Want a sneak peek of our printable activities from the NEWLY UPDATED Reading the Alphabet Letter Lessons? Of course you do!
I am so excited to share of Lesson 2, which is Letter Ff. Most all the letter lessons from Reading the Alphabet share the same activities, so you can transfer the ideas to other letters.
The letter lessons include all lessons except Lesson 7, Lesson 14, Lesson 20, Lesson 26, and Lesson 31. Those are Reading the Alphabet Word Family Lessons.
Reading the Alphabet Letter Lessons Demonstrated
It’s been exactly FIVE YEARS since the first edition of Reading the Alphabet bundle pack! And even longer since we released the free version of Reading the Alphabet.
After teaching three of my own kids using it, I’ve updated the clip art and added some no prep activities. But don’t worry. All the same hands-on activities are still there {with even more added}.
Pages for each letter include letter activities, phonological/phonemic awareness activities, fine motor activities, sight word activities, and a few math activities.
Everything you see in color is also included in blackline {except for the Letter Tracing Pages}. There’s a lot here, so keep scrolling!
For all the supplies I recommend visit HERE.
Please note: You DO NOT need to use every single activity for every letter each week. Ideas for substituting are included in the 5-day lesson outlines for each letter. If you teach learners who need extra work, there are enough activities to stretch each letter lesson over 7 or even 10 days.
1. Letter Book – The letter book is now offered in TWO versions. Version one works best for one learner.
Version two is doubled up on each page, so it makes printing for your classroom easier. The 5-day lesson outline gives you ideas each day for using the book or other variations of it from the curriculum.
2. One-Page Reader – All the same text and clip art from the letter books, just on one page. One idea for this page is to cut apart the strips and have learners paste them back in order using the book as an example.
3. Pocket Chart Reader – This activity is a great way help learners build print awareness! Just cut apart the words and ask learners to rebuild sentences on a pocket chart. If you don’t have a pocket chart, you’ll want to buy one {I recommend the standard pocket chart} or learners can use floor space.
4. Pocket Chart Picture Cards – Each lesson comes with cards that will also fit in the pocket chart. Use them along with the pocket chart reader
or have learners sort between different beginning letter sounds.
The picture cards are self-checking with the words on the back when you print them front to back.
Activities 5, 6, and 7 can be combined from each lesson to create a Handwriting Notebook. Just purchase a box of plastic sleeve protectors and slide these pages inside. The appendix {Part 6} has a front cover you can print to create your own.
5. Tracing Page – Learners trace the letter and a picture associated with that letter.
6. Letter Tracing Pages – Three options are available with this one. Uppercase letter only, lowercase letter letter only, and both uppercase/lowercase {pictured}.
7. Trace the Words – My youngest LOVED to trace when we used Reading the Alphabet, so I’ve added one more tracing page. Learners get practice tracing each word from the reader on this page.
8. It Rhymes With Cut & Paste Page – Work on rhyming with these no prep rhyming pages. Learners must find, cut, and paste ONLY the six words that rhyme: man, ran, can, pan, tan, and van. A picture key is included to be sure you’re gluing the six rhyming words.
9. Self-Checking Syllable Clip Cards – Print front and back to create self-checking syllable clip cards for each letter of the alphabet. Stars on the back will let learners to know if they have the correct answer or not. A syllable key is included so you’ll know the exact number of syllables for each word.
10. Dot the Syllables – This activity can be used in lieu of the syllable clip cards or on another day as an extra practice. Learners use dot paint {or even color in} the circles as they say the word and count each syllable. I love how visual this makes counting syllables!
11. It’s Starts with… Sound Sorts – Instead of using the pocket chart picture cards to sort beginning sounds, this no prep page can be used instead. You could also sort beginning letter sounds on the pocket chart one day and use this page on another day.
12. Concepts of Print Craft – In this simple activity, learners are working on concepts of print. Learners create something that begins with the focus letter. You can go all out or keep it really simple. Afterwards, you put together a sentence related to the craft.
13. Letter Lacing Cards – These simple lacing cards are a great way to help learners work on those fine motor muscles. These may work particularly well for learners who don’t like to trace.
14. Sight Word Song – Each letter lesson introduces a new sight word. For each sight word, a song is included set to the tune of a {hopefully} familiar tune. If the tune isn’t familiar, google the song to hear it.
15. Sight Word Cotton Swab/Poke Page – Learners can either use a Q-Tip to paint the sight word {I highly recommend washable paint!}
or put the page on carpet or a rug and use a pin to poke through the sight word.
16. Color by Sight Word Page – Follow the sight word color key to color in the picture.
17. Sight Word Activity Page – A no prep way to practice the featured sight word.
18. Sight Word Maze – Follow the sight word through the maze. I recommend allowing learners to use a pencil first {so they can erase mistakes} and then dotting or coloring through the maze next.
19. Sight Word Search – Learners find the featured sight word on each line. Learners can use transparent counters, like you see above one day and then use pencil or dot paint another day. {Half way through the curriculum, these become a little more challenging.}
20. Sight Word Rainbow Roll & Write – Roll a die and trace the word in a different color each time. How many times you have learners roll and write is up to you. About 6-8 times was all my preschooler had attention to do, but each learner is different.
At the end of the week, learners can either find or write the sight word into a sight word folder. Blank sight word folder pages and pages with words already filled in {as pictured above} can be found in the Appendix of this curriculum.
21. 20-Grids – Learners roll a die and cover the board until they get to 20. Encourage learners to cover the board going from left to right, the direction they go when they read.
22. Roll & Tally 20-Grid – This page includes tally marks, too! This is one I did WITH my preschooler. She rolled and covered, and I kept the tally marks at first. Once she watched me keep the tally marks for several lessons, she wanted to switch roles and keep the tally marks herself.
23. Number Dot Pages – FOUR options are available for each lesson. These four options allow you to differentiate the activity for your learners. You do not need to use every page with each learner.
For the first two pages include a 1-10 page and a 10-20 page. You’ll use the number cards included at the beginning of each curriculum section. Turn the number face-down. Learners pick a number, read the number, find the number, then dot the number on the page. {To use the page more than once, learners can use transparent counters the first time they play.}
The second set of dot pages includes a 1-die page and a 2-dice page. For the 2-dice page example, just roll the dice, add the numbers, and then dot the sum. The 1-die pages are even simpler. Directions are included on each page.
24. How Many? Math Mat – This used to only be available for Lessons 15-31, but I’ve now included it in each lesson! I LOVE how flexible this activity is. Here are just five ideas:
1- Place a number of objects on the mat and learners count them.
2- Learners draw a number, read the number, then put that many on the mat.
3- Learners draw a number, trace the number, then put that many on the mat.
4- Tell a simple number story to learners {using addition or subtraction}. They use the cards to solve it on the mat.
5. Tell a number story to learners. They use the cards to solve it on the mat. Then they build a number sentence based on your story with the symbol cards.
25. Cut & Pattern Cards – Learners work on identifying and building patterns, all based around the letter sound.
Cut apart the strips on the solid, horizontal lines.
Learners cut apart each image on the dotted lines. Then use the cards to make patterns together.
If you got to the end of this tutorial, congratulations. That’s a lot of information to digest! Be sure to also check out our Reading the Alphabet Word Family Lessons sneak peek, too!
The updated version is COMING SOON!
You might also want to see how I organized Reading the Alphabet.
Enjoy teaching!
~Becky