Today I’m sharing a free alphabet tracing book, perfect for kids who are struggling to learn letter names.
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If you have students who struggle to remember their alphabet, this post is for you!
I’m sharing a printable alphabet tracing book, a free sample from my collection of Alphabet Games & Activities. It’s perfect for three types of children:
1- Young learners who struggle to remember their letters
2- English language learners who need to learn the alphabet quickly to catch up with their peers
3- Preschoolers who know their alphabet but need help with letter formation
I created the book for my three-year-old. She knows all of her uppercase letters and at least half of her lowercase letters by sight – but she’s developed her own way of writing letters.
I’m thrilled that she loves to write letters on her own, even though we haven’t done any formal handwriting practice. The above picture is a computer she made out of a pizza box. Those letters in circles are the keys. 🙂
However, I’m realizing that the more she writes those letters her own way, the harder it’s going to be to teach her correct letter formation.
She’s not ready for worksheets. What’s a mama to do?
The alphabet tracing book is my answer!
It’s a collection of cards with an uppercase letter, lowercase letter, and picture cue on each one. Each letter has a green dot to show the child where to begin tracing.
You’ll also notice that each letter has arrows to show you how to correctly form the letter. When I say you, I mean the adult. I don’t expect my toddler or even an older child to know how to follow those arrows to write the letter. But you can use them as a reference when showing your learner how to form the letter.
As you can see, I recommend that you hold the child’s hand as s/he is learning to form the letters correctly.
You’ll probably find that your learners don’t need guidance with some of the easier letters, like this one.
Here’s a good procedure to follow:
1 – Have the child trace each letter with a finger. Remind him/her to start at the green dot and go down (or around, depending on the letter). If necessary, hold the child’s hand for proper letter formation.
2 – Next, have the child point to each item on the card and name it. For this card, my daughter said, “G g, guitar.”
If you’re doing these with a preschooler, as I am, you can expect that they will not have the stamina to go through the entire book. After letter H, my daughter told me that she’d had enough.
Other teaching tips
- Make sure you laminate the cards and put them on a ring for durability and ease of use.
- If you’re doing the cards in a classroom setting, have a tutor or aide work with the learner to do the entire stack at least once a day.
- If a learner knows fewer than ten letters, start small. Have him/her trace only the letters in his/her name and the letters s/he knows for a month before doing the entire stack.
- If your focus is letter recognition, have your learners use their finger and not a dry erase marker. It’s the tactile experience that helps learners remember the letter names.
If you’d like to learn more about the letter tracing book, you can read about it in Jan Richardson’s book, The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading. She’s been using alphabet tracing books for twenty years and has some great data to show how well they work!
Get your free alphabet tracing cards!
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Alphabet Games & Activities
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Get the full bundle of activities with letter tracing and play dough mats, editable games, and much more!
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Free Alphabet Printables
Join our email list and get this free sample of alphabet activities from our membership site! Students will practice identifying and forming letters, matching upper to lowercase, and identifying beginning sounds.
