Alphabet/ Literacy Center

This shelf houses both the math and literacy center materials. The rolled beige mats on the top right of the shelf are used for working with materials on the floor.

What's in the ABC Center

These are just a few of the materials we have in the Literacy Center. I change the materials during the year, depending on what we are learning.

Letter Match

On some cards, children match uppercase to lowercase letters. On other cards, children match letters to beginning sounds. This set came from Lakeshore.

Letter Roads

I have a box of mini toy cars and large foam letters from Lakeshore. Children practice letter formation by driving the cars around the letters.

Sand Boxes

Children practice writing letters in the sand boxes. Our sand boxes were a donation from a parent who got them from a factory lab. These boxes are about 5"x5", clear plastic Petri dishes with a lid. I prefer colored sand rather than salt because if a child has a small cut on a finger, the salt will burn.

Alphabet Path Game

I made these path games using stickers bought at Michael's, and I made individual mats with about 10 letters on them. Each child gets a mat, a game piece, and some plastic chips to cover the letters on their mat. They roll the dice and count out the spaces to move their game piece. If their game piece lands on a letter that is on the mat, they cover that letter with a chip. Play continues until they have covered every letter.
Other ways we use the path games:
*Children identify the letter they land on, then find that letter somewhere in the classroom.
*Children find an object in the classroom that begins with that letter's sound.

ABC Sorting Box

Label a craft storage box with letter stickers. Children sort letter manipulatives into the sections of the box.

Letter Hunt

Children choose any 10 letters from the letter manipulatives. Go through a stack of shuffled letter cards, calling out each letter to the children. As the letters are called out, children look to see if they have that letter, and if they do, the letter is put back in the letter tub. We see who is first to clear all of their letters (like a bingo game). If the kids are too competitive, we play until everyone has cleared all of their letters.
*To teach letter sounds: Call out a word and have children identify the first letter of the word.