Introduce the alphabet and alphabet sounds to preschoolers. Create an alphabet poster to serve as a visual aid. Use colorful markers to write the alphabet on a large piece of poster board. Keep the poster at the preschoolers' eye level. Review the letters by pointing to each letter and saying the name of the letter and then show the preschoolers the sound the letter makes. Ask the children to repeat after you as you go over the letters and sounds. Go over a few letters each day. Review the poster regularly.
Share books with preschoolers featuring letters and the sounds they make. Look for appropriate books for preschoolers like "The Alphabet Book" by P.D. Eastman and "Alphabet Art With A-Z Animal Art & Fingerplays" by Judy Press and Sue Dennen.
Sing songs and play music that teach the alphabet and letter sounds. Choose lively and repetitive songs with energetic choruses that catch preschoolers' attention. Play the songs on a compact disk player and encourage children to sing along.
Foster letter recognition using letter flashcards. Show preschoolers the letter flashcard and encourage them to say the letter that is on the card, then ask them what sound the letter makes. Use flashcards that combine two letters and ask children what sound the letters make together. Practice groups of flashcards with preschoolers each day.
Use the Internet to access websites offering free phonics worksheets for preschoolers. Provide the worksheets to help preschoolers practice the sounds that letters and combinations of letters make. Hand out worksheets and encourage children to practice recognizing upper and lower case letters as well as long and short vowel sounds.
Play games that help children practice making letters. For example, tape a letter card to the wall. Provide each preschooler with a flashlight. Turn off or dim the lights in the room. Encourage the children to trace the letter on the wall using the flashlight. Call out letters randomly and ask preschoolers to trace the letter on a bare wall.
Find websites that offer free on-line games that teach preschoolers about phonics and allow them to practice recognizing letters. For example, a cartoon character says letter sound and the preschooler will be asked to type the corresponding letter. Preschoolers can also play letter matching games and use the mouse to color letter pictures.