Teaching letter a to preschoolers

5 Easy ways to teach the alphabet to preschoolers | Daycare Blog

Teaching children the alphabet is foundational to learning how to read. Before children can put together sounds or draw together lines that make words, they need to know what they are. If you’ve never taught the alphabet before, the concept may sound abstract: how do you teach something that comes so naturally to you? Teaching letters can be really fun and simple. In this article, we’ll give you easy ways to teach the alphabet to preschoolers.

1) Sing alphabet songs

Obviously, we all know the English-language, “A-B-C-D, E-F-G,” song. That’s a great place to start. However, there are more alphabet songs, which can add variety to your tunes, and help kids learn the alphabet in different ways.

This article lists a whole bunch of alphabet songs to try. And, if you saw our article on YouTube channels for toddlers and preschoolers, you can find letter-related songs there too. The visuals in videos can show objects that start with each letter, and sometimes the songs also pronounce sounds too.

One important note brought up by this early childhood educator, is that kids should go from singing the song, to being able to say and point out the letters without a tune. So don’t stop at singing!

2) Play letter matching games

Letter matching games are easy to set up. You can have a poster board with the alphabet printed on it in large letters. Have separate letter magnets or paper letters cut out at the same size as the print letters. Ask the preschoolers to match their cut outs to the letters on the chart. Where does “A” go? Place the letter “A” cut out on top of the printed “A” on the poster board. Get them to practice doing this with all the other letters.

As the early childhood educator mentioned above noted, you can also have an alphabet ‘arc,’ where one end of a half-circle shows the letter “A”, and the other end the letter “Z”. In between you can have other letters in the alphabet shown, but not all of them. Ask the preschoolers to put down their block letters in the right sequence, using the pre-filled in letters as clues.

3) Open a new ‘alphabet box’ each week

You may have seen us post on Facebook that a certain week is brought to you by a letter we’re covering. It may be “C,” and you’ll see photos of us painting the letter C at daycare, or learning about animals that start with the letter “C.” Weekly letter themes are common in preschools.

You can take your weekly letter curriculum a step further by creating a box that children can open to discover objects that relate to that letter.

For example, on the week covering the letter “A,” your preschoolers can open (or even unlock) a box that contains an apple, a toy airplane, a toy alligator, an acorn, an arrow (a safe one!), and so on. In fact, don’t tell the children right away what letter the box of ‘treasures’ represents. Ask them if they can guess the letter they’ll cover that week by observing the objects in the box alone. This can be a fun and whimsical way to have your children get excited about the week ahead, and work together to come up with an answer.

3) Use interdisciplinary learning with each letter, to strengthen letter associations

Since repeating a letter over and over again can get boring, you can mix it up a little by bringing in related lessons. You can start with a week’s letter as your core subject. Then, throughout the day, teach interdisciplinary subjects that still relate.

For example, if you are on the letter “R,” you can learn about the colour “red” too, since it starts with “R.” Ask the children, ‘what things are red?’ If you are on the letter “A,” you can learn about apples. We’ve done this before, where we teach children about the types of apples there are, as well as explain that seeds are inside an apple, and so on.

This blogger lists a whole bunch of crafts you can you incorporate into your letter learning. For example, you can make holes with a hole punch for the letter “H.” This can then lead into learning about the circle shape. You get the idea…

4) If you use flashcards to teach the alphabet, use logical ones

Flashcards are a great memorization tool, and the alphabet is all about memorizing. However, this teacher warns that sometimes, pre-made flashcards can get really confusing. If you are teaching the letter “D” and there is an image of something that simply uses the sound of “D” somewhere in the word, but doesn’t start with “D”… well you can quickly see how even adults would be confused by that.

Remember, at this stage, you’re not teaching phonetics or complex vocabulary and pronunciation. First, children need to recognize and know the alphabet. Use the simplest flash cards, with the simplest pictures of the objects and animals that preschoolers can recognize.

That said, sometimes you want to use lowercase and uppercase letters in your flashcards…and yes, that can be confusing for the very young learners, especially when the upper and lowercase look so different, but are called the same thing. But if you’re using a set of magnets, for example, you can just use their uppercase versions, that’s ok (they may only come in that form). For very early learners, you can start really basic. Just don’t forget to start showing them the lowercase and uppercase letters together at some point in their alphabet learning journey.

5) Eat foods shaped like letters to help preschoolers learn their alphabet

Speaking of interdisciplinary alphabet learning, why not do a baking session with the kids at preschool? They can use letter-shaped cookie cutters to make a fun and yummy snack. Meanwhile, there is a host of lessons you can teach with the baking activity. Chemistry, cooking, nutrition…the list goes on.

