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How to teach the alphabet to preschoolers

Are you wondering how to teach the alphabet to preschoolers? Or just looking for ideas? You’ll find hundreds of ideas for learning at The Measured Mom®.

How to teach the alphabet collage image

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!

Buy Now

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.)
  • Practice rhyming and counting syllables.
  • 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!

Buy Now

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Reader Interactions

130 Comments

    • 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.

      Reply to this comment

  5. sharon wenger

    I can’t thank you enough for the Letter of the Week Curriculum! I teach a small preschool group of 10 students in my home (non-licensed/as a favor to parents since our Christian school closed). For years I looked for curriculum; my former director spend $$$ on one that was so far above my students’ heads I barely used it. Then I discovered yours — what a difference! The hands-on activities are so appropriate to the age-levels and the TIME you save by including all the printables is amazing. I use your food, book, and science activity ideas on my weekly newsletter to parents so they are equipped with ideas at home. Plus, I got your math curriculum during the summer sale & have easily added that to our class time! Thanks so much for making a profoundly child-(and teacher!)-friendly that is affordable!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Jennifer

    Hi, I stumbled upon your site today while trying to find something that my very tactile learner could do. Her sister is very crafty and the curriculum we used for her is not working for my 3 year old. I am in the process of buying your ABC curriculum, that I believe is going to benefit both my girls with all the activities you have for math and science. I did have a question and was wondering if you could help with some ideas or suggestions? I get very overwhelmed at home and I am trying to homeschool both my girls who like I said above learn differently. I am trying to find a why to get organized and come up with a routine or something that I am not school them for hours upon hours. They are only 3 and 5.

    Reply to this comment

  8. Catherine

    Dear Measured Mom,
    Thank you for all the useful resources you’ve shared here! 😀

    I’ve purchased your “Letter of the Week Curriculum”, and I’m wondering if there are “colored version” of those key words for each letter?

    Thank you again for all the hard work you put in these wonderful resources!

    Reply to this comment

  9. Millie

    I stumbled upon your site earlier today and can I just say that you are a life saver! I am a 2s and 3s teacher who works year round. My school’s first year (just opened in August 2017) is drawing to a close and because it is summer, my assistant and I have basically been reviewing and enjoying summer centered activities. Imagine my dismay when I realized that a new school year (along with new students) is only TWO weeks away and of course, I have no lesson plans prepared!!! You are a life saver! I quickly purchased the Letter of The Week curriculum and am no longer in a frenzy because it is chock-full of activities and crafts that can and will be used to the fullest! Half the work is already done so I won’t have my daughter getting jealous that I’m spending all my time on work stuff and not enough time on her. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the time and energy that you’ve put into making these resources available to everyone.

    Reply to this comment

  11. Maya

    Hello, Mrs. Anna G.
    My name is Maya and I work as a researcher at National Institute of Education of Turkmenistan. Now I am writing researcher paper on topic “Developing and increasing the reading skills of primary school students in English classes”. I am interested in your alphabet teaching methods and I like them. Could I use your methods in my research paper? I want to ask your permission about this issue, of course if your don’t mind.
    I am looking forward to hearing from you.
    Best wishes

    Reply to this comment

  12. Catie Parrish

    I love the resources you have on your website! I am a paraprofessional at an elementary school and use your resources to make my lessons more fun for my students. Thanks so much for all your great ideas!!

    Reply to this comment

  13. Sarah

    Hi! I noticed a comment earlier that said you were in the process of updating the entire book and it would be ready early January 2018. I was just wondering on when this would be as I would love to purchase the updated book.

    Thanks!

    Reply to this comment

  15. Stacey

    I love the and curriculum. I am a former kindergarten teacher that just started in a private preschool. I had 3’s this year. I get to live back to prek in the fall. My question is can you letter order he rearranged or does each letter build on the other. We use Letter People and the letters begin with MTFNA and they build on each other in the weekly videos. I was just wondering if I could change the order of the letters and it still work well. Thanks, Stacey

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hi Stacey!

      The curriculum is very flexible and does not go in a particular order. I offer a suggested sequence and encourage teachers and parents to choose the order they’d like.

