Welcome to our mini teaching guide on alphabetizing!
Even with modern technology, alphabetizing is used in many areas of our lives. In fact, you’ve probably used your alphabetizing skills this past week without even realizing it. Maybe you looked up a friend’s phone number in your contact list, or maybe you’ve looked something up in a book index.
Here are some other common uses of alphabetized lists:
As you can see, alphabetizing is an essential literacy skill, and the resources in this post will make it easy for you to help your child master this important skill.
Let’s dig in!
Children go through four stages when learning to alphabetize.
Here are hands-on activities and tips for each stage.
At this beginning stage, kids learn to arrange letters in A to Z order. You can use letter tiles, Scrabble tiles, or squares of paper, or you can download our free ABC Caterpillar activity.
This adorable hands-on activity promotes letter recognition and builds pre-reading skills. And as an added bonus, you can use the letter cutouts from this activity for some of the additional activities described in the tips below!
Follow these tips to help reinforce Stage 1 alphabetizing skills:
Once a child has mastered putting the letters in alphabetical order, teach him that words can be alphabetized, too.
Sorting the seed packets in this hands-on activity from All About Reading Level 3 is a fun (and colorful!) way to practice alphabetizing words according to the first letter.
In real-world applications, your child will come across multiple items that start with the same letter (for example, the names of children’s authors Sendak, Seuss, and Silverstein). The next step is to look at the second or third letter to alphabetize them correctly.
Alphabetizing to the second and third letters can be tricky—but not when you can play “Who’s Coming to My Party?” from AAR Level 4. This engaging activity will make learning this skill seem more like a party than a lesson!
When your child is more advanced and is consistently able to alphabetize words to the second and third letter, you’ve reached the fourth stage of alphabetizing. Now your child will learn what to do with last names such as McAfee, Macauley, and O’Kearney; book titles that start with The; and numbers.
Although alphabetizing is more difficult at this level, this handy quick guide takes all the guesswork out of applying more advanced alphabetizing skills.
Remember, alphabetizing is an important skill, but it doesn’t have to be a boring one. With these tips, your child will be alphabetizing like a pro in no time!
Sheila
says:This sounds like fun and something we can work on together this summer! Thanks for the tips!
Heather
says:Wow, I had no idea you had all these extra resources and a blog. We’ve been using All about spelling level 1 this year and I’m loving it. So thorough! I’m thinking of adding the All About Reading Curriculum next year for my second child.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, yes! We have lots and lots of resources on the blog, Heather.
I’m pleased to hear that All About Spelling is working out so well for you this year. Let me know if you have questions about placement or anything else for All About Reading.
Frosta karnes
says:I absolutely love this idea and can’t wait to work on it with my kids.
Elizabeth H.
says:Great printables for this. I even learned something with the advanced rules #6
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was able to teach you something new, Elizabeth!
Natalia
says:This is great. I’m going to use this during the summer when my 7 year old nephew is with me during the days.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceWonderful, Natalia! I hope this provides a fun summer activity for you and your nephew!
Beth
says:These are great tips! Everything I have seen from All About Learning makes skill building so fun for my child!
Charity
says:I will be using these. I did not know your website had these. Thanks for these
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Charity. Just so you know, our website has lots and lots of fun, downloadable, learning activities and games.
Meredith
says:Thank you for these tips! Such a useful skill.
Zorah F
says:I have been teaching my kids how to alphabetize words but there is nothing like having them apply this skill in actual practical settings. I might have them alphabetize their well-loved picture books. Might be a fun activity to do together as we go through them and arranging them in shelves.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceSounds like a great activity, Zorah!
Stacey Mitchell
says:This is such a useful skill to learn!
Sarah Aldrich
says:I love alphabetizing! I can’t wait to teach my kids how to do it!
Anne H.
says:This is such an important skill. My 10 year old still has trouble with this. Looking forward to utilizing the stage 3 and 4 games.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI hope you find these activities helpful as you work on this skill with your child, Anne. If you have questions or find you need additional help, just let us know.
Sarah VonFange
says:I love all the extra tips that are given on this site.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Sarah. Glad they are helpful to you.
JoAnna
says:I love the tips and trick offered here to further add to what I already do with my son with alphabetizing
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad you like the tips here, JoAnna, and hope they will be helpful for your son.
Katelyn
says:I am in love with alphabetizing and can hardly wait until my kids are old enough to learn this skill. Then I can finally restore and KEEP order in my movies and books!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThis made me laugh, Katelyn! I completely understand! I was so excited when my first child was old enough to be able to take over keeping things alphabetized and have enjoyed teaching and passing on the chore to each child as they get old enough.
Alicia
says:This post is really helpful, breaking things down into practical steps. Thanks!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this is helpful, Alicia! Thank you.
Lauren Lambert
says:I love alphabetizing! I love these ideas for teaching this skill in steps! It most definitely is a needed skill even though paper/book dictionaries are not as common with searching on computers. Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceLauren,
I’m glad these tips will be helpful for you in teaching alphabetizing! And it is still a needful skill in the modern age.
Megan
says:I love this! I’ve been working on basic alphabetizing with my class this year and this will really help!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this will be helpful for your class, Megan!
Bobbie-Jo S.
says:Thank you for this information! I am new to homeschooling this year and I find these notes of information so valuable and helpful. We have started working on alphabetizing but this will certainly help. Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Bobbie-Jo! I’m glad this will be helpful for your as you start working on alphabetizing.
Lauren Norris
says:Thank you for sharing the most helpful resources! We are in the early stages of homeschooling and your resources have been so vital to our growth!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceWonderful to hear, Lauren. It’s great that the resources here can be helpful for you!
Raquel Powell
says:I dont know why i never considered the invaluable benefit of teaching alphabetizing. This is an activity that will help my struggling speller. .
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this activity will be helpful for your student, Raquel!
sheila
says:I can’t believe that I haven’t covered this much. It is a huge skill. Not just for the Dewey Decimal, but for life. Thank you for the reminder. We love AAR.
Sushma Chityala
says:Loved the curriculum
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat, thank you, Sushma!
e
says:Alphabetizing is a very important skill in our lives. In this course, the kids learn the four stages of alphabetization. They learn to put the letters in order. Then they learn to alphabetize to the first letter. After that, they learn to alphabetize to the second and third letters. Finally. they learn the advanced rules of alphabetizing. It is orderly and sequential. Of course, she makes the learning fun with different games.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you!
Deepthi Senarathna
says:thanks sooo mach!!!!!!!!!!!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Deepthi!
ruth
says:thanks for this. is very educative.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Ruth.
Pushpa hawargi
says:Thanks for the tips, simple and easy to implement.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Pushpa!
Kandy
says:Thank you for this wonderful resource. I work with adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). This alphabetizing lesson will be great for some of our folks – useful skills!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad you’ll find this useful, Kandy!
Erin
says:Thank you! These are great!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Erin!
Patty Martin
says:Thank you for these great resources! My 1st graders will benefit from using these resources when practicing with me, and then in rotation stations before they are assessed.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Patty!
Karen
says:Thank you for helping all the daycares and teachers with teaching the children
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou are so very welcome, Karen! It’s great to hear you find our resources helpful.