- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- letter card “Yy”
- modeling clay
- plastic straws cut into long and short pieces
- pipe cleaners
- lowercase
- straight
- uppercase
MA Standards:
Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.1.d: Recognize and name some uppercase letters of the alphabet and the lowercase letters in one’s own name.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Alphabet Knowledge: Recognizes that the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
Letter Shaping (“Yy”)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Fine Motor Skills, Letter Formation, Letter Recognition, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Display the letter “Yy” card. Tell children you are going to help them learn how to shape the letter "Y."
Trace over both the lowercase and uppercase “Yy” with your fingers. Trace the three lines of the uppercase letter as you say, One straight line, two straight lines, three straight lines. “Yy” has all straight lines.
- Have children come up and trace the letter with you as you repeat the steps.
- Then have children choose a material to form the letter. Ask, What materials do you think you can use to make the straight lines?
You may want to have children use the materials to form other letters they have learned or letters they already know.