want this to be difficult or we risk turning students off to reading.

The first letters that should the introduced are m, s, a, t, and c.

Although, there are many ways to learn letter to sound linking, we want students to have fun while they are learning, so phonics games are a great way to achieve this.

I created an Alphabet Page and Handwriting Cards FREEBIE that lists the letters and includes visual for support with integrated picture mnemonics (the pictures look like the letters and that helps kids rememeber).

One of my favorite ways to teach these five letter sounds is with the Alphabet Matching Mats.

I recommend beginning with only one mat that focuses on five letters at a time. Once students master the first mat and feel successful, you may add the next one.

You’ll notice that all of the images are everyday objects that children easily recognize, but most importantly, many of the images have integrated picture mnemonics. It’s a scientifically research based strategy that basically means the picture looks like the letter and that helps students remember them better.

The Alphabet Matching Mats continue to teach the next letters in an appropriate order. Notice how we start with m and s because they have a continuous sound (you can make the mmmmm sound for a long time).

Mat 1 m, s, a, t, c.

Mat 2 p, n, f, b, and i.

Mat 3 g, r, d, o, and j.

Mat 4 e, h, k, u, and l.

Mat 5 w, v, z, y, and q.

The only letter that is not taught through these mats is the letter x. I find that due to the X-Box. Many kids already know it or learn it quickly. I excluded it because when x is at the beginning of a word it makes a different sound. I want students to learn the x sound at the end of a word, because that is how it is used most often.

Another way that I teach letter sounds is by playing Alphabet Bingo! I make it a point to call out the letter sound, for example /m/, instead of the letter name. This is a great activity to introduce at the teacher table and use in literacy centers once a student is able to act as the “teacher” or “bingo card caller”. The Alphabet Bingo calling cards can also be used as flash cards. With over 30 cards you could use this as a whole class activity.

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My students LOVE this game/activity. They are always asking if we can play during or at the end of our small groups. They really enjoy it! Thank you! – Lauren R.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Super fun game to play and practice our letters at the same time! – Jessica M.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We love to play bingo and this set is perfect for young learners-just the right amount of letters on a Bingo card. – Donna C.

Another popular game is called KABOOM! I’m sure you’ve probably seen it on Pinterest. If not, you must know, it is the perfect center game, because it can be for any number of players, the smartest students don’t always win, and it can last any amount of time that you need it to.

It’s such a great game and there can be so many variations of the game. I’ve used it in multiple grade levels as a spiral review for math and even editing. The rules don’t change.

HOW TO PLAY KABOOM

Each player pulls out a stick and must read it correctly. For teaching letter sounds the student must say the correct letter sound. If they get it right they can keep the stick. If it is incorrect then the stick goes back into the container. If a student pulls out the KABOOM stick then they have to return all of their sticks to the container. At the end of whatever time you select, such as, time to rotate centers, the student with the most sticks is the winner.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN KABOOM GAME

Just write the letters you’ve taught on large popsicle sticks to create your own game. Then, write KABOOM! on one or two sticks.

PRIZES FOR WINNERS

I often give the winners a simple low-cost prize, such as a sticker or a popsicle stick that says “5 Minutes” that they can redeem for some educational computer game time! Once they use their time I can reuse the prize stick.

Magnetic Letter Activities for beginning sounds are a hands on approach to practice letter sounds. These AlphaMagnets magnetic letters are available on Amazon Prime (affiliate link) and the metal cookie sheet is from Dollar Tree.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Another trick for teaching letter sounds in an engaging way is to use Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD or Video. It has many catchy songs and great visuals. You can buy the DVD at Wal-mart, Target, or Amazon for about $8 or buy a digital version on YouTube for about $10.

The easiest way to teach letter sounds is to use NO PREP Alphabet Cut and Paste. There are 212 pages ready to go! Practice each letter of the alphabet with varying levels of difficulty for easy differentiation or multiple opportunities to practice. Just Print and Go!

Each of these pages can fit into a composition notebook with just one cut. You may also choose to paste it onto a sheet of construction paper and display students work. It also includes little letter books! 👇

Teachers love this because it saves prep time and keeps students engaged!

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This has cut down on my phonics prep time dramatically! -Heather H.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ These were great for an alphabet center for my kinders to review letter names and sounds. – Kate L.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is an absolutely great resource for letters. Students love them and are very engaged. – April N.

Let’s help beginning readers feel successful!

– 😊 Martha | MrsGalvan