Alphabet Activities for Kindergarten – Letters, Mazes, & Lots of FUN!
I was in Target the other day and was greeted by a freshly stocked Dollar Spot. I may or may not have let out a little squeal. Among the items I picked up were some alphabet posters and letter stickers {both $1}. Who can resist an alphabet chart for a dollar…especially one with adorable pictures?!
Apparently I can’t, so I bought like ten a couple of them because I wanted to make some EASY alphabet activities for Kindergarten with them.
As a Kindergarten teacher you can never, never have enough alphabet activities. You could also make these alphabet activities for Kindergarten with alphabet flashcards, but they didn’t have any and cutting the pictures apart was much faster {and more comfortable} than driving all over town on a scavenger hunt.
Not to mention, it’s like one thousand degrees outside and I would rather cut and prep inside my air conditioned home watching Netflix on the couch instead of sweating my buns off running to different stores!
I try to keep things super easy and simple at the beginning of the year. As a kindergarten teacher you often don’t know the ability level of your incoming students. You might have some students that are ready to read, students who know a couple of letters, and some who have never held a pencil before.
So I try to keep the activities flexible and appropriate for a wide range of skill levels. The last thing you want is a child feel frustrated on the first day of school because something was too hard. Just think KISS: keep it simple sweetie!
Okay, back to these alphabet activities for Kindergarten.
I began cutting the alphabet posters apart {laminate the posters first!}.
Full disclosure…I can’t cut in a straight line to save my life. Most of the time I use a paper cutter {which even that can be a challenge at times}. Thankfully, reason #348 on my list of why I love teaching Kindergarten: they don’t notice that lines aren’t straight.
However, they do notice a new haircut, new nail polish, new shoes, or even a new teacher cup…but not your cutting abilities.
With two sets of cards you can turn this into a matching activity. {Of course I failed to take a picture of this. But I’m sure you can imagine what it would look like.}
Another option, you could cut apart the pictures and letters and have students match using only the pictures OR only the letters.
Another activity using two sets of cards is to have students play a memory game with a classmate.
I usually give my students half of the cards to start. Most new Kindergarteners have a difficult time managing 52 cards. So it’s a good idea to start with no more than half of the alphabet or 26 cards {just make sure all of the cards have a match!}.
For this activity students put the cards in alphabetical order. I encourage my students to use the alphabet line in the classroom to help them with letter order.
If putting the entire alphabet in order is too overwhelming, break the alphabet up in to smaller pieces. I divided the cards in to five sets and put color coded dots in the upper right corner. I placed each set in a Ziploc bag. Students put each set in ABC order.
This activity is a little more challenging but is great beginning sound practice. I cut the pictures and letters apart and put alphabet stickers on the back of each card to make this activity self-correcting. Students match the beginning sound picture card to the letter card.
Again, you may want to only give a few cards at a time. Or you can color code them and make sets like in the ABC order picture above.
And because you can never have enough ideas to teach the alphabet, here’s a few more of my favorites. What I love about the two activities that I’m going to share with is #1 they are NO PREP. #2 Like the activity above, they can be used in several different ways so it’s easier to keep things fresh and exciting.
Alphabet Letter Sort – Letter Experts:
This first activity is called Letter Expert. I love that there’s so many fine motor skills going on in this activity. Students begin by tracing the letters at the top. Having small dots to show students where to put their pencil is a huge bonus (especially at the beginning of the year).
Next, students cut apart the letters on the right side of the paper, sort the uppercase and lowercase letters, and glue them in their respective columns. Last, students color the matching uppercase and lowercase letters. I have my students use two different colors: one for uppercase letters, one for lowercase.
If your younger students are overwhelmed by sorting the letters after they are cut, have them use two different color crayons and circle or color the letters BEFORE they cut them apart. This will make sorting much easier for them.
A fun twist to keep this activity new and fresh is to students use bingo dabbers to dab the uppercase and lowercase letters. If you need some tips on how to get bingo dabbers started in your classroom, you can read this post.
You can also have students rainbow write the letters at the top of the page. You could have students rainbow write the letters AND use bingo dabbers at the bottom…talk about a magical combination!Click on the picture below to check out this activity. Be sure to download the preview file for a freebie!
Letter Mazes:
This next activity is called A-MAZE-ing Letters. Get it? It’s a MAZE packet. Haha!
To prep this activity all you need to do is print. Students start at the race car at the top of the page. They will go through the maze and color the uppercase or lowercase letters to reach the stop sign.
The uppercase and lowercase letter is listed in the upper right corner to serve as a reminder of what letter they are looking for. Each page also has a picture of an object that begins with the target letter.
You could also have students use stamps or bingo dabbers to mark the space through the maze. My favorite bingo dabber brand is Do a Dot. I’ve had my set for a LONG time and they are still going strong. Plus, they don’t bleed through the paper. You can pick them up at Michaels or Hobby Lobby using a coupon, or grab them using my Amazon affiliate link by clicking here!
Another option is to print the pages and laminate them or slide them into page protectors so students can use them over and over again. Students can use dry erase markers, small erasers, snap cubes, or pom-poms to mark their way through the maze.
Another fun idea is to use small toy cars and let kids “drive” through the maze.
You can click on any of the pictures above to check out the alphabet activities for Kindergarten or click on the picture below. Be sure to download this preview too. Inside you’ll find a freebie!
Uppercase and Lowercase Matching:
This Letter Match alphabet activity makes a great morning tub, literacy center, or fast finisher project.
Students identify the uppercase letter and then cover the matching lowercase letter. Snap cubes or small erasers work perfect for this activity. The lowercase letters are show in different fonts which is great for helping students identify letters in environmental print.In need of snap cubes? Use my affiliate link to grab some on Amazon by clicking here.
The packet includes “I Can” visual directions and two recording sheets to hold students accountable for their work. You could use this activity with or without the recording sheets.
The packet also includes five no prep practice pages that can be used for morning work, homework, or an additional center activity.
Activities can be completed with bingo dabbers, crayons, colored pencils, ect. Students select six different colors to color the uppercase letters on the right side of the page, thus creating their own color code. They use their color code to color the matching lowercase letters.
