Julie,
Alphabetical order really isn’t necessary for learning to read and spell, but it does come up in so many different and often unexpected areas. Let me know if you need any ideas for going back and working on alphabetical order.

Linda,
My third child had trouble learning letters too. Consider doing our Pre-reading level, as through it students learn letters and the other Reading Readiness Skills necessary for reading success.

Focus on just one letter until he has it down. Then add the next letter while keeping the first in daily review. Use lots of active and game-like review, but make sure each letter is mastered before the next is added.

Be sure to check out our Letter Knowledge Activities page, which has all kinds of hands-on activities you can do to work on letters. Other things you can do:

– Make a letter of the day or week placemats.

– Go on a letter-treasure hunt: Put letters on index cards and tape them on things around the house that start with a letter and have him find the letters, or just hide letters for him to find.

– Give him a fun pointer stick. As you both sing the alphabet song, he should point to each letter as it is sung. Do this every day.

– Play games: Take index cards or squares of paper. Write a letter of the alphabet on each piece of paper. Set out four NON-CONFUSABLE letters at a time. For example, set out a, b, e, and f. (Do not set out c and e together, or b and d.) Take turns being the teacher. The teacher says “Point to the f (or whatever letter).” If the student points to the correct letter, he gets to keep it. Continue until the student has collected all four letters. Over a period of days or weeks, gradually add in more letters. First work with the uppercase letters; then move on to the lowercase letters.

– Free A to Z Letter Sounds App

– Swatting Phonograms–have him “swat” letters on index cards as you say them. There are a couple of other downloadable games in our article, How to Teach Phonograms.

– An idea for very active kids is the snowball game. You can just tape the letter cards to the wall. Shooting the letter cards with a nerf gun can also be fun.

– If he is also working on handwriting, have him work on writing the letter he is learning. Use tactile methods to practice letters, or practice them in various ways like a gel pen on black paper, or crayon that he paints over (or have him color with all different colors, then color over it with black, and use a coin or other object to write a letter–it will scratch away the black and the letter will be rainbow-colored).

I hope this gives you some ideas.

Cindy,
You’re welcome. I hope your children enjoy the activities!

Sarah,
I’m very pleased to hear your youngest has enjoyed our ABC letter crafts and got a head start with them! I think the Caterpillar alphabet would be a super cute display on a schoolroom wall Thanks for sharing the idea!

Melissa,
The letter tiles are a great tool for practicing alphabetizing!

Heather,
Dictionaries can be a lot of fun! My kids love my Children’s Dictionary (which had lots of great pictures) so much it fell apart.

So true, Kim! And large parking lots (like Disneyland) too. :D

Kayla,
What great timing! :D

This is a great way to review and play with alphabetizing, without taking very much time out of your week. Thanks so much for sharing this idea.

Not too early at all, Amanda, as long as you keep it light hearted and fun! Check out this idea that Sharon shared the other day. She explained an alphabetizing game that is a bit easier than doing individual letters.

Oooo, this would be a fun drill, Sharon. Thanks for the idea! I could see progressing it to fewer letters on each card.

Rebekah,
If they have a good handle on alphabetizing, you can practice it just occasionally through real world use. The dictionary, thesaurus, specific subject reference books (we use Math On Call for looking up math things), book glossaries, and more give alphabetizing practice. And, if they are ready to use the advanced alphabetizing rules you can have them practice their skills by alphabetizing your DVDs or book. My kids are always willing to earn some pocket money by doing some organizing for me.

Kayla,
Stage 1 fits in well with beginning spelling instruction, as in All About Spelling 1. Since we recommend beginning spelling after the student has completed All About Reading 1, or the equivalent reading level, that would mean starting alphabetizing would start around 6 to 7 years old for many kids. However, a student that starts reading later would start alphabetizing later.

I know this isn’t a straight answer, but I hope it helps.