Alphabet activities for learning letter shapes

Alphabet activities for learning the letter shapes

There are many fun alphabet activities that can help children to learn the letter shapes. We must remember that learning the letter shapes is a lot of work! There are two shapes for each letter (uppercase and lowercase). These can be written in different sizes, fonts, handwriting styles, etc. It can be a difficult job for a young child to learn! Good thing they are eager and quick learners. There are things we can do to make it easier for them to do this important job.

First, make sure they have a good foundation of the letter names before introducing the shapes.

Second, teach the letters in a way that is most conducive to learning. The research-proven method for teaching the letter shapes is the following:

Directly teach the letter shape. Show the shape, talk about what makes it similar to and different from other letter shapes. This should take just a couple of minutes.
Introduce a new letter every day. Your child is not expected to master the letter after one day. However, by introducing all of the letters quickly, all letters can be reviewed and practiced extensively.
Use quick, frequent practice sessions to review the letter shapes.
Play games and alphabet activities with the letters and have fun.
Teach both the uppercase and lowercase letter shapes.
After introducing each letter, go back through the letters (again one per day). This builds fluency and confidence.

How to practice and review the letter shapes

There are three alphabet activities that are powerful practice for letter shapes. We recommend that these activities be done regularly. They are as follows:

Rapid naming practice. You can play a game called “My Pile, Your Pile”. To see a video and a description of this game, click on the link. Practice rapid naming of the letters every day.
Sorting. Make some letter cards or use magnetic letters. You can divide uppercase and lowercase letters into two different piles. Encourage your child to name the letters as she sorts them. There are many, many sorting alphabet activities. They are excellent for building skills in letter naming. For a complete discussion of sorting and a list of sorting activities, click on the link.
Matching. Make some letter cards. Put them out (for young children we recommend putting the cards face-up). Let your child make matches. You might match the same letter, uppercase and lowercase, different fonts of the same letter, or many other types of matches. For a complete discussion of matching and a list of matching activities, click on the link.

For a complete, research-based system of teaching the alphabet to young children, including a CD of original songs, more than 70 lessons and games, beginning writing practice, and assessments, see our Letters and Sounds Kit (available Spring 2010).

When to move on to the next step

In learning the letter shapes, the goal is fluency and flexibility. Fluency refers to the ease and speed of recognizing and naming the letter shapes. Flexibility is being able to identify letter shapes in a variety of situations: different fonts (basic ones), sizes, handwritten or typed. When your child exhibits the following behaviors, it is time to introduce the letter sounds: