Have children make pictures to help them recognize the different letters and their sounds. After discussing a specific letter, provide children with pieces of paper with the letter written in block print on them. Give the children concrete objects or pictures of items that begin with the focus letter, for example, pumpkin seeds for the letter "P," yarn for the letter "Y" or cotton balls for the letter "C." Have the children glue the items onto the letter written on the paper to provide them with a concrete example of the letter and its sound.
Use finger paint as a tactile experience for teaching children how to write the letters of the alphabet. Set out pieces of art paper and place a dollop of finger paint on each of them. Have the children spread the finger paint on the paper. State a letter and instruct the children to write the letter in the finger paint. State a word and have the children write the letter that begins the word. Alternatively, you can fill bowls with finger paint and instruct the children to dip their fingers into the paint and write the alphabet on their paper.
Incorporate the pre-math activity of sorting with letter identification. Fill bowls with confetti letters or magnetic letters. On pieces of paper or index cards, write the letters of the alphabet. Have children sort through the confetti or magnetic letters and place them into piles on top of the correct letter on the piece of paper or index card.
Make letter rubbings to help children learn the letters of the alphabet. Cut out letters from sand paper and set them on a table. Ask the children to identify the letters and tell you their sounds. Encourage them to trace the letter with their fingers to get a feeling for how they are written. Lay pieces of paper on top of the sandpaper letters and have the children rub crayons over them; as they rub, the image of the letter will appear on the paper.
Make alphabet books with your students. Print out an upper- and lowercase letter on a piece of paper, as well as images of items that begin with the letter. For example, include images of an ant, an alligator, an apple and an ape for the letter "A." Have the children use crayons to trace the letter and to color in the images. Do the same for each letter of the alphabet and assemble the pages into personal alphabet books for each student.