Teaching the Alphabet with a Class Name Book

Learning about letters needs to be a hands-on, meaningful process for kids. Names are definitely meaningful, which is why I like to incorporate them a lot when I’m teaching the alphabet. A class alphabet book that’s centered around names definitely fits the bill!

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Use a Class Name Book for Teaching the Alphabet

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Materials
Alphabet name book front cover (free printable HERE)
Paper
Markers
Binding machine or book rings

Related: Alphabet Books for Preschoolers

Prep
Get all of the papers together. I chose to make the book itself printable, although I’ll be handwriting the kids’ names. You can download a free copy of the front cover HERE if you’re interested. I used D. J. Inkers’ Alphabet Smiles for the alphabet pages. They correlate to the way I made my classroom word wall, and I just like them! In the past, I’ve also just grabbed construction paper and hand-written the letter pages – whatever works!

If you don’t want the lines on the paper, simply add a blank text box to the document to cover the lines up.

Putting the book together
Over the course of a few days, add children’s names to the alphabet book. I like to do this slowly, gauging the kids’ interest in the activity. So some days, we’ll add five names to the book, while other days we’ll only add one.

When adding a name to the book, the names are written on every page that correlates with a letter in that name. For example, the name John would be written on the Hh, Jj, Nn, and Oo pages. I like to write the targeted letters in a specific color, with the other letters written in black.

When writing the names on the page, talk and ask questions. Here are some suggestions:

• How many letters does Liam have in his name? Let’s count them together!
• Violet’s name starts with a V. Who else has a name that starts with that letter?
• What do you notice about these names?
• Down, across makes the letter ‘t.’

This name book is great for classroom use, but it can also be used for teaching the alphabet in a homeschool setting or as a family activity. Simply use family members’ names in the book!

Once everyone’s names are written in the book (including the teachers’ names), it’s time to assemble it. I like to laminate books like this that the kiddos are going to read over and over again! Then I bind the book or add a few book rings to it and place it in our reading area. The kids enjoying reading through it, and it’s also fun to read together during circle time.

The learning
Here are some of the early education concepts covered with this activity:

• Letter names
• Letter sounds
• Letter formation
• We write and read left to right, top to bottom
• Letters work together to make words

ABCs and 123s eBook

I absolutely adore this eBook. Yes, I’m a little biased since I worked together with other parents and teachers to create it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing in its own right, of course! ABCs and 123s is full of 40+ kids’ hands-on activities for learning the alphabet and numbers. Each activity is kid-approved and geared towards children ages 2 to 8. Read more about the eBook now.

more about teaching the alphabet

Be sure to see what the rest of the #TeachECE crew are sharing about ABC learning:

Capital or Lowercase?  Alphabet Activity for Kindergarten or Preschool by Capri + 3
Playful Ways to Learn Alphabet Letters by Still Playing School
Preschool Letter Activities: 3 Ways to Teach the ABC’s by Learning 2 Walk
Learning the Alphabet- Which Letters Do I Teach First? by Growing Book by Book
Preschool Activities that Teach the Alphabet by Munchkins and Moms
A Giant List of Alphabet Activities by Mom Inspired Life
How We Learn Our ABC’s by  Tiny Tots Adventures
Learning the Alphabet Ideas plus FREE ABC Poster by Powerful Mothering
 Playful Learning Literacy Games for Preschool and Kindergarten! by The Preschool Toolbox Blog
Teaching the Alphabet Activities for Children by The Educators’ Spin On It

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

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