Show children flashcards of letters. Say the letter name and the sound it makes. Connect the letter to a word they are familiar with. For example, hold up a card for the letter "A" and say, "A is for apple." Be sure the cards include capital and lowercase letters and teach students to distinguish between the two. Sing the alphabet song as students hold up a card for each letter when it is named. The key is repetition. Students must first identify the letters before they can write them.
Play with alphabet toys. Use letter blocks so children can trace the letters and put them in order as they play. Puzzles and letter roads provide children with hands-on interaction with the letters they are beginning to identify. Use shaving cream, sand, or paint and have students use their index fingers to trace letters. You may need to guide students the first few times. But then make it a class activity, letting students take turns writing and observing others.
Trace a letter on paper. First, have students trace the letter with their index fingers, practicing the correct way to write each letter. For example, when writing the letter "s", students should trace from the top, around the curve, to the bottom. Some children attempt to form this letter from the bottom to the top. Then, have the child trace the letter with a pencil and write the letter ten times on their own next to the traced letter. Make this a daily activity with a different letter of focus each week. After children know the letters, print out paper with the students' names typed for them to trace.