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How to teach the alphabet to preschoolers
1. Say words that begin with the target letter. Have your preschoolers identify the words’ beginning sound.
- Say each word after me. (Emphasize the /d/ at the beginning of each word as you say it.) Dinosaur. Duck. Dog. Dip. Door. What sound did you say at the beginning of each word? The sound is /d/. (Make sure you don’t add “uh” to the end of the sound.)
2. Talk about how you form the sound.
- Look at what my mouth is doing as I say /d/. Now you try. What is your tongue doing when you say /d/? Put your hand on your throat as you say /d/. Is it a quiet or noisy sound? (noisy)
3. Introduce the letter. (Choose uppercase or lowercase.)
- (Hold up a letter d flash card.) This is the letter d. When we see this card, we say, “d spells /d/.” Your turn. (Students: “d spells /d/.”)
4. Teach students to form the letter using sky-writing and finger-tracing.
- To make the letter d, we start in the middle, pull back, around, go all the way up, and down.
- Watch me put my hand in the air and write a d in the sky. I start in the middle, pull back, around, go all the way up, and down. Now you try. Put your finger in the air. Start in the middle, pull back, around, go all the way up, and down.
- Make a d by moving your finger on the table. Start in the middle, pull back, around, go all the way up, and down. (Other options: sand or salt tray, shaving cream, etc.) Now do the same thing while saying “d spells /d/.” Remember to underline the d when you say /d/. (Practice multiple times.)
Looking for a done-for-you alphabet curriculum?
Alphabet Curriculum for Preschool
$29.00
Our curriculum includes lessons for teaching both upper and lowercase letter names and sounds. You’ll get three lessons per letter, built-in review, simple handwriting practice, rhyming, syllable counting, phonemic awareness, and a whole lot more!
5. Spend several days focused on the new letter. Be sure to practice identifying the letter’s name and sound using flash cards. Incorporate simple handwriting practice and alphabet games.
6. Always review previously learned letters. One problem with traditional Letter of the Week approaches is they don’t always incorporate review. Make sure you review the previously learned flash cards with your new one. Play games that include all the letters you’ve taught.
7. Make sure you’re incorporating other early literacy skills and concepts.
- Read aloud children’s picture books. Make the read alouds interactive by asking simple questions. (Find our alphabet book lists here.)
- Incorporate phonemic awareness by helping students blend sounds into simple 3-letter words. You can even practice spelling by helping students stretch 3-letter words into their sounds and naming the letters that spell each sound.
8. If you’d like, do crafts, math, and science activities for the featured letter. Just know that while these are fun, research indicates that direct teaching of letters and sounds is most effective.
Click on a letter to see sample activities
Looking for more alphabet resources?
Looking for a done-for-you alphabet curriculum?
Alphabet Curriculum for Preschool
$29.00
Our curriculum includes lessons for teaching both upper and lowercase letter names and sounds. You’ll get three lessons per letter, built-in review, simple handwriting practice, rhyming, syllable counting, phonemic awareness, and a whole lot more!
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Melanie
What age do you recommend teaching letters and letter sounds in a letter of the week style?
Anna Geiger
If you do that, I would definitely do it before kindergarten, because at that age kids need to learn letters much more quickly. I think it’s okay to do a letter of the week style in preschool (around 3-4 years old), provided you incorporate a lot of review and make sure to directly teach the letters and sounds, such as in the way described in this post. Be aware that you may be able to teach 2-3 letters per week, as long as you are doing a lot of review.