1-2-3 Come Make An Alphabet Paperclip Pal With Me

One summer I was attaching an upper & lowercase letter bookmark to my open house packet. As I slipped the paperclip over the bookmark, I saw the possibilities of children sliding the paperclip across the bookmark to "frame" a particular set of letters.

Thus, 14 years ago, the Paperclip Alphabet Pal was born.  I have since updated "Willie the Worm", and designed 37 Paperclip Pals for my latest alphabet packet. 

I hope your kiddos have as much fun with their alpha-pal bookmarks, as I did designing the assortment. They are a super-fun way for your kiddos to practice recognizing upper and lowercase letters.

Choose a pal that fits your needs or theme.  Run it off on construction paper or card stock and trim. 

Students add some color with crayons or markers. For some of the pals they also cut and glue.

Pass out large paperclips. Students attach it to their "bookmark".

Play “I Spy" with them by calling out a letter.  Children manipulate the paperclip, sliding it over the letters ’til they find the appropriate one.  The upper and lowercase letters should be peeking through the “window” of the paperclip.

Paperclip Alphabet Pals are a quick, easy and interesting way to whole group assess as well.  After a letter is called and found, students raise their bookmark in the air.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.  

I’ve included a recording sheet for this, as well as an assessment.  Later, you can work one-on-one with struggling students to individually assess all of the letters, pinpointing specific problems.

Children can also partner up and play the I Spy game together. 

By having made notes with the whole group game, you can now put a stronger child together with a struggling one.

Use the Paperclip Pal for spelling too. Little ones can practice spelling their names, while older students can practice a spelling list with a partner.

Manipulating a paperclip by pinching and moving it, provides good practice to help strengthen finger muscles, which will improve coordination and dexterity so important for pre-writing.

There are 37 Paperclip Alphabet Pals to choose from.  You can run them off and give students a choice, or choose one that’s appropriate for a particular season or theme.

They come in full color as well as black and white.  I made colorful ones, so that you can give them as a little gift for the first day of school. These can be laminated then trimmed.

Later, pick something different, and have children make one of their own.

There’s also an assortment for Halloween and Valentine’s Day, so that you can pass them out as gifts or prizes to celebrate those holidays, plus an elf-themed one you can give as a special surprise, if you do Elf on a Shelf activities.   

I’ve also included a blank one so that children can design their own, or have them glue their school photo at the top to make a special keepsake.

For additional practice, students can make an extra one to keep at home .  I’ve included a note home explaining this, as well as a recording sheet, plus a classroom chart and certificate of praise.

Ten worksheets also provide additional practice. 

The tongue-twisting, Paperclip Alphabet Pal Packet, is a whopping 86-pages long and just $3.95 in my TpT shop.  Click on the link to pop on over. 

As always, I have a FREEBIE for you from the packet. Besides practicing letters with a Paperclip Bookmark Pal, I also designed two "Color me" alphabet mats.

You can use these as homework, anchor charts, student-made posters, table top worksheets, something for early finishers, or a tool for individually & whole group assessing.

Play an "I Spy" game with them and have students cover the called out letter with a paperclip; or run them off and tuck them in your sub folder. Click on the link to grab a copy.

That's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  It's really hot today (pushing 90) so I think I'll stay put and chill in the comfort of my air conditioned office, "playing" with my school supplies designing more fun stuff, as I listen to the relaxing sounds of the surf.

 "Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon." - C. Day Lewis