      Reply to this comment

  21. Amy

    I am so impressed with the collection of ideas that you have put together. I love the letter progression that you have for the uppercase letter. I no longer see that on this page, and was wondering if you could share that again with us.
    Thanks.

    Reply to this comment

  22. Celena

    First, you’re awesome! I am nota SAHM and my children aren’t homeschooled, however I am very hands on mom and I believe that every moment can be a teaching moment. I just found your site today and it has already given me so much material and help. I was one of those kids who just “got it”. So teaching hasn’t been easy for me. Your site will help me tremendously. I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you. I will most definitely tell all of my friends about you!

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Thank you so much, Celena, both for the very kind note and for spreading the word! I don’t homeschool either, but I love supplementing what my kids are learning at school. It’s also great to have some tricks up your sleeve when homework is tough. 🙂

      Reply to this comment

  23. catherine

    I simply love this site. Having moved from the UK where part time pre-school is free we are trying to home school between the paid session we can afford for our 3 year old twins so they don’t get behind. This site is absolutely fabulous and its wonderfully generous to share all these ideas.

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      I’m so glad you’re finding things to use with your children, Catherine! I’m sure that with the learning activities you do at home they’ll be right up to speed. 🙂

      Reply to this comment

  24. Heather

    Thank you, thank you for the free alphabet picture cards. This is a great resource to use during circle time when reviewing our letters and sounds! I love your website and all the wonderful ideas you share.

    Reply to this comment

  25. Amalina

    Hi Anna,

    I am so glad I found your webpage. I have a 2 years 4 mths old son who is absorbing things really fast now. Thus, I am beginning to start teaching him alphabets. Would like to ask your opinion if I should also let him learn the sounds of the alphabets at the time time as I introduce each letter if I teach using the letter of the week approach. Also, do I begin with only capital letters first or should I start teaching him both upper and lower case at the same time?

    Thank you in advance for your advice. Truly love this page!

    Reply to this comment

      • Anna Geiger

        Hello, Amalina! Definitely start with the letters of his name. After that you can go in whatever order you want, since at 2 1/2 it’s probably too early to have him start writing the letters. When he’s ready to write them, I like to start with the straight letters (E, F, H, etc.) before moving on to the harder ones (X,Z,O, etc.) and ending with the really tough ones (R,S, etc.)

        I think you should definitely try to teach the sounds with the letters – he will probably pick that up. Just make it fun. “B! /b/, /b/, butterfly!” You can talk like that any time, not just when you’re officially doing letter of the week activities. Point out letters in books and repeat their sounds.

        I always started with just upper with my kids, but they typically picked up lowercase pretty easily. So now with my 3 year old I am doing upper and lowercase at the same time. I would focus on the upper but also try doing the lower and see if he can remember both. OR do all upper and then add lower later. It’s really your call.

        Hope this helps!

        Reply to this comment

  27. Becky

    Hi Anna,
    I love your site. We’ve been following your fine motor activities (uppercase letters) and my daughter loves it. So next I’m wondering how you teach the lowercase letters?
    Thanks,
    Becky

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hi Becky!

      I do not have a series for that, but if you follow the general ideas I’ve shared you don’t need one. I would start with the simple straight letters (i, t, etc.), move on to lines with curves and curved letters (j, m, n, c, e etc.) and then go to circles (a, b, d, etc.). On the other hand, if your daughter doesn’t have trouble forming letters you could go in any order you wanted. You could follow the same general pattern we do: build the letter using a blank block letter, build it using spare pieces, write it in sand or another material, and use handwriting pages. Here’s a post I did for another blog about the sequence we use. http://handsonhomeschooler.com/2013/08/how-to-teach-kids-to-write-the-alphabet.html It’s also okay to skip steps if your daughter doesn’t need them!

      Reply to this comment

  28. Michelle

    YOu list the order here that you teach the letters, however I am confused because you say you follow the Reading Mama curriculum and the order she introduces letters with the sight words that you have made emergent readers for is not the same order you have listed here. So what order do you follow, or does it differ by age?

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hi, Michelle! I’m sorry for the confusion.

