All About the Letter Aa - Letter of the Week Activities

The "A" Box 

Decorate a box with the letter "A". Inside the box place items or pictures of items that begin with the letter "A". This also works well if you use pictures, and have each child in turn draw out one picture and tell it's name and what they would do with it.

Acrobatic "A"'s
Divide the children into groups of threes. Have the children in each group lie on the floor and use their bodies to form the letter "A". Let the children in each group trade places and form the letter "A" again, so each child gets a turn at being a different part of the "A".  

YouTube.com Educational Links:

I have put together a collection of songs and read a-loud books about the Letter A.

GO TO>> YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Note: All books and songs are copyrighted by original owners. Youtube links change periodically. If you find a broken link please email me at:lanieslittlelearners@gmail.com

All About the Letter Aa

The SMARTBoard file contains the following activities:

• Where is the letter A? Circle the upper and lowercase letter out of a random group of letters. Then count and write how many uppercase and lowercase A’s you found.
• Direct teacher-led instruction on how to write both the upper and lowercase letter A.
• Let’s write the letter A. Individual practice for students.
• Write the missing letter. Students write the missing letter of words beginning with the letter A.
• Help Andy Astronaut get to the asteroid. Draw a line from Andy to the asteroid following the path of upper and lowercase letter A.
• What comes next? Drag the picture and or letter which come next in the pattern.
• What does not belong? Put an X on the letter and or picture that does not belong.
• Sort uppercase and lowercase letter A. Upper and lowercase letters are printed on red apples. Drag the apples to the matching tree.
• Sort beginning letter /a/ sound. Drag the pictures that begin with the /a/ sound to the apple.
• Find, Graph, and Tally. Find the letters, count the letters, and color in the correct number of squares. Then practice using tally marks to count the letters. Then determine which letter had the most and which had the least.
• Find, Graph, and Tally. Find the picture, count the pictures, and color in the correct number of squares. Then practice using tally marks to count the pictures. Then determine which picture had the most and which had the least.

DOWNLOAD>> All About the Letter A (SMARTBoard Activities)

Alligators and the Monkeys 

5 little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing the alligator
"Can't catch me!"
Along came the alligator
Quiet as can be (whisper this part loudly)
SNAP!!! No more monkeys sitting in the tree! (snap your hands together and tickle the kids)


Sing Hurray for A!
(To the tune of "Farmer in the Dell")
Let's sing hurray for A,
Let's sing hurray for A,
Let's sing hurray for A today
Let's sing hurray for A.
Astrounaut starts with A,
Asteriod starts the same way,
Let's sing hurray for A today,
Let's sing hurray for A.


When the Ants Go Marching In
Oh when the ants
Go marching in
Oh when the ants go marching in
How I want
To be in that number
When the ants go marching in

Letter Hunt: Go on a Letter Aa hunt around your home. Encourage your child to see how many objects he can find with names beginning with the long /a/ sound like in apron or short /a/ sound like in apple. Support your child’s writing process by encouraging him/her to write the word on an index card. Then have him/her tape it to the object.

Odd Sound Out: Say three words, two beginning with the /a/ sound like in apple and one sound that is different. Have the student repeat which sound does not belong.

apple, attendance, bee

astronaut, asteroid, bear

Adam, cat, Abigail

dog, ax, alley

absent, elephant, avenue

/a/ Listening Game: Read the following sentences. Have the students repeat the words that begin with the /a/ sound like in apple.

•     Abigail eats a red apple.
•     Adam bought an axe.
•     Abby was absent this afternoon.
•     Andy is an astronaut.
•     An asteroid can be found in outer space.

Fill in the Missing Word:  All of your guesses should begin with the /a/ sound like in axe.

