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When it comes to reading, one of the first letters children learn is the letter A. Truly, the A is the building block of the English language. Not only does it feature in most early reading, but it can also stand apart as a word unto itself. But before a child can begin to read, they must first be able to recognize and identify the letters in front of them. And one of the best letters to begin with is the letter A.
There are many different strategies and approaches for helping children learn to recognize the letter A. Some may be more effective than others, so try out many different options to see what resonates with your reader.
Show your children flashcards with pictures of objects that start with the letter A. Encourage them to say the picture name out loud and listen for the sound made by the first letter. Then look at the other letters in the word. Does the A appear anywhere else in the word?
Pro Tip: When learning to read, children will learn the short A sound first. To avoid confusion, try to focus on words that use this short A sound, such as ant, apple, or alligator. Avoid long A words such as ape, acorn, and ace.
One effective way to teach the letter A to young children is through play and hands-on activities.
Children love music, and they are more likely to remember information when it is presented in a musical format. You can use classic nursery rhymes such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to help children understand the sound of the letter. You can also create your own songs and rhymes that focus on the letter “a.” This will help children to associate the letter with its unique sound, which will make it easier for them to remember it.
Kids can pick up a lot without even realizing they are doing it. Try labeling the different items and areas in your house. Make the first letter in the label bigger so that kids start to associate that letter with the item they see.
Books and stories can be an incredibly effective way to teach the letter A to children. Instead of just reading, take a moment to point out the letters on the page. Not only will this help with letter recognition, but it will also help children understand that words are formed by stringing together several different letters.
Learning how to form the letter A correctly and legibly is essential to recognizing the letter when it appears in print. There are many ways to practice this skill, but one of the best is to physically write the letter. When teaching children how to write the letter a, begin with lined paper that has the letter faintly written on it. Encourage your child to trace over the letter. This will help them to get a feel for how the letter is formed and how it should look when it is written. Once they are comfortable with tracing the letter A, graduate to lined paper with nothing written on it and encourage your child to form the letter on their own.
One of the first things to consider when teaching children to recognize the letter A is the difference between the capital letter A and the lowercase letter a. Although the letter itself is the same, the formation is quite different, and it is important for children to understand that the letter can appear in either form. Don’t worry yet about explaining to your child when each of the forms is used. Instead, keep their attention on identifying the letter in whatever variation it may appear.
Pro Tip: When teaching the letter A, it can be tempting to always right in capital letters. But remember, most writing is not done in uppercase letters, but in lowercase, so it is equally important for your child to recognize the letter a in its lowercase form.
The uppercase A is formed by drawing three straight lines.
Pro Tip: Children learn to write a simple lowercase a first, but this is not always how the letter a appears in writing. The letter a can also appear as what is called a two-story or double-story letter. This means that the letter has two “holes” in it (also known as counters). Teach your child both forms of the letter a so that they can recognize either in print.
Once you’re child has mastered letter recognition, it is time to focus on the sound the letter A makes. Recognizing the sound out loud is called phonemic awareness and it comes before actually learning how to read the letter. Remember that an A can make two sounds: The short a as in apple, and the long a as in acorn. Focus first on the short A before moving on.
Focusing on a single vowel at a time is a great way to cement a child's recognition of what sound a letter makes. For more practice with the Short A Vowel Sound, check out Pat Had a Hat: Short A Decodable Reader, part of the Charge into Reading Short Vowel Decodable Reader Set, available to buy today. This 5-book set is stage 1 in our structured system of decodable readers reviewed and approved by literacy specialist Marisa Ware and written by best-selling author Brooke Vitale.
Remember, while it’s fine to show both uppercase and lowercase letters on flashcards, they won’t actually appear side by side in print. Make sure you share the letters with your child separately as well so that they can learn to recognize the letter A when it appears in only one form.