      This Reading Mama has two curricula: Learning the Alphabet and Reading the Alphabet. Learning the Alphabet is just that. It’s similar to what we do here and focuses on letter recognition and sounds. Learning the Alphabet is a new curriculum, and I’ve just started using it along with the alphabet activities you see here. Currently I’m going through the alphabet with my 3 year old, but we are going in order. That’s because he’s not ready to write the letters, so it doesn’t really matter what order we go in. I post the week’s activities each Saturday, if you’d like to see what those look like. We’ll be sharing letter E this week.

      Reading the Alphabet is a beginning reader curriculum and comes AFTER kids recognize their letters and sounds. She does focus on a letter for each lesson, but only because she has kids reading words that start with that letter. After my 3 year old is done with alphabet activities, we might start with Reading the Alphabet. Depending on his abilities, I might wait until he is closer to 4.

      Does that make sense?

      Reply to this comment

  29. Cheswa

    Anna your site is really amazing. Please keep doing what you are doing. I’m a homeschool mom to two toddlers and here in Namibia I don’t have access to much affordable material but your site has provided much. Its such a blessing to me to be able to use all the free stuff on here. I will be using it for years to come. God bless you guys.

    Reply to this comment

  32. Peggy

    Dear Anna,

    You have selflessly given so much of your time to help so many with your educational gifts and I wanted to thank you for this.

    You are one of the people I am grateful for on this Thanksgiving. I hope you and your family have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving together!

    Peggy

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Thank you, Peggy! What a kind thing to say! I am so thankful for the opportunities God has given me through this blog and for you and all my readers. Without you, this wouldn’t be any fun. 🙂 Blessings to your family as well!

      Reply to this comment

  33. shaya

    Hi Anna , thank you so much, I have seen lots of your posts about letter of the week and also use lots of Erica’s confessionofahomeschooler they are very useful, we do them with my kids and all the kids love them especially the craft we do for each letter, but I really got confused, what is the next steps, when you finished the letter what do you do? reading?blending?writing and what? would you please clarify it, in this site after the alphabet you have reading and writing, but I wish you explain step by step I have seen many sites, yes they are useful but there is no step by step path and they do not show what to do next. any idea would be great

    Reply to this comment

  35. gale barker

    Love your website just stumbled on to it, but it is awesome! On your letters above there is no R and I am doing R this week! Or maybe you haven’t completed your letters yet? Thank You Gale

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      No, Gale, I’m afraid not! We’re taking the letters out of order and we’re almost done… just finishing up J, then P, U, R, and S. We should have everything done and posted by the end of November!

      Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hello! In the post it says that we’ll be done with the entire set of alphabet activities by the end of November. We’ll probably start letter U in about a month. It will be great to have the whole alphabet done!

      Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Jess, I haven’t actually had to use a specific order for lowercase because my kids kind of pick them up after they learn their uppercase alphabet. If you start with lowercase, you’d want to start with the ones easiest to write… like the straight line letters first (l, i, t, etc.) and then curved and straight letters like e, c, f… then finish with the real tough ones like a, b, d, p, g, s. You can probably find a great order for this online.

      Reply to this comment

  38. Hope

    I am having a hard time getting my son really interested in learning letters so i hope these help. It looks like a lot of other women have tried and liked these. I read some of the rhymes and I am sure my son will have a blast. I also cant wait to see what rhymes you come up with for J (i saw somewhere else on the site that you post as you go). 🙂

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      These really helped my toddler get interested in his letters. Hopefully if your little guy likes songs, these will hook him! Letter J was an easy book to write because of all the Jacks in nursery rhymes! 🙂 I’ll be sharing it in a few weeks.

      Reply to this comment

  39. Nakota

    I love your website! Thank you so much for all your hard work and helping us to help our own little ones! How long do you suggest spending each day teaching? My 4-year-old loves learning and participating in the activities and learning, but starts to get tired and doesn’t want to continue. Should I encourage her to keep going or just let her go at her own pace?

    Reply to this comment

  40. Brandie

    First, thank you so much for sharing all of this for free! I have a son who will be 4 next week. We are beginning letter recognition, starting with his name. Forgive me if I’ve overlooked this on your site…What do you recommend in regards to teaching upper/lowercase? When my daughter was this age, she was taught all uppercase to begin with at her preschool. But, I’m finding conflicting info on this approach. Thanks in advance!