• It’s crunchy, sweet, and red and grows on a tree. It is an __________. (apple)

• An _______ is a small insect that lives in a hill and likes to bite. (ant)

• It’s sharp, has a wooden handle and is used to cut down trees. It is an _______. (axe)

• An __________ is a person that flies a space shuttle and works in outer space. (astronaut)

Circle and Find: Have students practice reading environmental print. Use newspapers, junk mail, and/or sales flyers and have them highlight all of the letter Aa’s using a  highlighter.

Credits: Images by www.MyCuteGraphics.com

Winter Songs and Poems

Chubby Little Snowman (action rhyme)
A chubby little snowman,

(Hold hands out to demonstrate "chubby.")

Had a carrot nose.
(Point to nose.)

Along came a bunny,
(Hop like a bunny.)

And what do you suppose?
(Shrug shoulders; hold out hands, as if to question.)

That hungry little bunny,
(Rub stomach.)

Looking for his lunch.
(Hold hand above eyes, as if searching for something.)

Ate that snowman's carrot nose,
(Pretend to eat.)

Nibble, nibble, crunch!!

Five Little Snowmen (action rhyme)

Five little snowmen standing in a row.

(Hold up five fingers; stand up straight like soldier.)

Each had two eyes and a carrot nose.
(Point to eyes; point to nose.)

Along came the sun and shone all day,
(Form sun with hands; wipe sweat from brow.)

And one little snowman melted away.
(Hold up one finger; slowly "melt" to the ground.)

Four little snowmen...
Three little snowmen...
Two little snowmen...
One little snowman...

I'm a Great Big Snowman
to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"

I'm a great big snowman,
Tall and fat.
Here's my tummy.
Here's my hat.
Raisins for my eyes,
And a carrot nose,
I'm all snow from head to toe!

Snowball
by Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snow ball as perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for it's head.
Then, last night it ran away.
But first -- it wet the bed.

Snowflakes, Snowflakes
to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?"

Snowflakes, snowflakes,
Snowflakes, snowflakes,
All around,
All around--
Whirling, twirling snowflakes,
Whirling, twirling snowflakes,
Hit the ground,
Hit the ground.

The Winter Pokey
to the tune of "The Hokey-Pokey"

You put your right mitten in,
You take your right mitten out.
You put your right mitten in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the winter pokey, [shiver]
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!

You put your left mitten in....
You put your right boot....
You put your left boot....
You put your long scarf in....
You put your warm cap in....
You put your snowsuit in....

Frost 

(Sung to The Farmer In The Dell)

The frost is on the roof (point hands over head)
The frost is on the ground (point to the floor)
The frost is on the window (make a window with your hands)
The frost is all around (make large circles with hands)

Making A Snowperson
Roll it, roll it, get a pile of snow. 
(make rolling motion)Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling we will go.Pat it, pat it, face it to the south. 
(patting motion)Now my little snowman's done, eyes, nose and mouth 
(point to each)


 
Zippers
Three little zippers on my snowsuit, 
(hold up three fingers)Fasten up as snug as snug can be.It's a very easy thing as you can seeJust zip, zip, zip! (do three zipping motions)I work the zippers on my snowsuit.Zippers really do save time for meI can fasten them myself with one, two, three.Just zip, zip, zip! (do three zipping motions)

Credits:

Images provided by www.MyCuteGraphics.com

Christmas Break >> New Activities!

I cannot believe that it has been a year almost to the date since I last posted. A lot of things have happen since then. First, I finally am teaching at LCPS in Lakeland which has turned out to be an awesome experience. I am still teaching Pre-K and, I am loving it. There are quiet a few differences between Head Start and Bright from the Start, most are for the best!

The first half of the year has been great! I have a SMARTBoard in my classroom (yeah!). I don't know how I have made it with out it. All of my printables that I used to print as large as I could, I now put on the SMARTBoard. Youtube.com is now my best friend. When I cannot find a book I am looking for in the library I can find on Youtube.com most of the time. The students are engaged and are actively learning.

Over the break I am creating new SMARTBoard activities to include Letter of the Week and Winter Themed activities.

DOWNLOAD>> All About the Letter...A SMARTBoard Activity