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Home / Early Learning / Literacy / Teaching the Alphabet with a Class Name Book

Teaching the Alphabet with a Class Name Book

Shared by Mary Catherine 8 Comments

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!

Are you following my Alphabet Pinterest board?

Create an ABC name book as a means of teaching the alphabet to kids

Table of Contents

  • Use a Class Name Book for Teaching the Alphabet
  • ABCs and 123s eBook
  • more about teaching the alphabet
  • Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Use a Class Name Book for Teaching the Alphabet

I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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

A class name book is perfect when teaching the alphabet to kids

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.

Create a class name book as you're teaching the alphabet - love this idea!

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.’
Teaching the alphabet with a class alphabet book - great for learning letters and names

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.

Making a class name book is a great idea when teaching the alphabet to kids!
I met my darling friend Devany of Still Playing School via blogging, and I got the chance to meet her in person recently. Devany is an amazing writer, mama, teacher, and friend, and she’s been very open about her younger daughter’s short life. When I was making an example of the Vv page for this post, I felt compelled to include Violet. You can ready more about their journey HERE.

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.

ABCs and 123s - an awesome eBook to keep with your preschool supplies
Buy 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

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the images below to learn more about some of our products related to learning names.

Editable & Auto-Fill Name Mats - Seasonal Options
Editable & Auto-Fill Name Mats: Seasonal Options
two printable name activities and a smiling cartoon boy holding the letter c with the text, 'name activities editable set 1 first letter'
Editable Name Activities: Set 1; First Letter
Editable Name Mats preschool resource cover
Editable Name Mats Bundle

Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!

Create an ABC name book when teaching the alphabet to kids - great idea for classroom or homeschool use

Filed Under: Literacy Tagged With: #TeachECE, All About Me, Alphabet, Book Making, Names

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Comments

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  1. Amanda says

    August 19, 2015 at 7:40 am

    This is a great way to learn letters. Kids are very into their names!

    Reply
  2. Natasha says

    August 19, 2015 at 8:32 am

    Great way to learn the alphabet. Must be nice when the kids see that the whole alphabet is in the class.

    Reply
  3. Theresa says

    August 19, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    What a great idea! I love that you have the children’s names on the letter page when the letter appears anywhere in their names (not just the first letter). Brilliant!

    Reply
  4. Clarissa H says

    August 19, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    What a great idea! I think my boys would enjoy doing this with family and friend names in our home preschool!

    Reply
  5. Danielle says

    August 19, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    This is an excellent idea! We are going to make one with family names. So nice of you to include Violet! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jodie @ Growing Book by Book says

    August 21, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    I love this idea and I can’t wait to do it with my boys!

    Reply
  7. Vanessa @Pre-K Pages says

    August 22, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    I LOVE this book idea for learning names! I also think it is so sweet of you to include Violet and you even used a purple marker 🙂

    Reply
  8. The Preschool Toolbox says

    August 25, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    I love class books! The name book is such a special activity for preschoolers – they will be discussing it for quite awhile!:) Great post!

    Reply
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My name is Mary Catherine, and I love to share meaningful {and fun} learning activities for kiddos! Feel free to browse and stay awhile!

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