Let’s Chat: The Alphabet

Happy back to school and thanks for joining me today to talk all things alphabet! I wanted to take some time to discuss alphabet instruction, share some digital ways to practice the letters for those of you virtually teaching, and of course share some alphabet freebies for virtual/in-class learning! Up first we will chat about my NEW digital alphabet learning slides!

Digital Alphabet Slides

What are the INSTANT Digital Alphabet Slides?

The INSTANT Digital Alphabet Slides are preloaded to SeeSaw and Google™ Slides. These games can be assigned to your students for independent practice, virtual lesson follow-up, assessment, as an independent literacy center option, homework, early finishers, etc. The slides differ slightly between the SeeSaw and Google platforms. See a detailed slide-by-slide list below.

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View the SeeSaw version in action below! To view the Google Ready preview video click **HERE**

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What is included?

This packet contains 26 INSTANT slide decks loaded to SEESAW and GOOGLE SLIDES! Each letter has its OWN slide deck so you can assign one letter at a time! (see FAQ below for additional platforms.)

SeeSaw alphabet decks include 20 slides each and includes recorded directions to assist students in distance learning! Google Slides alphabet decks include 17 slides each and have audio directions included as well!

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TRY THEM FREE!

Try out these NEW Instant Digital Alphabet slides for free below!

Download the Google Slides Letter Aa **HERE**
Download the SeeSaw Letter Aa **HERE**

You can snag these NEW Instant Digital Alphabet slides on sale **HERE**

Alphabet Curriculum

Last summer I released my 3,200+ page alphabet curriculum and can’t wait to re-share it with you today! This curriculum is really hard to put into typed words because it contains SO much! I always strive to squish so much into my packets so you never have to go hunt down additional materiel because WHO has time for that? I will break down the curriculum below!

Let’s start with a description of the program from a fellow teacher! Nicki, a preschool teacher, says,“To say this product is AMAZING is an understatement! Tara has INCLUDED EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF to make learning letters and sounds fun and ENGAGING! There are so many MULTI SENSORY OPTIONS to choose from to meet the diverse needs of our little learners! ACTIVE, HANDS-ON, PLAY-BASED learning activities and centers allow kids to explore letters, sounds, and paths of motion by seeing, hearing, touching, singing, and moving their bodies to meet all modes of learning for our students! EASY TO READ and NAVIGATE lesson plans allow teachers to teach letters IN ANY ORDER, choose from a “BUFFET” of activities to DIFFERENTIATE for their students needs, and FIND EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE! There are so many things included it is difficult to even list them all in a review! If you teach letters, sounds, or handwriting you can’t go wrong with the program! It’s like getting Hands-on Exploration Tubs, Handwriting Tubs, Hands-on Centers, Aligned Center Mats, Easy Readers, songs, pocket charts, and explicit lesson plans all for one low price!”

What is included?

The Alphabet Curriculum is designed with preschool and kindergarten teachers in mind. The Alphabet Curriculum offers a week of engaging and hands-on material per letter for a total of 130 scripted lessons. However, the material can easily be expanded over a longer academic period. Teachers can also rearrange the letters into the order they desire. The idea of The Alphabet Curriculum is you can completely transform your phonics teaching with FUN and engaging, yet still rigorous, lessons. The Alphabet Curriculum is completely comprehensive, so the only thing you’ll need to add in is a few hands-on items/manipulatives! Here is a quick breakdown of what you get: 

• Detailed lesson plans (5 lessons per letter – 130 total)
• Songs/poems for each letter (5 per letter)
• Whole-body letter cards (1 per letter)
• Animal action letter cards (1 per letter)
• Letter sound teacher mentor texts (1 per letter)
• Handwriting posters (2 per letter)
• Strokes mini booklets (2 per letter)
• Aligned center mats (5 per letter)
• Interactive notebook activities (4 per letter)
• Craft templates (1 per letter)
• Alphabet centers (20 included)
• Alphabet Hands-On Tasks (20 included)
• Handwriting Tasks (20 included)
• Handwriting helpers
• Alphabet posters, strips, resource cards, desk plates
• Letter assessment
• Start Up Guide

You can watch a video overview of the program below or by clicking HERE!

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The Alphabet Curriculum is VIRTUAL

Yes, I made a free Google-Ready update to my alphabet curriculum this summer! Having the mentor texts, posters, and game mats loaded to Google will save you time for virtual instruction! Again, this was a free update so you’d just redownload/access page 5 for the Google Ready updates!

Check out a Google-Ready preview below!

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Get an up close look at the curriculum below!

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A unique Alphabet Curriculum

What makes the alphabet curriculum unique?

The Alphabet Curriculum is teacher-created, kid-tested, and most importantly kid-approved! The Alphabet Curriculum takes away that monotonous way of teaching the letters of the alphabet which students sit and listen to the teacher TEACH. Instead, the Alphabet Curriculum encourages guidance from the teacher while the students EXPLORE and LEARN the letters through hands-on and engaging activities that utilize all modes of learning.

The Alphabet Curriculum is made up of 130 instructional days but can be adjusted to fit your classroom needs. The curriculum includes lessons, songs, centers, exploration tubs, and an assessment piece as a way to ensure student growth.

These are just a few highlights you’ll see using the Alphabet Curriculum:

Alphabet Sample Scope & Sequences

The Alphabet Curriculum scope and sequence should be viewed as a buffet approach.  The individual teacher will need to map out the days and approach to their current school calendar.  Please note that the Alphabet Curriculum was created with the teacher in mind, giving the freedom to rearrange the letters within the curriculum at your discretion. You will want to base the number of days spent on each letter according to your students’ current needs. 

