101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet (e-book)
$19.97
This checkout page is for the ebook only. If you want to purchase the print version, click here.
Want to set your child on the road to reading success?
Research has found that letter knowledge is by far the strongest predictor of first year reading achievement. Therefore, teaching your child the alphabet may be the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do to help your child become a successful reader!
Who this book is for
This book is for parents, teachers, and caregivers working with children ages 2+ who are learning to identify letter shapes, names, and sounds as well as to write letters and match uppercase and lowercase letters.
What you will find inside this book
This book includes the tools you need to support a child’s letter learning progress from toddlerhood through early elementary school, including:
- 101 fun, creative, multi-sensory, and developmentally appropriate activities for helping children learn their letters, each with a complete description accompanied by full-color photographs
- More than 800 pages of printable alphabet materials to accompany the activities in the book
- “How to” ideas for making letter learning fun, multi-sensory, and relevant to your child
Your questions answered
Get answers to your most burning questions about teaching the alphabet:
- What should my child know about letters at different ages?
- Do I teach letter names or letter sounds first?
- Do I teach uppercase letters or lowercase letters first?
- In what order should I teach the letters?
- How many letters should I introduce at one time?
- What letter style should I teach first: print, D’Nealian, or cursive?
- How do I teach letters that make more than one sound?
Practical tips
Get tips for dealing with common alphabet challenges:
- Developing the proper pencil grip
- Writing letters with the proper strokes
- Reversing letters such as ‘b’ and ‘d’
101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet makes teaching letters both easy and fun!
This product is the ebook version of the book. That means you will receive a digital PDF file to download. No physical copy will be sent.
If you want to purchase the print version, click here.
More About This Resource
Why is teaching the alphabet so important?
Educational researchers have consistently found that, among all the pre-literacy skills children are typically assessed on, letter knowledge is by far the strongest predictor of first year reading achievement. Indeed, research has confirmed that the ability to identify the letters of the alphabet is strongly associated with reading skills through third grade, and continues to be an important predictor of reading achievement through at least seventh grade.
The implications of this research are clear: Teaching the alphabet is one of the most important ways to set young children on the road to reading success.
What does it mean to “know the alphabet?”
When we say that children “know the alphabet,” we are saying that they have acquired skills and knowledge in four separate areas:
- Knowledge of letter shapes, which requires children to pay attention to key visual features such as the letter’s shape, orientation, and directionality.
- Knowledge of letter names, which requires children to understand that letters are symbols, letters have their own names, and each letter name represents both an uppercase letter symbol and a lowercase letter symbol.
- Knowledge of letter sounds, which requires children to understand that letters represent sounds, both individually (e.g., ‘S’) and in combination (e.g., ‘SH’).
- The ability to write letters, which requires children to not only have knowledge of letter shapes, but also to have the visual memory and fine motor skills to reproduce letter shape in written form.
How does knowing the alphabet help kids learn the read?
Research suggests that knowing letter names supports the development of reading skills in at least three ways:
- When children can rapidly name letters, they do not have to spend much cognitive energy identifying letters in text. Instead, they can dedicate more cognitive resources to the other tasks of reading, such as sounding out words and comprehending the text.
- For most, but not all, of the letters, knowing the name of the letter gives children some information about the sound the letter makes, which facilitates reading.
- Knowing the names of the letters gives children a common language to discuss letters. This is important because many letters make more than one sound (e.g., ‘A’ makes both the /ă/ and /ā/ sounds), and many sounds are produced by more than one letter (e.g., the /j/ sound is made by both ‘J’ and ‘G’). Furthermore, letter names provide a connection between uppercase and lowercase letters, as children learn that both ‘A’ and ‘a’ represent the same letter.
How can 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet help?
101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet includes:
- 101 hands-on activities for helping children acquire knowledge and skills in the four areas of alphabet knowledge: letter shapes, letter names, letter sounds, and the ability to write letters.
- More than 800 (yes, 800!) pages of alphabet printables to use with the activities in the book, including printables not available anywhere else.
- Practical tips regarding how many letters to introduce at a time and in what order to teach the letters.
- Suggestions for making letter learning fun, playful, multi-sensory, and relevant to your child.
What are people saying about 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet?
“This ebook was exactly what I was looking for! It has a variety of ideas and tons of printables to keep my child interested without repeating things too often. I also love that everything is explained and found the forward invaluable. As a parent who homeschools the internet is often VERY confusing for information on what I should be using to teach my kids. Great resource that will keep giving on many levels.” – N.R.
“For parents and teachers who want a research-based introduction to teaching the alphabet, plus a huge treasure chest full of fun, developmentally appropriate activities, this is the book to get. I love that it’s organized by skill (letter recognition, letter sounds, etc.) and that each activity begins with bullet points summarizing the exact skills and interests that will be covered.” – H.H.
“I work with 4 years young. Your book has brought a new insight and motivation about learning the alphabet.” – B.C.
Thank you so much. I LOVE your book. It is working for my grandson. Just received a pic. with him holding up a piece of paper on which he wrote his name. He was so proud and grandma, too!
I have been using some of the ideas with a young 4 year old. She is enjoying the more active learning activities like zipline and getting answers from another room. – J.S.
Here is what you will find inside this jam-packed book:
Chapter 1: Why Teach the Alphabet?
Chapter 2: Activities That Teach Letter Recognition
- Play Dough Letter Stamping
- Alphabet Parking Lot
- Letter Hunt Sensory Bin
- Sun Powered Letter Puzzle
- Miniature Letter Hunt
- and many more. . .
Chapter 3: Activities That Teach Letter Sounds
- Alphabet Zip Line
- Pound the Sound
- Alphabet Cutting Strips
- Starry Night Letters
- Beginning Sounds Bingo
- and many more. . .
Chapter 4: Activities That Teach Letter Formation
- Road Letters
- Alphabet Play Dough Mats
- Sensory Nature Letters
- Letter Lacing
- “Magic Paint” Letters
- and many more. . .
Chapter 5: Activities That Teach Letter Case Matching
- Planting Letters Case Matching
- Muffin Tin Letter Case Matching
- Letter Case Matching Dominoes
- Help the Mama Letter Find Her Babies
- Stamp the Letter
- and many more. . .
Chapter 6: Reference Resources
- Sample Letter Sequences
- Letter Pairs to Introduce Separately
- Short and Long Vowel Sounds
- Pencil Grip Development
Chapter 7: Printable Resources
- more than 800 pages of printable alphabet materials to use with the activities in the book
