Learning the alphabet may be much harder than it looks for some. If you have a kindergarten class, you already know the importance of teaching your children alphabet recognition. I will discuss some simple teaching activities for alphabet recognition.
Alphabet corner. Every kindergarten class should have one. You can set up an area in your room where children can explore the alphabet in many different ways. You can use magnetic letters, stencils, blocks, picture cards, flash cards, stamps, cookie cutters, sponges, puzzles, games and more that have an alphabet theme for the corner. You will be amazed at how quickly your students begin to catch on to the letters and sounds they make.
Alphabet Concentration. You can make a set of letter cards with the lower case and or upper case. The kids can play the game of concentration by trying to match the letters together. You should make two of each letter, one letter per card. You can mix and match lower and upper case or just focus on one.
Gooey Alphabet Bags. Fill a plastic bag with hair gel, shaving cream, glue with food coloring, or any other gooey substance you can find. Have the students use their fingers to make letters on the outside of the bag. They can then shake the bag to start over. This gooey activity can be fun and not messy.
Name Scramble. Have your students put the letters to their names on separate cards. Then have them mix up the letters and then try to put their name into the proper order. They can also trade cards with other students and try to spell each other’s names.
Hunt for Letters. Give each student a letter of the alphabet. Then have them go on a treasure hunt around the classroom, in magazines, or books looking for their letter.
Alphabet Walk. Have students go outside and look for learned letters in environmental print. They can look on signs, buildings and more for the letters that they know.
Word Pairs. Write two rhyming words on the board such as, hair and pair, and then have them tell you the two letters in the words that are different.
Alphabet Hide and Seek. Hide cards with letters on them around the classroom. Have the students try to find a card. When they have found a card, they return to their seat and tell the rest of the class the letter that they found.
Alphabet Song. This song is easy to learn and fun to sing. Give students a letter of the alphabet and have them sing their letter when it is their turn.
Alphabet tag. Give students the rules to the game freeze tag. Let them know that if they are tagged, the only way to get unfrozen is to wait for the teacher to come to you and tell you one letter of the alphabet. The student will then need to give a word that starts with that letter to resume playing the game.
