Many children start learning the letters of the alphabet by singing the “ABC” song. Although they can sing the letters in order, this does not automatically translate to recognizing the appearance of each letter, either individually or within a word. Therefore, children need opportunities that will allow them to work with letters and become familiar with their physical characteristics.

When teaching the letter “a,” it’s helpful to have it displayed so children can refer to it. Consider hanging alphabet posters on the wall as well as having individual alphabet charts that students can use at their desk or table. Other activities include sorting magnetic letters or tiles (e.g., “Find all the letter a’s.”), making the letter with playdough, completing a letter hunt, and using flashcards.

It is helpful for children to learn a verbal pathway that will guide them when printing a letter. When teaching children how to print a lowercase “a,” model the printing while using the phrase, “Pull back, around, up, and down.” It is helpful to provide children with opportunities to trace the letter first before moving on to printing it independently.

Be explicit with teaching children where to begin their letter and the motion needed to complete it. Without specific instructions, children may learn to print letters in inefficient ways, which slows down their writing. Learning the proper letter formation from the beginning is preferred because it can be difficult to unlearn bad habits. As well, once printing letters becomes automatic, children can devote more attention to the thought processes necessary to create their content.

To teach the uppercase “A,” model the motion while using the phrase, “Slant down, slant down, across.”

There are many ways children can practice printing letters beyond traditional paper and pencil tasks. They can practice the proper motions using salt or sand trays, finger paint, whiteboard markers, and even juggling scarves.

When teaching children the sounds that letters make, relate the letters to familiar items that begin with the sound. For the letter “a,” the short vowel sound can be heard in words like “apple,” “astronaut,” and “alligator.” The long vowel sound can be heard in words like “acorn,” “ape,” and “alien.” Pair these words with a picture to help children learn the sound an “a” makes. Consider having children fill a block letter “a” with pictures of the words.

Provide children with further opportunities to learn letter sounds by matching the beginning sound to pictures. (e.g., Match the letter “a” to an axe.) or by coloring pictures of objects that begin with the correct sound. (e.g., Color the apple. Do not color the ball.) Children could also make alphabet books to refer to with each page showing a letter and an item to represent the sound.