Get students going through the alphabet basics by associating the different letters with animals. Having students design their own alphabet animal posters will aid their recall of the correct order and appearance of letters (see Resources). For example, the letter D could have a poster with a dog or dolphin on it, while a panda or panther can represent the letter P. Encourage students to decorate their posters with bright colors and provide them with a collection of animal stencils to help them with their artwork. Once students have completed their posters, give them some adhesive, such as white tack, and have them put their posters up around the classroom in the correct order of the alphabet.
A good way to reinforce the order and sounds of the letters of the alphabet is through the medium of music. Download a copy of the ABC song (see Resources) and show it to your students, getting them to sing along with each letter. Provide each student with an alphabet strip to help them, but, over time, look to remove the alphabet strips and get students remembering the alphabet on their own. Once they have reached a high enough standard, get them to sing the ABC song without any aids -- no video and no alphabet strips.
Divide your class up into pairs and provide them each with an alphabet strip (which they can use for reference) and a paper cut-out of each letter of the alphabet. Split the cut-outs evenly between the pair, so they each have 13. Have them hide their letters from each other. Then, both students place one letter on the table and name the letter aloud. The player who procures the letter closest to Z wins. For example, if student A has a W and student B has a D, student A would win, but only if he says "The letter W is closer to Z than the letter D. I win." Any mistakes with the quote should lead to a do-over. The winning player for each round collects both paper letters, and the overall winner is the person with the most letters after 13 rounds.
Adding a competitive element to alphabet activities can help to motivate students. Divide students up into teams of four and play a number of simple alphabet games. For example, one can simply involve the teacher standing at the front of the class picking up different items and getting the teams to name the letter that it starts with -- hold up a pencil for P or a ruler for R. Achieve a similar effect using flashcards (see Resources). For example, you could show a flashcard with a car on it for C or an ambulance for A. Hand out praise and small treats, such as candy, for correct answers.