Each letter has five lesson plans. Get a detailed look at the weekly lesson plan breakdown below.

How are letters introduced?

Please keep in mind that the unit is set up “buffet style” which means I don’t dictate a letter order for you…you can choose your own order or follow the order set forth by your district. This unit covers capital letters and lowercase letters! You can teach all of the capital first and then go back through to teach lowercase letters, or you can teach capital and lowercase letters simultaneously. Below you can see an overview of the included letters strips, AB charts, desk plates, and flashcards! There are two versions included (letter sounds people and a generic beginning sound version).

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Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Awareness Scope and Sequence

The Alphabet Curriculum has included built-in phonemic awareness in each lesson plan. Below you will find a scope and sequence for the topics and frequency each skill is taught. The Alphabet Curriculum covers five areas of phonemic awareness: repeating sounds/sentences, identifying rhyming pairs, syllable counting, blending onset & rime, and identifying beginning sounds.

The Alphabet Curriculum Assessment

The Alphabet Curriculum has an included assessment piece. The assessment can be used for letter naming or letter sounds. Each student will need an assessment tracker printed double-sided. When assessing a student one-on-one, present the Alphabet Assessment Student Mat. The student will track across the mat and state the letter names aloud. The teacher will track each letter stated correctly on the left side of the tracker. Use a different colored pen for each assessment period. The teacher will graph the overall total for each assessment period.

Overview of a Lesson

Below is a quick overview of how a lesson plan is set up, including the lesson breakdowns and the main headers upon the left & right sidebars. The lesson plan is broken down into five main sections: listening, letter introduction, rhythm and movement, whole-group lesson, and apply & practice.

What centers are included in The Alphabet Curriculum?

Center #1: Discrimination Cards
Center #2: Linking Cards
Center #3: Cover-It Boards
Center #4: Read, Build, Write Mats
Center #5: Letter Build-It Mats
Center #6: Puzzlin’ Mats
Center #7: Discrimination Cards
Center #8: Roll and Cover Mats
Center #9: Tracing Cards
Center #10: Match-Ups
Center #11: Letter Attribute Sorts
Center #12: Letter Sort Mats
Center #13: Capitalization Sorts
Center #14: Letter Pictures
Center #15: Sound Mats
Center #16: Letter Hunt Mats
Center #17: Letter Hunt Mats
Center #18: Letter Pull and Write
Center #19: Letter Pull and Write
Center #20: Letter Hunts

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What hands-on tasks/tubs are included in The Alphabet Curriculum? 

Hands-On Task #1: Pokey Cards
Hands-On Task #2: Building Block Letters
Hands-On Task #3: Building Cube Letters
Hands-On Task #4: Food Mats 
Hands-On Task #5: Dabber Mats
Hands-On Task #6: Linking Chain Letters
Hands-On Task #7: Pattern Block Letters
Hands-On Task #8: Fine Motor Cards
Hands-On Task #9: Mini Block Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #10: Fuzzy Pom Mats
Hands-On Task #11: Sticker Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #12: Highway Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #13: Letter Handwriting Mats
Hands-On Task #14: Fine Motor Mats
Hands-On Task #15: Dough Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #16: Fingerprint Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #17: Geoboard Letter Cards
Hands-On Task #18: Letter Dotting Cards
Hands-On Task #19: Sticky Letter Mats
Hands-On Task #20: Dough Letter Mats

Would you like to see/hear more about the curriculum?

**VIDEO LINKS** (View these detailed videos for a better understanding of the program!)

** Overview video: HERE
** Alphabet Centers video: HERE
** Hands-On Alphabet Tasks/Tubs: HERE
** Handwriting Tasks/Tubs video: HERE
** Actions Demo video: HERE
** Alphabet Curriculum Sound tunes: HERE
** Alphabet Curriculum Facebook Live: HERE

Snag the Alphabet Curriculum ***HERE*** or by clicking below!

Alphabet Curriculum Supplies

For those that own the Alphabet Curriculum it was requested that I compile all of the “goodies” you see in my pictures! I have compiled that **HERE** on my Amazon list! Just a reminder to use this as a visual shopping list but then look around at different stores like Walmart and Dollar Tree for the best deal! (Amazon Disclosure: This is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Alphabet Freebies

While you’re here chatting all things alphabet… let’s share some alphabet freebies! Up first is an adorable alphabet tracing books (think Jan Richardson). Grab it **HERE**

How about a freebie DIGITAL alphabet file! This freebie is Google Ready AND SeeSaw ready! Snag this freebie **HERE**

Are you a digital teacher this year? You will want to snag these freebie MOVEABLE letters! You can load these individual letters to SeeSaw OR Google Slides! Download this freebie **HERE**

Another freebie for the virtual teachers! This is a Google Doc ABC word building mat! Download this Google Slides version **HERE**

Download the SeeSaw ready version **HERE**

How about some alphabet dough cards? Snag them **HERE**

Up next— alphabet nonfiction tracing book! Grab it **HERE**

How about some alphabet puzzles? Snag them **HERE**

Alphabet trace pages. Download the pages **HERE**

Alphabet color and write sheets! Grab them **HERE**

Freebie alphabet ABC dot-to-dot sheets **HERE**

Alphabet Spin and Trace freebie download **HERE**

Alphabet magnet sheets! Snag them **HERE**

Alphabet puzzlers! Download **HERE**

Thank you, thank you for joining me today! If you have additional questions please reach out to me at littlemindsatworkLLC@gmail.com

Have a great rest of your week!