Dear Parent(s),
Learning the letter names AND making a connection between letters and sounds is an important skill in
learning how to read. Unless you work in a school, you might not know at what age children are
learning these important skills and what you can do to help your child.
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At age 3, children are able to name many of the letters in the alphabet.
At age 4, many children are able name all the letters and guess what letter comes next.
At age 5, many children are able to make connections between letter and sounds and sound out
words. (Nurturing Knowledge, Susan B. Neuman & Kathleen Roskos, 2007)
Last week, we tested all our kindergarten children and found that some children are having difficulty
naming letters quickly and learning the sounds that a word starts with. In school, we have placed
children in reading groups to receive more practice to learn this skill. We are calling families and
sending activities home so that every family will have the materials they need to help their child develop
these important skills. Please see the attached list of fun and joyful alphabet activities.
At the end of January, children will be tested again to determine how many letters he/she is able to name
in one minute, what words start with what sounds, and sounding out basic words. We will determine
which children continue to have difficulty and adjust our reading groups. If you have any questions, or
run out of activities and materials at home, please talk to your kindergarten teacher or call me at 4731061.
Thank you for your support, we know how much you want your child to succeed and we want to work
with you to make sure that happens.
Sincerely,
Linda Sullivan-Dudzic
Special Programs Director Naval Avenue
Pre-3rd grade Early Learning Project
John Welsh
Principal of the Naval Avenue Pre-3rd Grade
Early Learning Center
Alphabet and Sound Activities
Letter recognition is one of the best predictors of reading success. Automatic recognition of letters gives a
strong indication of how quickly a student will be able to learn the sounds of letters and ultimately read and
spell. For students who have not yet attained instant letter recognition and letter-sound correspondence 5-20
minutes daily of Alphabet Activities is recommended. (More alphabet activities can be created or found
at websites such as www.enchantedlearning.com/categories/preschool.shtml.
Naming Letters
Objective: Instant letter recognition
Alphabet as a sequencing tool.
Materials: Alphabet mat and letters
Activities: Name those letters; Child places the writing finger on A on the arc and echoes the letters after
the adult as s/he points to each letter.
Child names the letters on the mat (out of sequence).
Child names the letters out of sequence quickly. See how fast you can name them.
Child names the letters on the arc, starting with z and working backwards.
Place alphabet letters in a bowl, child and adult take turns choosing a letter, saying the name and
placing it on the mat.
Child places finger on A on the arc on the mat and echoes the letters after the adult as s/he
points to each letter. Ask the childe to “Show Me a.” Repeat with 5-7 letters. Go as quickly or
slowly as the child needs to go.
Hot potato game: The adult quickly says a random letter; the child repeats the letters as s/he
quickly points to the letters. Take turns.
Imagination: As child names the letters of the alphabet, s/he writes the letter on an imaginary
chalkboard in the air using just the index finger of his/her writing hand. (Option: child can write
the letter on the palm of his/her not writing hand with the finger of his/her writing hand while
saying the letter.)
Letter race; Using the alphabet game board or draw a road and put letters on the road (not in
order). Have the child roll the dice and race to name that many letter.
Who am I; The adult places a plastic capital letter in the child’s hand behind the child’s back.
The child tries to figure out the letter s/he has by the feel.
Before and After
 Ask child to choose a letter on the alphabet mat. Ask the child what comes before that
letter and what comes after that letter.
 Have child arrange letters in order using the alphabet train.
 Put the letters in a bowl, have the child and adult take turns choosing a letter.
 Ask the child what letter comes after that letter.
 Play the game again and this time ask the child what letter comes before.
 With your child, write all the names of people in your family. Talk about what letters are
at the start of the name, what letters come after the name.
Match those letters
 Child matches the letters to the alphabet mat.
 Adult hides letters; child finds the letters around the house and matches to the alphabet
mat.
 Child and adult play matching game with the alphabet matching cards; Find the letter
that looks like this one.
 Together find letters in magazines, newspapers and or junk mail. Circle the letters. Cut
the letters out and place in containers or on the table in order. Make it more difficult by
separating capital and lower case.
Initial Sound Activities
Making the connections between letters and sounds is an important skill for learning how to read.
These fun activities help your child learn what sounds are at the start of words. After your child
learns this skill, work on what sounds are at the end of words.
Objective: Instant letter recognition
Alphabet as a sequencing tool
Letter-sounds
Materials: Alphabet mats
Readwell alphabet cards
Blank paper
Alphabet book
Magazines, newspapers, junk mail, and/or picture pages.
Sound card and picture activity page.
Bowls and alphabet letters.
Activities: I Spy with My Eye; Take turns naming something in the room that begins with each letter of the
alphabet starting with “a” and continuing in alphabetical order.
Sound box and matching picture; Child chooses a picture and places in the second box on the
paper. The adult and child say the name of the picture. The adult and child say the sound that the
word starts with. The adult and child place the letter that represents the sound in the fist sound
box on the paper. Play this game again and see how much the child can do on her own.
Alphabet book: Make an alphabet book, cutting out picture or drawing pictures of words that
start with the sound of each letter. Child writes a title (Jane’s Dictionary or Bryan’s Book of
Words) on the cover and their name as the author and illustrator. Write one letter of the alphabet
(capital and lower case) on each page and draw or paste pictures that begin with that letter.
Sound sort: Place one alphabet letter in a container, gather small objects or draw pictures that
start with that sound and place in the container with the letter.
Family and friends sort: With your child, write down the names of family and friends on
separate pieces of paper. Sort these names based on the sound at the start of their names.
Another activity is to find all the names of people that start with the same sound as the child’s
first name. Play again using the last name.
Rhyming Activities
Being able to hear rhymes-to know that cat rhymes with mat (but not with can)-is an essential skill for
learning how to read because it means that children are able to distinguish among sounds. This in turn
will help them make the association between written letters and sounds. (Nurturing Knowledge, Susan
B. Neuman & Kathleen Roskos, 2007)
Here are some materials and activities that you can use to help your child practice this skill. (More activities
can be created or found at websites such as www.enchantedlearning.com/categories/preschool.shtml)
Rhyming Activities
Objective: To direct children’s attention to the similarities and differences of the sounds of words.
Materials: Rhyming cards (set included)
Rhyming Books, poems and songs
Basket, tub or box or bowl
Activities: Rhyming basket; Child and adult collect objects or cut out objects from a magazine that rhyme
(sock/lock, shoe/glue, etc.) and place them in a basket, box or container... See who can find the
most. Be sure to say the words together. Mix the objects up and take turns matching the objects
or pictures that rhyme.
Rhyming book; Make a rhyming book together using the cards provided or draw pictures of
objects that match.
Poems, and Songs; Read/Sing the attached songs and poems. Make up new words that rhyme.
Matching game: Using the cards provided, play the matching game with your child and see
who can find the most matching cards. Hide the cards around the room, locate all the cards and
see how many pairs of rhyming cards you can make.
Bremerton School District (360) 473-1061
One, Two, Three, Four, Five
One 1, two 2, three 3, four 4, five 5,
Once I caught
a fish
alive.
Six 6, seven 7, eight 8, nine 9, ten 10,
But I let it
go again.
Why did I let it
Because it bit
go?
my finger
Which finger
did it bite?
The little one upon the right.
----THE END----
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