Write a word on each note card. Use words familiar to the children, such as words relating to farmyard animals or the home.
Tell the children that they should start by looking at the first letter of the word and that the words should be ordered by the position of the first letter in the alphabet. If two words start with the same letter, the second letter dictates the order.
Give each student a note card.
Give the students two minutes to order the words alphabetically by looking at their words and the words of the other children. This reinforces that alphabetical filing is a comparative process.
Repeat the activity by collecting the cards and handing them out again with each child getting a different word.