- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- cookie sheet
- letter “Nn” card
- two bags or boxes (one filled with magnetic uppercase letters including several “N”s, and one filled with magnetic lowercase letters including several “n”s)
- curved line
- letter
- slanted line
- straight line
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 Sort (“Nn”)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Compare and Contrast, Letter Recognition, Matching and Sorting, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Print out the Between the Lions alphabet chart or create an alphabet chart on chart paper.
Use the “Letter Sort” Routine to help children distinguish letter shapes and recognize the shape of the letter “Nn.”
Letter Sort Routine
- Present children with a cookie sheet and two boxes, one containing uppercase letters (including the target letter) and one containing lowercase letters (including the target letter).
- Point to the letter card and say, This card shows an uppercase “N” and a lowercase “n.” In this box, there are some big, or uppercase, letters. We’re going to find all the uppercase “N” letters and put them here on the left side of the cookie sheet. We’ll put all the other letters here on the right side of the cookie sheet.
- As you take the letters out of the box, comment on their shapes. Say, This letter has straight lines and a slanted line. It looks just like the letter “N” on our letter card. Where on the cookie sheet should I put it? Choose another letter and talk about how its shape is different from the target letter. This letter has a curved line. It doesn’t look like an “N”. Where on the cookie sheet should we put it?
- When children have sorted all the letters, encourage volunteers to identify them by name.
- Repeat the process as you search the lowercase letter box for the lowercase “n.”
English Language Learners: If children are having trouble understanding what is meant by straight and curved lines, draw examples for them or guide their fingers as they draw the lines themselves. Have children trace the drawn lines with their fingers as you have them say the words straight and curved.