    Reply to this comment

  41. Lou Blair

    Last year I did your program with my pre preschoolers…this year I am using it along with some other resources to go through with the same children who are now preschoolers. I love your approach to learning and appreciate your free site very much! I do childcare in my own home and this year now have some who were 2 last year now 3 and they will be doing a pre preschool activity along with the two preschoolers. My now preschoolers are almost kindergarten ready by following your ideals and site. Thanks!

    Reply to this comment

  42. Traci

    Hello! I found your website yesterday and I’m in LOVE:-). I thought about starting letters and numbers with my daughter this September. In October she will be 2. Is that a good age to start? If so, what should be my expectations? I’m a former elementary teacher, so teaching this age is foreign to me. Also, I see that you taught your children the alphabet out of order. I never heard of that before. Did you research that or just thought of it on your own? Just curious. Thank you for your blog! I really appreciate it!

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hi Traci! You asked about starting letters and numbers with your daughter when she turns 2. I think that every child is different, so it would depend on your daughter’s interest if she is ready. My daughter would have been at that age, but I have not yet started with my little boy who is 2 1/2. With him I have been doing short activities to help him learn the letters of his name. However, if he were my only child I would probably be doing a lot more with him! So yes, if she’s interested, I think you could start. Just be sure to do a lot of informal activities pointing out all the letters – reading alphabet books and playing games. I would guess you are already doing a lot of that. The reason I teach the alphabet out of order is only because I teach my boys to write their letters along with it, and I want to start with the easiest letters. It’s something I read on another blog, but I don’t know if it’s research based. Two is very young to start writing letters, so if you are going to skip that part for now you could do whatever order you want. Hope this helps!

      Reply to this comment

  43. Holly B.

    Amazing sight! I found you through Pinterest. I am soooo glad I found you! I hope all is well with your new baby. I am looking forward to the new activities you will be listing for the rest of the alphabet. Thank you for all the free stuff & great ideas!

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hello, Holly!
      Here’s a very belated thank you for your comment! Our new baby is going on six months already and doing very well. We’re thankful she’s such a content little girl! I just finished my blog calendar and plan to finish the last letter of the alphabet in mid November. Have a good week!

      Reply to this comment

  44. Nishana

    Wow! this a wonderful site. My applauds to all your work…. My son is 3 yrs 6 months… he goes to a play group. But frankly speaking we havent started anything at home. Iam worried for him and feel guilty that i havent done anything for him. Please tell me where to start.

    Reply to this comment

    • Anna Geiger

      Hello, Nishana! Don’t worry, you still have plenty of time to teach your son! My first and biggest advice is to read to your child a LOT. Does he listen to books well? Read several times a day every day, if you have time. Truthfully, I do not have time to do this for all my kids, but it was something I did when I had just one or two children. Just doing this teaches children so many things. When you are reading regularly you can start adding other things, like letter of the week activities. You can go in the order that I suggest and pick activities from each of the pages to do. I would suggest taking two weeks for each letter. You can also do a lot of play to learn the alphabet and sounds. My Alphabet Pinterest board can give you ideas. http://www.pinterest.com/themeasuredmom/alphabet-for-kids/ Does all of this help or just overwhelm you? I can help you break it down a bit if this seems like too much.

      Reply to this comment

        • Anna Geiger

          He doesn’t want to listen to books, Nishana? If that’s true you might try reading to him when he can’t really get away… 🙂 Like at the dinner table or when he’s taking a bath. I had to try this with one of my kids when he was much younger to get him started with listening to books.

          Reply to this comment

  48. Dana Ailor

    I truly appreciate your helpful links/pictures/ideas/and activities!! I have been trying to find some great curriculum for my 2 and 4 year old children and I LOVE your site!! Thank you for providing the services free! God Bless!!

    Reply to this comment

  49. Denise

    Wow ee! What a busy teaching mom you are. I just found your site today and can hardly believe all the things you have for free. I was wondering if you have ideas for teaching letter sounds to a kindergarten student who is struggling with letter sounds and letter ID?
    I love all the ideas that are hands on and pre-school oriented, but I need something a parent and teacher could do daily. Any ideas?
    Thank you!

    Reply to this comment

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