Introducing Letters

Chicka Chicka ABC (Chicka Chicka Book, A)

Good book to read before talking about letters!
A told B
and B told C,
“I’ll meet you at the top
of the coconut tree.”
  When all the letters of the alphabet race one another up the coconut tree, will there be enough room?
Of course there is always enough room for this rollicking alphabet chant that has been a children’s favorite for more than twenty years! Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s rhythmic text keeps the beat with Caldecott Honor illustrator Lois Ehlert’s bold, cheerful art. This winning combination has created a series of enduring Chicka Chicka favorites, and now, for the first time ever, the complete edition of the original Chicka Chicka Boom Boom story is available as a Classic Board Book. With sturdy pages and rounded corners, this portable edition of an irresistible alphabet romp will delight a new generation of young readers.

Wheels on the Bus (Raffi Songs to Read)

A familiar tune, this book will give the students confidence that they can read!  It is fun to read and sing along together

The Book with No Pictures

You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here’s how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . .

You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here’s how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . .
BLORK. Or BLUURF.

The Alphabet Tree (Dragonfly Books)

The Alphabet Tree – A great way to introduce standard:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.B
Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
Letters become words, and then words become sentences and sentences have meaning!
When a fierce wind threatens to blow all the little letters out of the alphabet tree, they must band together in words—and then sentences—to create a message that’s even stronger than the wind: peace on earth. With their newfound knowledge, there’s nothing the letters can’t do in this gentle parable about the power of the written word.

halkThis book has no pictures but it is great for teaching the children that pictures have meaning and that their pictures have meaning and that their pictures are a way to start the writing process!     Student can make up the story of what the children draw with chalk.

This book has no pictures but it is great for teaching the children that pictures have meaning and that their pictures have meaning and that their pictures are a way to start the writing process!     Student can make up the story of what the children draw with chalk. Other Activities Included for Week 2:

• Test the Students on the letters and sounds that they know. You may do DIBELS testing, or other Phonics testing.  I have included a Reading Readiness Test in the material that I always use as a baseline.
• Things to do during literacy centers:
  • Playdough – free play, or make your name on playdough mats
  • Lacing Cards
  • Legos
  • Write name on dry erase boards with markers
  • Write your name on mini chalk boards with chalk
  • Write your name in shaving cream on the desks!
  • Pre-handwriting worksheets (included)
  • Cutting Skills Worksheets (included)
  • Play Alphabet Football (included)
  • Play Letter Bingo
• Writing Time
  • Draw details in your pictures
  • Listen to a story and draw details from the story – be very detailed! Talk together over some things that can be added to their pictures.    Retell the story together and make note of details that would be good to add to a picture.
  • Use shapes to help you draw pictures (a circle for a face, or a sun), etc. Talk about how you can use shapes to help you.
• How to Teach the Alphabet – (Our Alphabet Teacher’s Manual and Carousel Posters Included)
• At Story Time
  • Talk about characters in the stories that you are reading.