Repetition is Key with the Littles

When it comes to preK and kindergarten, learning the alphabet letters and their sounds is going to be a big part of their day. There are so many ways to teach kids the alphabet but as their teacher, you will likely have a curriculum book that you follow, where you get a certain number of days to go over a letter before moving on to the next letter.

The problem with this is that kids need repetition. Spending a couple days on a letter and moving on to the next is not going to guarantee that they've "got it." Maybe they do grasp it but then with the introduction of more letters, they forget it. Or maybe it's a letter that is not used often such as not in their name so they learn it but then quickly forget it as other letters are introduced. Only seeing letters at school and not going over them at home can also cause students to not progress as much as they could be. Or maybe they never learned it during your lesson at all. Sometimes no matter what you do, i.e. use books, guided instruction, songs, hand gestures, rhymes, hands-on activities, writing, art, etc. a student does not see the difference between one letter vs another or is simply not developmentally ready to retain the information for a long period of time.

So whether it's simply forgetting, not practicing at home, or just needing more instruction due to a learning difference, repetition is necessary. You never want to just teach a letter and never come back to it. Never review it. Even your brightest students will appreciate the repetition of reviewing a letter and its sound(s).

So what is an easy way to review any letter any day without having to do extra planning and prep? Well, these A-Z flipcharts include a 23 page flipchart for each letter of the alphabet. They are a perfect complement to a curriculum book that might only include modeling how to write the letter and a short activity identifying some objects that start with the letter. I recommend having one up every day to review one letter you previously taught. Your students (and principal!) will like the visuals and you will appreciate having a built in lesson to use any day with your students.

Not only are these charts great to have to introduce or review alphabet letters with your pre-K or kindergarten students but you can also use them with students in special education. Many first graders forget or mix up their vowel sounds so I would recommend reviewing vowel sounds with your first graders as needed and these 5 flipcharts for the vowels are a great way to do so.

Getting the alphabet letters and their sounds down is a huge undertaking for students but it is so worth it as it is the necessary foundation to reading and writing!