Exploring upper and lowercase letters with my preschoolers

This is a simple way I use to introduce upper and lower case letters with my students…

On a large flip chart, I print a letter in the upper left hand corner of my chart.  Underneath the letter, I print a few words that start with that letter. And on the right hand side of the chart, I print the capital and lower case letter in various places throughout the page…

I introduce the letter and run through the words that start with the letter. Then I invite each child to take a turn to come up and circle the letter.  When we first started this, I would say, “Would you like to see if you can find a letter F?”  I did not distinguish between upper or lower case.  When each child found the letter, I invited him or her to circle it with a highlighter and then I would say, “Hurray, you found a (upper) or (lower case) letter Ff!”  As you can see – there was no wrong answer.

After repeating this process with several letters each week, I have now changed the question to : “Can you find an upper letter E?”  or “Can you find a lower case letter e?”  Notice that there are no other letters on the board but the letter Ee.

The children LOVE to take a turn to circle a letter.  I make sure they all feel good about their decision of which letter they choose to circle and we talk about the upper versus the lower case letter each time…

I don’t mix in other letters at this time.  This is not a test to see if they can distinguish a letter F from a letter E.  This is simply a way to reinforce recognition of the letter we are talking about that day and a chance to explore upper and lower case form…

Now can you find the letter Ff?

Well done!

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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