1-2-3 Come Do Some Alphabet Activities With Me!

Woo hoo!  I just finished my latest creation.  As usual, it took way more time than I expected (2 weeks worth of work)!   

Whether assessing to see where your kiddos are at for the beginning of the school year, or helping children learn and practice upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet throughout the year, you'll find this a fun-filled packet, with some unique alphabet activities your students are sure to enjoy. 

I'm featuring some FREEBIES from the packet in today's blog, and hope you find them useful.

My kiddos LOVE making "Itty Bitty" booklets that are just the right size for little ones.  I've added a new "twist" to these mini "flip booklets" by having students cut the "covers" on the dashed line, so that the booklet is like a puzzle.  This feature allows you to do a variety of things with them.  I've also included full color templates, as well as a set in black and white for even more options.

Here are some ideas for the colored patterns: Laminate, trim and collate into a teacher’s copy of the alphabet booklet. For an independent center activity, make an extra set to use as puzzles. 

Print off two more sets using white copy paper, as well as beige to make two sets of a Memory Match game.  I find that it’s less frustrating, and takes less time, if the uppercase letters are on a different color than the lowercase ones.  Children then flip over one of each color.

For a whole-group game, pass out all of the cards.  Children sit in a circle on the floor. Play “I Have; Who Has?”  For example, the child with the uppercase letter A starts the game.  “I have uppercase letter A.  Who has the matching lowercase letter?”  This is a quick, easy and fun way to practice and review.

Ideas for the black and white set of cards:  Do as separate mini puzzle booklets, or have students save each one that they complete to later make one big ABC booklet: Print off the 1st page. (Aa-Ee) picture cards, as well as the matching trace and write page.   Give a copy to each child. Students work on one letter each day/week, however you teach the alphabet. 

When you are on the letter Zz, pass out the cover page as well.  Students cut and collate their flip booklets, cutting the picture pages on the dashed lines so that their booklets “flip open” from the center, to reveal the writing underneath.  

Besides having each child make their own alphabet flip booklet, later in the year, assign one page to each student, collect, and collate for an additional, student-made copy of the booklet for your classroom library.

Games are also an interesting and fun way to get children excited about practicing letters.  There are  three ways to play the full-color “Cover Me Quilt” game: cover the uppercase letters on the quilt with the lowercase tiles, or use the picture tiles, or the word tiles.  I store everything in a Ziploc Baggie and set this up as an independent center.

I've also included a "Cover Me" game in black & white, so that each of your students can make a matching game of their own.  This is a great home-school connection that provides more practice, and is especially beneficial for kiddos who are struggling. 

There's an alphabet poster that can double as a game as well.  Hang up the full-color ABC poster as an anchor chart, make another copy to use for a center.

Students can match the word cards to the poster.  These also work for Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Use the black and white patterns as worksheets.  Students can also design their own alphabet poster using the blank template. 

Need some "table top" or "morning work"? The packet has a nice variety of 14 worksheets to help practice both upper and lowercase letters.

To help build vocabulary, at the same time teaching alphabetical order, I have my kiddos make a dictionary of words. 

There are 10 cover options in the packet, along with pages for each letter. (Two on a page for quick printing.)

The packet also has a variety of unique ways to assess your kiddos that are simple for you and fun for them. "I Spy a Letter" is one of my Y5's favorites, and perfect for whole-group assessing. 

They also enjoy making ABC "sliders" which serve as an interesting way to assess at a glance. Besides the assessments, I've also included recording sheets for assessing uppercase letters, lowercase letters, letter sounds, word examples, as well as assessments for letter formation.

After children have passed an assessment, reward them with a certificate of praise or ABC bookmark. As you can see, I've included a little bit of everything.  

This Alphabet Activities packet is a whopping 121 pages long and just $5.95 in my TpT shop.  Click on the link to pop on over. As promised, there are FREEBIES! Today, I have two for you that are from this packet.

Do you need some letter tiles, so that your kiddos can cut and glue them to make words or play games with? The packet includes both upper and lowercase ones in 4 different sizes.  From one set on a page to 8 sets.

Simply print, laminate and trim to use for Daily 5 or other word work activities or to use in centers and for games. This  Letter Tile freebie, includes a 4-page tip list, filled with ideas and games to use the letter tiles for.  Click on the link to grab your copy.  

The other FREEBIE revolves around a set of posters. Use these alphabet anchor charts to help students remember and recognize  lowercase letters, by pointing out their differences, as the letters are grouped into 3 catergories.  

For more practice, I've included two worksheets, along with a Venn diagram. Have students choose 2 letters from 2 of the categories and graphically compare and contrast them using the Venn diagram. Click on the link to view/download these freebies.

That's it for today; time to play.  The lovely, 70 degree sunshine-filled afternoon, is calling me.  Wishing you and yours a wonderful weekend.

 "Dictionary - opinion expressed as truth in alphabetical order." -John Ralston Saul