This section provides an overview of Learning The Alphabet, Book 1 And Book 2. To download the PDF files for these books, look under the menu heading PDF FILES, go to the sub-menu PDF FILES - BOOKS LISTED BY LEVEL, then click on PDF FILES FOR LEVEL 1 - LEARNING THE ALPHABET. Or, for a shortcut to that page, click here.
Level 1 - Learning The Alphabet - Overview
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Introduction
This is the beginning instructional level for students who are starting kindergarten. The books can also be used at the beginning of first grade with students who did not master the skills in kindergarten. In addition, the books could be used with older students who are starting to learn English as a second language.
Students are introduced to one new alphabet letter at a time. They study both the capital and lower case letter at the same time. The instruction for each letter covers a three or four day period. Letters that are commonly used at both the beginning and the end of words are taught over a four day period. Letters that are not commonly used at the end of words are usually taught over a three day period.
Students review all of the letters that have been introduced from an alphabet chart and from alphabet flashcards every day. An alphabet chart is included in the student book. A larger wall chart is available for working with a class.
The instruction is guided by the teacher. Students are not expected to do the pages independently. A sequence chart, teaching schedule, and daily lesson outlines are included at the end of each book. Scroll down to the third slideshow below to see these pages.
The student pages are to be done in the order in which they appear in the book. Instructions for the teacher are printed on each page. Scroll down to a slideshow with students pages from Book 1 and to a second slideshow with pages from Book 2.
To prepare to teach the students, teachers should listen to the sound story and the sounds for the letters of the alphabet. Look under the audio and video headings on the menu to find the recordings. Listen and practice saying the sounds. The pronunciations for w and qu are slightly different than usual, so that students will be able to read words with these letters accurately.
It is not necessary for students master the material as soon as they are introduced to it. Students can take time to learn, and will gradually master the skills over a period of time.
It is expected that the teacher will read aloud to the students daily from a variety of materials and that students will have time to draw, paint, build with construction materials, and so on, each day.
Students are introduced to one new alphabet letter at a time. They study both the capital and lower case letter at the same time. The instruction for each letter covers a three or four day period. Letters that are commonly used at both the beginning and the end of words are taught over a four day period. Letters that are not commonly used at the end of words are usually taught over a three day period.
Students review all of the letters that have been introduced from an alphabet chart and from alphabet flashcards every day. An alphabet chart is included in the student book. A larger wall chart is available for working with a class.
The instruction is guided by the teacher. Students are not expected to do the pages independently. A sequence chart, teaching schedule, and daily lesson outlines are included at the end of each book. Scroll down to the third slideshow below to see these pages.
The student pages are to be done in the order in which they appear in the book. Instructions for the teacher are printed on each page. Scroll down to a slideshow with students pages from Book 1 and to a second slideshow with pages from Book 2.
To prepare to teach the students, teachers should listen to the sound story and the sounds for the letters of the alphabet. Look under the audio and video headings on the menu to find the recordings. Listen and practice saying the sounds. The pronunciations for w and qu are slightly different than usual, so that students will be able to read words with these letters accurately.
It is not necessary for students master the material as soon as they are introduced to it. Students can take time to learn, and will gradually master the skills over a period of time.
It is expected that the teacher will read aloud to the students daily from a variety of materials and that students will have time to draw, paint, build with construction materials, and so on, each day.
Skills Taught
The Learning The Alphabet books develop the following skills.
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Print Awareness
Handwriting Readiness Letter Formation Oral Blending Segmenting |
Letter Recognition
Letter / Sound Association Rhyming Awareness Beginning And Ending Sound Awareness |
Learning The Alphabet
Students are introduced to the alphabet as they hear the teacher read a sound story aloud. The pictures in the sound story represent all of the sounds used in the English language. First students learn the sound represented by a new picture. Then they learn the capital and lower case letters that represent that sound in words. The letters are shown with the sound picture. The teacher models the sound and then points to the sound picture and each of the letters. Students say the sound for each, in unison.
Handwriting
Students develop pencil skills by completing handwriting readiness picture pages. Each page provides practice drawing a stroke that will be needed to write a new letter. There are one or two picture pages for each new letter. As students progress through the program, it will be easier for them to write each new letter, because many of the new letters will contain strokes that they have already learned.
Handwriting is practiced on a daily basis. This serves as a multi-sensory activity to promote student learning. Students see the letter, use their finger and arm muscles to trace it, use the muscles in their mouth, chest, and voice box to pronounce the letter sound, and hear the sound with their ears, all at the same time. This promotes not only handwriting skills but also letter recognition, sound-symbol association, spelling skills, and decoding skills. (Decoding refers to reading words phonetically. Students say the sounds represented by the letters in words, going from left to right, putting the sounds together smoothly to pronounce the word.)
Students learn the letter formation for each new capital and lower case letter over a period of several days. Students are not expected to write the letters independently. They trace letter outlines to help them develop the coordination needed to eventually write the letters on their own. During the handwriting exercises, the teacher demonstrates the letter formation for each new and review letter on the chalkboard. First the teacher explain verbally how to form the letter. Then the teacher traces the letter while saying its sound.
