“Letter knowledge” is just what it implies – knowing the letters of the alphabet. While it might seem simple to an adult, acquiring letter knowledge can be a complex task for young children. Because it is a building block in learning to decode words, letter knowledge is also a strong predictor of their future success as readers, according to the nonprofit educational development laboratory SEDL.
Create a letter-rich environment for your young learners and turn letter recognition activities into games to help them stay engaged. Cover metal surfaces with magnetic letters, label items in the room or sing the alphabet song while you line up. SEDL suggests that students group letters by shape attributes such as curves, lines and dots. Games include hiding letters in your room and sending children on an alphabet hunt, playing the "memory game" with letters and pulling letters from a jar to give to the first students who correctly identify them.
Give students a chance to physically interact with letters before they write anything on paper. These types of hands-on activities specifically address the needs of kinesthetic learners, but are high interest activities for most young students. Directly teach the correct way to form new letters then provide a variety of tactile materials so students can copy you. Ideas include clay, wet spaghetti noodles, play dough, sandpaper or paint on rock. Anything goes, as long as it is fun; students can even form letters with their bodies.
Increase the complexity of the lessons by combining student's letter recognition skills with letter formation. An example lesson from the National Council of Teachers of English website sends kids on an electronic letter hunt. Students visit child-friendly websites and work in teams to find and record letters in their alphabet books. Completed books can be displayed or shared with the rest of the class, as a review.