- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- letter card “Uu”
- name chart
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.
Literacy Knowledge/Early Writing: Copies, traces, or independently writes letters or words.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
Learn About Letters Together: Letters in Our Names (“Uu”) #2
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Letter Recognition, Name Recognition
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Use the Letters in Our Names Routine to help children recognize the letter “Uu” in their names. At the end of the routine, ask children who have a letter “Uu” in their names to stand up!
Letters in Our Names Routine
- Hold up the letter card and ask children to name the letter. Then ask what they notice about the shape of the big, uppercase letter and the little, lowercase letter. Do they look the same? How are they different? Explain that the lowercase (little) “u” looks very much like an uppercase (big) “U” except that it has an extra line on the side and is half as tall.
- Invite children to find the letter on an alphabet chart. Move your hand along all the letters, beginning with “Aa,” and ask children to tell you when you touch the target letter. You can also ask a volunteer to come up to the chart and touch the letter.
- Invite children to look at the name chart. Ask if anyone has the target letter in his or her name. If so, point to the name on the chart and talk about the location of the letter and whether it is an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter.
- Remind children that we always use the uppercase letter when we write the first letter of our names.
- Ask if anyone else has the letter in his or her name and repeat the process.
Educator Tip: Guided and independent letter, sound, and word practice continues to take place in center activities. It is helpful to set up the literacy center immediately after the direct instruction and repeat instruction before children work in the literacy center identifying letters.