Concept / Topic To Teach:

The names and shapes of the letters of the alphabet.

Standards Addressed:

General Goal(s): Using the letters of the alphabet is step towards learning to read.

Specific Objectives: Learn to name and make the lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Required Materials:

Download the free software program “Learn Letters” at

          

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):

Tell the student that all the words we use are made up of just 26 letters, and that they will learn to name and make the 26 letters of the alphabet.

Step-By-Step Procedures:

Download the program and install it. It is probably a good idea to run through it yourself once to become familiar with it. Note that there are three levels of increasing difficulty.

Make sure the child is comfortable at the computer, and knows how to use a computer mouse to “drag and drop”. Starting at level 1, show the child how to make the lowercase letter “a” by moving the “circle” and the “short stick” pieces into the appropriate places, to fill in the outline of the letter. Once the child understands the idea, s/he can continue on his own. Most of the letters are made up of two pieces, like the “a”, but the “c” and the letter “l” are one piece, and the “w” is made up of four pieces. Level II is more difficult in that the letter to be made is shown intermittently (it flashes off and on), so that the child has to have some amount of memory of the letter. In level III, the letters come up randomly.

Plan For Independent Practice: Once the child knows how to use the program, they can practice independently. The program was designed to create a need for closure by doing the entire alphabet, and many students will respond to this by wanting to “finish”.

Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set): The program was designed to create a need for closure by doing the entire alphabet, and many students will respond to this by wanting to “finish”. It may be a good thing to tell them something like, “All the words we say and read are made up of these letters.”

Assessment Based On Objectives: Because the program is meant for young children, it does not give an unpleasant beep or anything when a mistake is made. The shape that is a mistake will just slide off the computer screen, so that the student can try again. After using the program several times, children should be able to recognize all the lowercase letters of the alphabet. They may be able to print the letters also, but this depends on coordination as well as knowledge.

Adaptations (For Students With Learning Disabilities): Some students may want to do only part of the alphabet at one time. Students who have trouble with fine hand coordination may find that using a mouse with Learn Letters is much less frustrating that trying to make the letters with a crayon or pencil. Such students can gain the knowledge of how to make the letters of the alphabet without the difficulties of fine hand-eye coordination. For students with even greater coordination problems, a teacher or aide could move the computer mouse under the student’s direction, so that the student can learn the names and shapes of the letters. (The student can say things like “Now put the light green piece on the circle”)

Extensions (For Gifted Students): Gifted students should see the uppercase letters and match them to the lowercase letters. They may want to collect letters of the alphabet in different fonts, say from magazines. They may also want to discover what other shapes could be used to make letters.

E-Mail

Margaret Taylor

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