Early Literacy Resources - Alphabetic Knowledge

Alphabetic knowledge is the idea that words are made up of letters/symbols, and those letters/symbols represent the sounds of spoken language. Knowledge of the relationship between letters and sounds allows students to decode and read words. Understanding that words are made up of letters representing spoken language sounds is a foundational pre-reading skill that supports word reading.

Providing activities and play experiences that give young children exposure to the twenty-six letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent helps build alphabetic knowledge. This essential pre-reading skill will support children when they begin formal reading instruction. Below you will find five activities you can use at home to build this knowledge.

1) Songs and Videos

Learn and sing alphabet songs.
Watch videos or shows that feature songs that teach both the letters and the sounds they represent.

2) Toys and Manipulatives

Use magnetic alphabet letters (upper and lower case) to talk about letters and the sounds they represent. Make simple words and talk about the individual sounds in those words. Ex. dog-/d/ /o/ /g/ Point to each letter in the word and talk about the position of the sounds; the first sound is... The middle sound is... The last sound is...
Use alphabet blocks to build structures while talking about the letters and the sounds they represent.
Use puzzles with alphabet letters on the pieces. While playing with the puzzle, talk about the letters and the sounds they represent.
Have your child match both upper and lower case letters to the letters on an alphabet arc.

3) Alphabet Books

Pick out and read a variety of alphabet books:

books with both upper and lower case letters
soft and hardcover books
books with textured letters that kids can touch and trace with their fingers
books with music built-in
ABC sticker books

4) ABC Letter Cards and Posters

Use letter cards to talk about letter names, shapes, and sounds.
Match upper case letter cards to lower case letter cards.
Hang an 8x10 ABC chart with keyword pictures and letters on the refrigerator or in another prominent space. Use it to talk about letter names and sounds.
Talk about the beginning middle, and ending sounds in simple words like dog-/d/ /o/ /g/.
Go on a letter hunt in your neighborhood or around your house. Bring some letter cards and try to match the letters on the cards with letters you find in the environment on signs, posters, shops, etc.

5) Practice Letter Formation

Use play dough or foam dough to form letters.
Use your finger to trace the shape of letters in your environment, at home or in books.
Use your finger to write letters in a tray of sand.
Write the your child's name in big letters. Use your finger to trace the shape of the letters and talk about the sounds the letters represent.
Use your finger to pretend to write letters in the 'sky.'

* Additional Outdoor Activities

Use chalk to write all letters of the alphabet on an area of the sidewalk. Have the child turn their back to the letters and toss a beanbag over their shoulder. Child can name or give the sound for the letter the beanbag lands on or gets the closest to.
Gather some small toy items. Use chalk to draw eight boxes, four on top and four on the bottom. Write a different letter in each box. Gather some toys with the initial sound in their names that matches the category. The child will pick a toy and say what it is— ex. dinosaur. The child will think about the first sound they hear in the word and place the toy in the box with that letter. Play will continue until all toys have been placed in the box with the corresponding initial (first) sound.

*See pictures below for both activities:

For more information on building alphabetic knowledge, check out this video here.
Also, download my Early Literacy Handbook here.
Download free upper and lower case alphabet arcs and a set of upper and lower case alphabet mats for letter formation practice included free in my set 1 literacy kit here.

Watch a video to hear correct pronunciation of the 44 phonemes (sounds) of the English Alphabet here.

Click here for a variety of early literacy videos: www.youtube.com/@bytheletterliteracy_readinglab/featured

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