- chalk
- masking tape (optional)
- word card up
MA Standards:
Foundational Skills/ RF.PK.MA.1.d: Recognize and name some uppercase letters of the alphabet and the lowercase letters in one’s own name.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Alphabet Knowledge: Recognizes that the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 7: Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.
Learn About Letters Together: Letter March ("Uu")
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Gross Motor Skills, Letter Formation, Letter Recognition
Take children outdoors. Draw or tape a gigantic letter “U” on the ground. Ask children to name the letter. Show the word card and ask children to say the word aloud. Ask, What letter do you see at the beginning of the word up?
Have children line up and, one by one, march along the “U.” Say, How do you make the letter “U”? As children march, lead by saying, You start at the top, and march down, then around the curve, then up again! Have them march again, and invite them to chant the word on as they march. Then invite children to skip or hop along the letter, chanting as they go.
Educator Tip: Guided and independent letter, sound, and word practice continues to take place in center activities. It is helpful to set up the literacy center immediately after the direct instruction and repeat instruction before children work in the literacy center identifying letters.