One of my fave subjects to teach is reading. I absolutely love our morning literacy time. When
I plan my year of phonics instruction out, there are basically three parts that it includes. There is
some sort of letter introduction at the beginning of the year, where I introduce every letter of the
alphabet. Once they have been introduced, then we dive into whole group phonics instruction, and
then once students are assessed, we add small group instruction.
Today, we’re going to talk about the 26 day letter introduction. This begins the first full week of
school. I like to do this because I don’t like to make assumptions about what they know. This
way we can all start off on the same foot. Each day pretty much looks the same, just with a
different letter. Everything that I will be talking about you can find here.
We introduce the letter then add it to our “plate”, which is our brain. We talk about how the letter
looks, and how you form the letter. I like to use the terms straight lines, big lines, little lines
and curves.
Once the letter has been introduced, we move onto the sound of the letter. I introduce the sound
of the letter using the picture for the keyword that is on the alphabet card.
Once we have covered the name of the letter and the sound that it makes, we move to what
I like to call applying the skill. We make a chart with the keyword picture card, and we talk
about other words that we know that begins with the sound. I draw and label their words,
all while showing them that it does not have to be perfect. Then I have each student to
come up and write the letter. I let them choose whether to write a capital or lowercase letter,
so that they are comfortable in trying. It’s a great informal assessment.
Next up is our tactile letter. Nothing about this has to be fancy! This helps to reach learners
who are tactile learners. We pick a material to cover the letter with. Sometimes we do tissue
paper, other times I have them to tear construction paper to glue onto the letter. This is perfect
for fine motor practice. You can also use finger paint, noodles, glitter (eek!), cheerios or
pom-poms, etc. Whatever you have on hand really!
If we have time, we take a look at our alphabet reader. I love that the title is just the letter,
and the inside just has the word that matches the picture. It’s a great way to introduce and
review concepts of print and initial sounds.
At the end of our alphabet routine is an exit ticket. They trace the capital and lowercase letter,
and they color the keyword picture. It’s a nice end to our lesson of the day.
which you can find by clicking on any of the pictures, or you can click
here.
So let’s recap for a moment. These are the activities that we do during our letter of the day
introductory unit:
- Letter Introduction
- Sound Introduction
- Alphabet Posters (Skill Application)
- Tactile Letter
- Letter of the Day book
- Exit Ticket
which you can find by clicking on any of the pictures, or you can click
here. However, these are
routines and activities that you can use with any alphabet curriculum. If you have never done a letter
the day introduction, you should consider implementing it in your classroom!
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