Handwriting is practiced on a daily basis. This serves as a multi-sensory activity to promote student learning. Students see the letter, use their finger and arm muscles to trace it, use the muscles in their mouth, chest, and voice box to pronounce the letter sound, and hear the sound with their ears, all at the same time. This promotes not only handwriting skills but also letter recognition, sound-symbol association, spelling skills, and decoding skills. (Decoding refers to reading words phonetically. Students say the sounds represented by the letters in words, going from left to right, putting the sounds together smoothly to pronounce the word.)
Students learn the letter formation for each new capital and lower case letter over a period of several days. Students are not expected to write the letters independently. They trace letter outlines to help them develop the coordination needed to eventually write the letters on their own. During the handwriting exercises, the teacher demonstrates the letter formation for each new and review letter on the chalkboard. First the teacher explain verbally how to form the letter. Then the teacher traces the letter while saying its sound.
- On the first day they trace large letters on the chalkboard.
- On the second day they finger trace very large letters in their books, and then trace them with a pencil. They also trace smaller letters with a pencil.
- On the third day, students trace capital and lower case review letters. Each time they trace a letter, students say the name and sound for capital letters or just the sound for lower case letters. This helps students remember the capital letters later on, when they are learning to capitalize the first letter in sentences and proper nouns. Saying just the sound for lower case letters allows them to read words more easily when they begin to read words. The will say the sounds in the words, not the letter names, to pronounce them.
- to become familiar with the letter formation for each letter.
- On the fourth day, students trace new and review lower case letters. For some letters taught, there will not be a fourth day of instruction.
Letter Discrimination
Letter discrimination pages help students recognize each new letter when mixed with other letters. Students look at the new letter and find and circle the same letter in a row of letters, in rows of words, and in a sentence. This is a letter identification exercise. Students are not expected to read the words. The teacher reads the words and sentence.
Phonological Awareness
- Students become familiar with the idea of beginning and ending sounds by looking at a list of words and pictures that begin or end with the newly introduced letter.
- Students begin with easy oral blending and segmenting exercises and then move to more challenging ones.
- Rhyming picture pages teach students to recognize rhyming words.
Print Awareness Lessons
There are four print awareness lessons in each book. The teacher reads these aloud one at a time during the daily read-aloud session by the teacher.
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Book 1
Number 1 - Learning About Words Number 2 - How Words Are Arranged On The Page Number 3 - Recognizing Words Number 4 - Learning About Letters |
Book 2
Number 5 - Letters Have Names And Sounds Number 6 - How We Speak - Making Sounds To Say Words Number 7 - Words Are Made Of Sounds, Letters Show Us Those Sounds Number 8 - More About Letters In Words |
Working With Plastic Letters
After students have learned enough letters, they will be able to begin forming two-letter combinations and three-sound short vowel words with plastic letters. Instructions are included at the end of the student books. This activity is optional at this level.
Letter Connections Activity
A letter connections activity is available in large and small versions. Students practice pronouncing two-letter combinations such as ab ac, ad, af, ag, and al. This activity is optional at this level.
The links below will download the newest version of the Learning The Alphabet, Book 1 and Book 2. They were uploaded in November, 2019.
Other Materials To Use With The Learning The Alphabet Books
Cards
Alphabet Cards
Sound Picture Cards
Alphabet Cards
Sound Picture Cards
Wall Charts
Alphabet Chart
Alphabet Chart
Learning Games
Alphabet Lotto
Apple Alphabet Game
Apple Concentration Game
Plastic Letter Match
Letter Shapes
Beginning Sound Folder Games
Alphabet Lotto
Apple Alphabet Game
Apple Concentration Game
Plastic Letter Match
Letter Shapes
Beginning Sound Folder Games
Handwriting Only Books Using The Same Handwriting Format
Learning The Alphabet Letter Tracing Book
Manuscript Handwriting For Beginners
Learning The Alphabet Letter Tracing Book
Manuscript Handwriting For Beginners
Scroll down to see a slide show of sample pages from the student books.
NOTE - THE BUTTONS BELOW ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: I will be adding links to the buttons below so that you can download the desired PDF files from this page, but I have not yet done so. At this time I you still need to go to the PDF FILES heading and choose the desired subheading on the menu to find these items.
Learning The Alphabet Sample Pages
Click the picture to see arrows on the left and right. Click the arrow on the right to go to the next picture or the arrow on the left to go to the previous picture. Or click on the picture and click Play on the upper left to see a slideshow of the sample pages. You may also click the numbered boxes to move to a different picture.
Book 1 - Pages For Letters N n and W w
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Book 2 - Pages For D d and A a
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Information For The Teacher - Sequence Chart, Teaching Schedule, Lesson Outlines
(Found At The End Of The Student Books)
(Found At The End Of The Student Books)
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