ABC Foundations for Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum

Young children's knowledge of letter names and sounds is the best predictor of their reading and spelling progress in school—but studies show that many children still struggle with alphabet knowledge at the end of first grade. Now there's a fun and affordable way to answer the call for effective alphabet instruction, without changing your whole curriculum or investing in expensive teaching materials and training.

Developed by renowned reading expert Marilyn Jager Adams, this playful, highly engaging curriculum supplement is a must for teachers of preschool through kindergarten, as well as primary grade teachers of students who still need help with alphabetic basics. You'll get 56 activity-based lessons that help children recognise and write each letter in both upper- and lowercase forms and know the primary sound each letter represents.

Why Use ABC Foundations in Young Children?

• Reflects the latest research on how kids learn best
• Complements any curriculum in early literacy
• Built around fun, fast , hands-on, minds-on activities that keep all children engaged
• Provides full lesson support for teachers—no extra training required
• Includes assessments for monitoring children's progress and needs
• Gives you adaptations for children who are ahead or behind pace
• Includes lesson support materials such as Alphabet Game Cards, Alphabet Strips, Letter Writing Activity Sheets
• Requires no expensive materials or technologies
• Ideal companion to Phonemic Awareness for Young Children

Enhance your early literacy instruction with this fun and effective curriculum supplement, and give children a solid foundation of alphabet knowledge they'll build on for years as they become confident readers and writers.

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Table of Contents

Contents

About the Author

About the Online Materials

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Unit I Getting to Know the Alphabet

1. The Alphabet and the Uppercase Letters
• Lesson 1: Introducing the Alphabet
• Lesson 2: The "Alphabet Song"
• Lesson 3: Introducing Name Poems
• Lesson 4: Uppercase Letter Draw with Duplicates: A-M
• Lesson 5: Uppercase Letter Draw with Duplicates: N-Z
• Lesson 6: Uppercase Letter Face-Up Match: A-Z
2. Introducing the Lowercase Letters
• Lesson 1: Lowercase Letter Face-Up Match: a-m
• Lesson 2: Lowercase Letter Face-Up Match: n-z
• Lesson 3: Lowercase Letter Draw with Duplicates: a-m
• Lesson 4: Lowercase Letter Draw with Duplicates: n-z
• Lesson 5: Lowercase Letter Face-Up Match: a-z
3. Introducing the Vowels
• Lesson 1: Lowercase Letter Draw with Vowels as Wild Cards: a-z
• Lesson 2: Uppercase Letter Draw with Vowels as Wild Cards: A-Z
• Lesson 3: Alphabet March

Unit II Writing Uppercase Letters

4. Uppercase Letters with Vertical and Horizontal Strokes
• Lesson 1: Writing Letters with Vertical and Horizontal Strokes: L, T
• Lesson 2: Writing Letters with Vertical and Horizontal Strokes: I, H
• Lesson 3: Writing Letters with Vertical and Horizontal Strokes: F, E
5. Uppercase Letters with Slanted Strokes
• Lesson 1: Writing Uppercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: A and Z
• Lesson 2: Uppercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: N and M
• Lesson 3: Uppercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: V, W, and X
• Lesson 4: Uppercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: Y, K
6. Uppercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs
• Lesson 1: Uppercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: D, B
• Lesson 2: Uppercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: P, R
• Lesson 3: Uppercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: U, J
7. Uppercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock
• Lesson 1: Uppercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: O, C
• Lesson 2: Uppercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: Q, G
• Lesson 3: Uppercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: S
• Lesson 4: Write Your Own Name

Unit III Writing Lowercase Letters

8. Lowercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock
• Lesson 1: Introducing Lowercase Letters
• Lesson 2: Lowercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: o, c
• Lesson 3: Lowercase Letters that Start with 2 o'Clock: a, d
• Lesson 4: Lowercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: g, q
• Lesson 5: Lowercase Letters that Start at 2 o'Clock: s, f
9. Lowercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs
• Lesson 1: Lowercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: b, p Humps, and Troughs
• Lesson 2: Lowercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: n, m Humps, and Troughs
• Lesson 3: Lowercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: r, h Humps, and Troughs
• Lesson 4: Lowercase Letters with Loops, Humps, and Troughs: u, j, e Humps, and Troughs
10. Lowercase Letters with Slanted Strokes
• Lesson 1: Lowercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: v, w
• Lesson 2: Lowercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: x, z
• Lesson 3: Lowercase Letters with Slanted Strokes: k, y
11. Lowercase Letters with Straight Up-and-Down Strokes
• Lesson 1: Lowercase Letters with Straight Up-and-Down Strokes: l, t, i
• Lesson 2: Lowercase Letter Wrap-Up

Unit IV Introducing Letters and Sounds

12. A Sound for Each Letter
• Lesson 1: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Aa, Bb
• Lesson 2: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Cc, Dd
• Lesson 3: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Ee, Ff
• Lesson 4: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Gg, Hh
• Lesson 5: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Ii, Jj, Kk
• Lesson 6: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Ll, Mm, Nn
• Lesson 7: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Oo, Pp, Qq
• Lesson 8: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Rr, Ss, Tt
• Lesson 9: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Uu, Vv, Ww
• Lesson 10: Introducing the Sounds of the Letters: Xx, Yy, Zz
13. Long and Short Vowels
• Lesson 1: Long and Short Sounds of the Letter Aa
• Lesson 2: Long and Short Sounds of the Letter Ee
• Lesson 3: Long and Short Sounds of the Letter Ii
• Lesson 4: Long and Short Sounds of the Letter Oo
• Lesson 5: Long and Short Sounds of the Letter Uu
• Writing Assessment

Appendix A Assessments

• A.1: Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Recognition
• A.2: Uppercase Letter Writing
• A.3: Lowercase Letter Writing
• A.4: Initial Consonant Sounds
• A.5: Vowel Identification and Sounds

Appendix B Materials

• B.1: Alphabet Strips
• B.2: Letter Cards
• B.3: Uppercase Letter Writing Activity Sheets
• B.4: Lowercase Letter Writing Activity Sheets
• B.5: Write Your Own Name (Uppercase)
• B.6: Write Your Own Name (Lowercase)
• B.7: Consonant Sound Game Activity Sheets

Index

"An excellent example of research-based instruction: the research on which it is based is current and compelling, and the instructional application is artful and engaging."
- Joseph Torgesen, Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Education at Florida State University and Director Emeritus of the Florida Center for Reading Research

"If preschool and early kindergarten teachers used these lessons to ensure that every child had mastered the alphabet, many more children would be ready to benefit from comprehensive reading instruction."
- Dr. Louisa Moats, Author and Literacy Consultant