Children often begin learning the letters of the alphabet by singing the “ABC” song. Although they can recite the letters in order, they likely can’t recognize them in print yet, either individually or within words. Being able to identify each letter based on its physical appearance requires experience with print and explicit teaching.

Start by having the letter “z” displayed on an alphabet poster. You can also give children their own individual alphabet charts to have at their table or desk. Provide children with opportunities to use tools including letter stamps, magnetic letters, letter tiles, and flashcards. These manipulatives lend themselves well to sorting activities. Children can also use play dough to make the letter “z” and can go on a letter hunt to find as many “z’s” as they can.

Teaching children the proper way to print letters supports their speed and accuracy. Without explicit teaching, they may “draw” their letters in haphazard ways, using inefficient motions. The goal is to help them develop proficiency with printing so that when they are writing, their focus is not on the mechanics of forming each letter. Instead, printing is automatic and their focus is on generating ideas for their writing.

To help children learn how to print the letter “z,” teach them a verbal pathway that they can use to remember the correct motions to make with their pencil. For both the lowercase and uppercase “z,” you can use the phrase, “Across, slant down, across” as you model printing the letter. Point out that the lowercase “z” is a short letter and the uppercase “z” is a tall letter. Children benefit from opportunities to trace the letters before moving on to independent practice.

In addition to pencil and paper activities, consider having children use tools such as whiteboards markers, chalk, fingerpaint, and sand or salt trays to practice printing. They can also use juggling scarves to make the motions needed to form the letter “z.”

When teaching children the sounds that letters make, relate the letters to familiar items that begin with that sound. For the letter “z,” children may associate it with zoos, zippers, and zebras. Children can fill a block letter “z” with pictures or drawings of the objects. They can refer to their block letter when they are recalling the sound a “z” makes.

You can also have children make individualized alphabet books to help them learn their letter sounds. Each time a new letter is introduced, have them complete the appropriate page in their book. They can print the uppercase and lowercase letter then add pictures to represent the sound.
Children can gain further practice by matching the letter “z” to pictures that begin with its sound. They can also complete coloring activities where they color only the pictures that begin with “z.” (e.g., Color the zebra. Do not color the pig.)