12 Games for Learning Letters

1. Letter Bingo - the important thing with this game is to verbally announce each letter as you hold it up.  This helps children to identify the letters instead of simply finding items that match the letter you hold.

2. Letters Wars - this requires that your class/home alphabet chart be within children's reach.  Have two children at the starting point.  When you call out a letter, children run from their point to hit their hand against the letter called.

3. Letter Scavenger Hunt - found here.  Cutting the edge of a paper plate into slits, write a letter on each slit.  Children can walk around and fold down letters when they find them in their environment.

4. Little Red Box - source Dr. Jean. This song works best to help with letter identification when accompanied with letter props to show students the letters as you identify them.

5. There Was An Old Lady - there was an old lady who swallowed some letters!  

6. Password - I use my daily password at the water fountain to prevent students from storing water in their mouths to spray out back in the classroom.  I would have a letter on a dry erase board that students would identify to me before returning to the classroom or echo the name of the letter back to me.

7. Environmental Word Wall - there are many ideas of how to do these throughout the Internet but sorting company logos by the beginning letter connected with the individual letter is a great connection for young children.

8. Pull and Stamp - put letter card or magnet letters into a container. Children can take turns pulling out a letter before stamping it out on their paper (be sure to name the letters as they pull them).

9. Race to the Top  - (Pre-Kinders) roll the dice that has had number replaced with letters, stamp the letter that lands face up.  Each child takes turns around the table as you work as a group racing up the chart.  

10. Natural Letters - you can use more than letter tiles and magnet letters.  Soft-faced stones can have letters marked on them for child manipulation, thin cuts of wood marked with letters, acorns, seashells, fabric scraps, and more!

11. Letter Jump - this can be laid out like hopscotch or just having letters scattered around the floor.  Hold up a letter and identify it so that the children can jump to the matching letter.

12. Alliteration - this is identifying the sound a word starts with. /a/ /a/ alligator

We'll dive more into alliteration later. :)

"Introducing children to the alphabet IS important but the way in which we do it is just as important."

-Kara Hill

Kara Hill is an amazing Best Practices trainer that Georgia Pre-K teachers get the opportunity of working with.