- Between the Lions alphabet chart
- cookie sheet
- letter card “Ii”
- two boxes or bags, one filled with a few sets of magnetic uppercase letters and the other filled with a few sets of magnetic lowercase letters (both including the letter “Ii”)
- belly
- curved
- different
- left
- letter
- lowercase
- right
- same
- short
- slanted
- straight
- tall
- uppercase
MA Standards:
Mathematics/Measurement and Data/PK.MD.MA.3 Sort, categorize, and classify objects by more than one attribute.
English Language Arts/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.
MA Draft STE Standards:
Physical Sciences/Matter and Its Interactions/PS1.A Describe, compare, sort and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether it is manufactured as part of their classroom play and investigations of the natural and human-made world.
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.
Mathematics/Patterns and Relations 8 Sort, categorize, or classify objects by more than one attribute.
Letter Sort (“Ii”)
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Compare and Contrast, Letter Recognition, 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 recognize the letter “Ii.”
Letter Sort Routine
Use this routine to help children distinguish letter shapes and recognize the shape of the target letter “Ii.”
- Give children a cookie sheet and two boxes, one containing uppercase letters (including the target letter) and one containing lowercase letters.
- Point to the letter card and say, This card shows an uppercase “I” and a lowercase “i.” In this box, there are some big, or uppercase, letters. We’re going to find all the uppercase “I” 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 a straight line. It looks just like the uppercase “I” 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. Say, This letter has a straight line and a belly. It doesn’t look like an “I.” 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 target letter.
Adaptation: For groups with younger children who do not recognize many letters, place three lowercase magnetic letters (two curved and one “i”) in a bag. Let children reach inside and try to find the letter “i” using only their sense of touch.