When children have mastered letter recognition, they are able to identify letters in different contexts, both individually and within words. They can not only recite the alphabet, but they can also correctly identify the letters based on their physical appearance.

When teaching children to recognize the lowercase “d,” keep in mind that it can be easily confused with the letter “b.” Therefore, it can be helpful not to teach the two letters at the same time. To help children learn the letter “d,” have it displayed on posters or individual alphabet charts that they can refer to. Immerse them in letter activities such as sorting magnetic letters or tiles, going on letter hunts, making the letter with playdough, and using letter stamps and stickers.

Teaching children verbal pathways is helpful when they are learning how to form letters. For the lowercase “d,” teach them the phrase, “Pull back, around, up and down.” For the uppercase “D,” teach them the phrase, “Pull down, up, around.” Model how to print the letter while saying the phrase aloud.

Provide children with opportunities to trace the letter first, moving towards printing the letter independently as they gain confidence.Teaching children proper letter formation allows them to print efficiently, with appropriate speed. As they begin to write longer passages, they can focus on the content of their writing and not worry about the mechanics of forming each letter.

Allow children to participate in various activities to practice their letter formation. They can use juggling scarves to form letters using large motions in the air. They can practice printing with fingerpaint, chalkboards, whiteboards, and sand or salt trays.

To learn the sound the letter “d,” makes, help children create a list of items that begin with “d.” For example, they can associate dogs, dice, and drinks with “d.” Have them fill a block letter “d” with pictures of these items. They can refer to their block letter to help them remember the correct sound.

Children can also make alphabet books, completing a new page each time a letter is learned. Each page can show the uppercase and lowercase letters, along with pictures of items that begin with the letter’s sound.

To further practice learning sounds, have children complete matching activities where they match the letter to the correct object. They can also complete activities that ask them to color the objects that begin with the letter’s sound. (e.g., Color the desk. Do not color the mouse.)

Oral activity. Which two words begin with the same sound: dog, day, mop? (dog and day)

Clip cards teach the initial sound of the letter D. Identify and clip the letter that the sound /d/ represents. This activity provides a fun and interactive way for kids to reinforce their phonemic awareness skills.