How to Teach the Alphabet

Teaching a child the alphabet is the first step to teaching a child how to read. The child must be able to identify letters and their sounds in order to string those sounds together to make words. Teaching the alphabet can be a lot of fun if you get creative. By incorporating sight, sound, touch, smell and taste to each lesson, you engage the child's senses and make learning the alphabet much more fun.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Art supplies
• <br>Paper
• <br>Small toys representing each letter
• <br>Creativity

1. Evaluate the child's interests. A child is more likely to learn the alphabet if you teach the alphabet in a way that appeals to the child's interests.

2. Focus on one letter at a time. Spend an entire lesson teaching a child the look and sound of just one letter. You can review the letters that a child has already learned, but only introduce one new letter at a time.

3. Show the child what the letter looks like. Write the letter and encourage the child to write the letter as well.

4. Teach the child what the letter sounds like. Sing a song that uses the letter sound, such as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" for the letter "B." Provide small toys that begin with the letter, such as toy bears and balls for "B," and ask the child to identify each object. Point out that they all start with the same sound.

5. Enable the child to "touch" the letter. Let the child touch the toys. Do an activity that involves touching the letter, such as gluing pictures of dinosaurs onto a "D" or painting a "P" with purple paint.

6. Let the child "smell" and "taste" the letter. Let the child smell and taste things that begin with the letter, such as smelling pepper for "P" or eating a banana for "B."

7. Look at pictures of interest to the child. For example, if a child likes dinosaurs, you can end each lesson by identifying all of the dinosaurs that begin with the letter the child just learned, such as stegosaurus after learning the letter "S."

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to review the letters the child has already learned either before or after the lesson to reinforce the child's learning and to instill confidence.
• <br>Get creative with activities. Children who have fun gluing marshmallows to an "M" are more likely to remember the letter.