If you want the easy route, try commercially-sold letter-shaped biscuits. IKEA has a version of these. Ask your toddler or preschooler to name the alphabet letter they’re about to eat. Eating it can be the reward for getting it right!

And of course, there is alphabet soup, or noodles shaped like letters. You can make mealtime fun, and educational, with these edible alphabet manipulatives.

So there you have it, 5 easy ways to teach the alphabet to preschoolers. They may even be fun for you, too! It is super cute to hear little ones pronounce letters, and guess what object goes with each letter. When your preschoolers are learning the alphabet, be sure to take every teachable opportunity you can to encourage them to recognize letters in the world around them. If you’re on a field trip, ask the children if they can spot their letter-of-the-week on a street or building sign. If you’re reading a book, see if they can spot the letters you’re reading to them. Keep pushing letter recognition throughout the day, so the lessons can really sink into their memory.

See more on our blog:

• How to teach digraphs to preschool children (6 ways)
• What is the best way to teach word recognition to early childhood readers?
• Why is literacy crucial in the early years? How can parents and preschools help with reading skills?
• How to teach toddlers and preschoolers to count, and learn their numbers
• Ideas for teaching shapes in preschool and daycare

20 Fun Activities to Teach Your Preschoolers the Letter "A"

Preschool is the very first step into formal education for most children. This is where we learn the basics of counting, distinguishing colors, and learning about animals. With all of these options to choose from, where should teachers start to set a foundation for further understanding and learning? With the alphabet! and...which letter does the alphabet start with? A! So here are 20 of our favorite simple and effective activities for your students to use in their journey of communication and literacy.

This simple and associative activity connects the letter "A" with the word "Apple". Young learners can link an idea or concept to a letter sound to help with letter recognition. This alphabet craft idea uses paper apple trees and playdough to improve a preschooler's motor skills and memory, as well as introduce basic counting.

Learn more: Fun with Mama

This paper plate activity was inspired by a game with remembering names, but it can be used to learn the alphabet too! Write some simple words that start with the letter "A" on paper plates, and also include some words that do not. Take turns letting your students try and hit the letter "A" words into a goal with a hockey stick!

Learn more: How We Learn

This fun letter alphabet craft uses contact paper to make cutouts of "A" and "a" so your preschooler can paint all they want and not cover them up. As the child paints, the color stays on the regular paper, but cannot stick to the contact paper. So when they are done, the letters are still white and visible surrounded by bright colors ready to hang on the wall!

Learn more: Fun with Mama

This fun activity uses magnetic letters hidden around the room to help students remember "A". Have a letter hunt around the room and play a song that sings different words that have the letter "A" in them. Students can run around the room and try to find the letters that make up this word.

Learn more: No Time For Flashcards

5. Letter Slap!

This super simple hands-on activity needs a fly swatter, some alphabet letters, and you! Arrange the cutouts for letter sounds on the floor and give your preschooler the fly swatter. Make it an exciting challenge by inviting their friends or doing this in the classroom to see who can slap first.

Learn more: Pinterest

This alphabet tree craft is an awesome sensory activity for kids to mess around with different materials, textures, and colors. You can find a palm tree stick-on at your local craft store and some foam letters too. Find a big window and stick it on your tree. Foam letters can stick on the glass when they get wet so kids can play around with forming words on the window.

Learn more: Pre-K Pages

This exciting letter sound jumping game involves a foam letter mat, some fun dancing music, and your kiddos! Start the music and have them dance around on the letters. When the music stops they must say the letter they are standing on and a word that begins with that letter.

Learn more: Mom to Posh Lil Divas

This printable letter A activity can be made at home using a cardboard box and some color paper. Make a monster cut out with a big mouth hole so your kids can feed the monster letters. You can say a letter or word and have them find the uppercase letter and put it in the monster's mouth.

Learn more: Happy Tot Shelf

This useful listening and matching letters game is similar to bingo, and fun for kids to do together. Print out some bingo cards with alphabet letters and get some dot markers to mark the cards. You can also use little letter stickers you preschoolers can place on the spaces to save paper.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

This alphabet activity focused on creating the upper case letter "A" in the shape of an alligator head! This example is simple and easy for your preschooler to recreate with some sticky notes, or regular paper and a glue stick.

Learn more: The Simple Parent

This makes your kiddos letter creations into an exciting race of fun and motor skills practice! Have your kids write all the "A" words they know on a piece of paper and then show them how to fold it into a paper airplane. Let them fly their airplanes and practice reading the words they wrote.

Learn more: The Kindergarten Connection

This letter activity will make bath time a blast! Get some thick foamy soap and a letter tile or board for writing. Kids can practice letter formation and letter patterns by drawing them with soap as they get cleaned up!

