The English Alphabet for Kids: Letters, Names and Sounds

Practice on screen

Look at the picture or number and choose the right English word. Ten questions each round.

How to teach it

1. 1. Sing the ABC song slowly

   Sing the alphabet song together at a slow pace and point to each letter on a wall chart as it is sung. The tune gives the child the order of the letters. Later, stop at a random letter and ask the child to say what comes next.

2. 2. Make letters with your body and play dough

   Roll play dough snakes and bend them into letters, or lie on the floor and make an L or a T with arms and legs. Making the shape with the whole body helps young children notice how each letter is built, and the name is said every time.

3. 3. Letter of the day

   Choose one letter each day. Say its name and sound, then look for it on cereal boxes, signs and book covers, and find three objects at home that start with it. Keep the game short and stop while the child is still interested.

4. 4. Match capital and small letters

   Write the capital letters on one set of cards and the small letters on another. Lay them face up and ask the child to pair A with a, B with b. Start with six letters and add more once the pairs come easily.

5. 5. Tracing in sand or rice

   Pour a thin layer of sand, salt or dry rice into a tray. Say a letter, then let the child draw it with a finger while you both say its name. Shake the tray to start again. It is a quiet activity that practices the hand movements of writing.

6. 6. Alphabet hunt with picture cards

   Hide picture cards for the words on this page (apple, ball, cat) around the room. When the child finds one, they say the word and then the first letter: "Ball. B." This links the letter to a real word and a sound.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the vowel names A, E and I

  A is said "ay", E is said "ee" and I is said "eye". Learners often say E as "eh" or I as "ee". Say all five vowels together (ay, ee, eye, oh, you) and have the child repeat them.

• Confusing G and J

  G is "gee" and J is "jay". They look different but the names are easy to mix up when spelling aloud. Practice with a short word the child knows, such as the letters in "goat" and "juice", saying each letter name slowly.

• Saying the name of W as "we-we"

  The name of W is "double-u", spoken as two short parts. The letter is not named "we". Say it with the child a few times and point out that it looks like two Vs joined together.

• Zee or zed

  American English says "zee" for Z and British English says "zed". Both are correct. Pick the one used in your books and songs.

• Mixing letter names with letter sounds

  The name of a letter is not always its sound. C is named "see" but sounds like /k/ in cat; Y is named "why" but sounds like /y/ in yo-yo. Teach both, and tell the child which one you mean: "This letter's name is C. Its sound is /k/."