- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- uppercase and lowercase letter “Aa” molds
- curve
- letter
- lowercase
- slanted line
- straight line
- 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 Molds (“Aa”)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care. All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Fine Motor Skills, Letter Recognition, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Have children press uppercase and lowercase “Aa” molds into the sand. As they work, talk with children about the features of the uppercase and lowercase letters. Encourage them to use their fingers to make the letter in the sand. Say, You made a lowercase “a”! It’s the first letter in the word apple. Can you show me the lowercase letter “a” on the alphabet chart? Look! The letter “Aa” is the first letter of the alphabet!
Adaptation: You may want to use birdseed in the sand table in place of sand (found at hardware or grocery stores) and letter cookie cutters. Children can fill the cookie cutters with the birdseed and then trace around the letter full of birdseed. This could open conversation for how birds carry seeds.
Adaptation: You can adapt this activity by using a cake pan or baking dish to hold the sand (or salt). Pour a small amount of sand into the pan and have children do the activity with molds and tracing. You can use more than one pan if you have multiple children doing the activity. This activity can also be done outside in a sand box.