As a kindergarten teacher, I am often asked to give suggestions for letter recognition activities to use at the beginning of the school year. In my own experience, I have found that students are more excited to learn the letters while performing activities that are fun, engaging, and rewarding. Check out these five fun and engaging letter recognition activities that will help students establish a strong foundation in letter recognition and get them off to a great start in school! Also, be sure to grab the FREE letter recognition recording sheets that go with each activity!
"Practice makes perfect!" It is a phrase only too familiar to my students. My students know that if they want to become better at something, they need to continue to practice. These Giant Dry Erase Traceable Letters are a lifesaver for any teacher or parent. This box set is a great way to practice the formation of letters and its dry erase cards make it easy to reuse! Be sure to grab some dry erase markers and mini dry erase erasers, too!
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Learning your letters has never been so much fun with this Feed Me Letters Game! Plus, who does not want to feed a monkey some letter bananas? In this game, students take turns picking a card from the card pile. They must identify the beginning sound of the picture on the card and find the letter banana that matches the sound. If the child correctly identifies the correct letter banana, he/she can feed the monkey the banana! This is the perfect activity for focusing on letter recognition and letter sounds!
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Learning upper and lowercase alphabet letters can be challenging, so why not turn it into a game? This fun Alphabet Search Game features cards with uppercase letters on one side and lowercase letters on the other side. Students can work in pairs or work individually to see how many of each letter they can find.
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Using Alphabet Dice is a perfect way to reinforce letter recognition with your students in a fun and hands-on way. In this activity, your student roll the alphabet dice, identify the letter, and if possible, name the corresponding sound. Using the Learning How to Write Alphabet Flip Charts, students can visualize how to properly write each letter, too. Lastly, students can practice writing each letter on a Mini Magnetic Dry Erase Board with a black dry erase marker. With this activity, your students will be able to recognize and print their letters in no time!
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Stencil tracing is a fun and engaging way to improve visual spatial skills and fine motor skills! These Large Alphabet Stencils are excellent for focusing on letter and sound recognition, too. These large, heavy-duty plastic stencils are perfect for learning letters and for building hand-eye coordination and to help with controlled pencil movement.
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Learning letters can be a positive and a rewarding experience with these Alphabet Recognition Silicone Bracelets. These bracelets are the perfect size for your students, and they are a great way to reward students as they learn all of their letters. The bracelets can also be used if a child is struggling with letter recognition or if they have a difficult time saying their ABCs. These bracelets are a great resource for your students to refer to when they are writing, too!
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I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Every child loves ice cream, and what's more fun than learning your letters with these Smart Snacks® Alpha Pops™! Students will love matching each uppercase popsicle to the lowercase popsicle and writing the letter on the FREE recording sheet! Download the recording sheet here. Your students will also enjoy coloring each popsicle to their liking!
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It's completely normal for students to come into kindergarten with different ability levels in regards to letter knowledge. This differentiated letter activity is perfect for centers at the beginning of the school year. I used Sharpie® Fine Point Permanent Markers to write lowercase letters on the Transparent Cube Counters. In this activity, students roll the transparent cube counters into a Classroom Storage Basket with Handles and color in the corresponding letter on their FREE recording sheet. Each recording sheet provides students with a focus on six letters. These levels include: a-f, g-l, m-r, s-x, and y-z. The trick to keeping your transparent cube counters contained and quiet is to place a Gigantic Fantastic Felt Sheet in each basket!
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Repetition is key to mastery when learning letters. This activity is a great way for students to practice printing each letter. In this activity, students choose a Nifty Knob Lowercase Letter Stamper and stamp it on the FREE "Stamp It! Trace It! Write It!" recording sheet. After stamping the letter on the appropriate page of the recording sheet, students will practice tracing each letter and writing the letter themselves.
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Puzzles are an opportunity for children to develop fine motor skills and to reinforce concepts. Students will love these Upper to Lowercase Matching Puzzles. In this activity, students match the alien to its spaceship and color in the corresponding letter on their FREE printable recording sheet. The alien theme of this puzzle keeps students engaged and adds a fun twist to learning, too!
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Every child loves playing with Neon Dynamite Dough! This activity is great for focusing on letter formation and fine motor skills! Students will use the Letter Learning Mats and Neon Dynamite Dough to form each letter. The bright and colorful pictures that correspond with each letter keep students engaged and focused. It also is a great way for students to make connections between the letter and the sound.
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