Subject: Reading
Skill: Alphabet Knowledge
Does your child struggle with knowing all of the letters of the alphabet?
If so . . .
Try This Tonight
Does your child know the letters that are vowels? See if your child knows that “a-e-i-o-u and sometimes y” are the vowel letters.
What Can You Say To Your Student?
“Can you find the letter G?”
“What letter comes next?”
“Let’s say this part slowly together.”
“You found it! Where else can we look?”
Where Should You Start?
Pick the sentence that best describes your child. Then select the activity to try.
My child mixes up the L-M-N-O-P part.
Try: Sing the Alphabet.My child can sing the alphabet but cannot identify letters.
Try: Point to Each Letter.My child struggles with one or two letters.
Try: Look for Letters Everywhere.My child already knows most letters.
Try: Start With a Different Letter.My child is ready to learn about vowels.
Try: Try This Tonight.My child enjoys games.
Try: Play the Camping Trip Game.
Try These Ideas at Home
Sing the Alphabet
Make sure your child knows and can clearly sing/ say the alphabet song. Make sure that your child says each letter distinctly when getting to the “L-M-N-O-P” part of the alphabet song.
This can be fun to sing when riding in the car or waiting in long lines at the grocery store. Ask your child to say/ sing the ABCs in a whisper voice, in a giggling voice, or in a sleepy voice.
See if your child can say/ sing the alphabet “slow like a turtle.” This can be especially helpful for that “L-M-N-O-P” part!
Point to Each Letter
Turn a piece of copy paper the long way, and write the letters of the alphabet in order across the top in a straight line. See if your child can say/ sing the alphabet while pointing to the correct letter.
For example, when your child says, “a” their finger should be pointing to that letter and your child should continue to point to the letters that they say/ sing.
Start With a Different Letter
If your child knows the alphabet song well, you try starting it at a different letter than “a” and see if your child can continue the song from that point.
For example, if you say, “E-F-G” can your child continue from where you left off with “H-I-J-K” and so on.
Look for Letters Everywhere
If there are letters that you know your child struggles to recognize by sight, play a game and look for that letter or letters everywhere you go.
For example, when you are in the car, ask your child to be on the lookout for the letter “G” in signs they see out the window. Or, when you get the mail, see if your child can find the letter “G” in the advertisements and flyers.
Play the Camping Trip Game
Play the “We’re Going on a Camping Trip” game. You start out with, “We’re going on a camping trip, and we’re going to take . . . some APPLES.”
Then, your child takes over with, “We’re going on a camping trip and we’re going to take . . . APPLES and BLANKETS.” Take turns adding on and going through the alphabet in the correct order.
This is a great game for memory and for coming up with words that start with each letter of the alphabet.