Learn more: Pinterest

This idea for letter learning is great for motor skill development. Fill a bucket or container with some dirt, plastic toy ants, and some individual letters. Have your kiddo fish for ants and letter "A" then count to see how many they got!

Learn more: Stir the Wonder

14. Alphabet Soup

Whether it's in a bathtub, a kiddie pool, or in a big container, alphabet soup is always a fun activity for preschoolers. Grab some big plastic letters and throw them in the water, then give your child a big ladle and see how many letters they can scoop up in 20 seconds! When time is up see if they can think of a word for each of the letters they fished.

Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayons

Pick up a few pool noodles from the swim shop, cut them into small pieces, and write a letter on each piece. There are tons of fun games and activities you can play with chunky pool noodle letters. Spelling out names, animals, colors, or sound recognition games for easy alphabet practice.

Learn more: Simply Kinder

This activity is hands-on giving your young learner a better chance of remembering the letter they are creating. Grab some play-dough and a printout of capital "A" and lower-case "a" and have your child or students mold their play-dough to match the shape of the letters.

Learn more: Fun with Mama

Preschoolers and kids of all ages love building and creating things with LEGOs. This activity is simple, just using some pieces of paper and LEGOs. Have your child write the letter "A" on their paper nice and big, then have them use the LEGOs to cover the letter and build it up as much as they like with their own unique design.

Learn more: Little Bins for Little Hands

This game will get your preschoolers excited to learn and remember letter "A" words in a fun and lightly competitive way. Get 3 plastic cups, some tape you can write on, and something small to hide underneath. Write simple words starting with "A" on your pieces of tape and put them on the cups. Hide the small item under one cup and mix them up for your kids to follow and guess.

Learn more: Playdough to Plato

Getting outside is a great start to any lesson. Grab some sidewalk chalk and have a list of simple "A" words for your preschoolers to write on the sidewalk then draw a picture of. This is super fun, creative, and gets your kids excited to share their chalk masterpieces.

Learn more: Toddler Approved

A car is not typically the place you would choose for an alphabet lesson, but if you are going on a long trip this is a fun idea to try! Have your little ones look for signs or objects that start with the letter "A". Maybe they see a sign with an "arrow", or they see an "angry" dog barking. This activity is an engaging letter search that will make the drive fly by!

Learn more: Pinterest

Literacy "Sound [a] and letter A"

In our first online literacy lesson, we will go to the land of sounds and letters, where anyone who wants to can learn to read and write.

There are many different sounds in the world: the sound of rain, the sound of a woodpecker on a tree, the rustle of leaves, the sound of the sea, the signal of a car, the barking of a dog, the speech of a person.

All sounds can be divided into speech and non-speech . Non-speech sounds include the sounds of the surrounding world, and the sounds that we hear when a person speaks are called speech sounds. The first sound we will be introduced to is the sound [a] ...

Name what is shown in the picture. Find the same sound in words:

Right, watermelon, stork, aquarium, orange. All these words have the first sound [a].

Let's all take a deep breath through the nose together, and while exhaling let's say the sound [a] with our mouth wide open, first softly, ahh…, then loudly, ahh…. Repeat 2 times.

What sound is this? Vowel or consonant? Prove…

1.

• Name the words in which the sound [a] would be at the beginning ....
• Name the words in which the sound [a] would be in the middle . ...
• in which the sound [a] would be at the end of the word ....
• What are the names of people, names of cities, rivers, countries that begin with the sound [a] ...
• Match words with one sound [a] ..... with two sounds [a] ...... with three sounds [a]

2. "Recognize the sound." Clap your hands if you hear the sound in the word [a] .

3. The game "Curious". Any question answer only words that begin with the sound [a]

1. What is your name?….
2. What is your last name?….
3. Where did you come from?…
4. What did you see on the way?
5. What did you eat for breakfast today?
6. What is your mother's name?….
7. What gift will you bring to your mother?….

4. Game “Extra Four”

Look at the pictures, name the “extra” object, explain why you think so…

Answer: This is an umbrella, since all other words begin with the sound [a] .

5. Slove a word

To get you, I do not need oats. Forture me with gasoline,

to the hoofs give me rubber,

and then, having raised the dust,

(car) (car)

***

He is kinder than everyone in the world,

He heals sick animals,

And once a hippopotamus

He pulled out of the swamp.

He is famous, famous.

This is a doctor… (Aibolit)

***

Badge letters, like fighters on a parade,

Lined up in a strict order.

Everyone stands in the agreed place,

And everyone is called ... (alphabet)

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