Young children have a need to move! Alphabet Dots are a fun way to let kids move their bodies while learning, which research shows is a great way to improve concentration, focus, memory, and more! They are so useful for teaching the letters of the alphabet, letter recognition, letter sounds, reading, and spelling that I would even say they are a must-have educational resource if you are trying to teach a really active kiddo. There are so many fun alphabet activities that you can do with these dots – no sitting required! They are perfect for homeschool and for school use in a preschool, kindergarten, or early elementary classroom. In this post, I will give you some great ideas for different ways to use Alphabet Dots to help children learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, look for the initial sounds of words, practice phonemic awareness, and develop other phonics skills.
You can find the instructions for making the Alphabet Dots for these activities here. There is also a printable version for Alphabet Dots that are quick and easy to make!
Alphabet Dots Activities for Learning Letter Sounds
Letter Match
This is a fun game for practicing letter recognition skills. In addition to the Alphabet Dots, you will need a set of lowercase letters – these could be magnetic letters, a moveable alphabet, or even alphabet flash cards. A timer is optional but can add a little extra fun. Spread the Alphabet Dots around the floor. They do not need to be in alphabetical order – you can arrange them however you would like. The more spread out they are, the more your child will be able to move! Only use letters that your child is already familiar with. Choose several lowercase letters from your set and instruct your child to match the lowercase letters to the correct uppercase letters. Have him make the sounds of the letters as he does so. Turn the timer over and see if he can beat it!
Rainbow Run
This is an easy way to have fun practicing the sounds of each letter of the alphabet. Arrange all of the Alphabet Dots in a large circle. Ask your child to travel around the circle and say the sounds of the individual letters as she steps on them. As she steps on the letters, pick up the ones for which she says the sounds correctly. The next time she goes around the circle, she’ll need to jump to the letters that are left and say their sounds again. You can remind her of any sounds she is having trouble remembering. Again pick up any letters that she gets correct. Let her continue going around the circle until she is tired of the game.
The Floor is Lava
What kid doesn’t love to play the floor is lava? This game is similar to Rainbow Run, but instead of arranging the Alphabet Dots in a circle you will spread them around the floor, far enough apart so your child has to jump to get from one to the next. Ask your child to say the sounds of the alphabet letters as he jumps on them. For extra practice, you can also call out letter names and have your child jump to the correct letter, or call out sounds and ask him to jump to the corresponding letter. You can make this really tricky and lots of fun by paying attention to the placement of the letters and how far he will have to jump!
Alphabet Song
This is a super simple way to do some alphabet instruction! Just lay out the alphabet dots in a random order. Sing the alphabet song with your child and have her step on the letters as you sing. Let your child know that you will pause the song every few letters and at that point, he will find the letter that comes next in the song and say the sound. For example, you will sing “A, B, C” and pause, and your child will find the letter D, jump on it, and say the sound.
Hopscotch
This is a great activity for little learners who have lots of energy! You will need something to use as a place marker – large pom poms would work well, or a bean bag, or a small toy. Set up nine of the alphabet dots like hopscotch. Have your child throw the place marker, just like in the regular game of hopscotch. When your child hops on the letters, she will say their sounds. If your child is doing well with saying the correct sounds, you can switch some of the letters out for different ones so she can practice more letter sounds.
Musical Letters
If your child likes to dance and move to music, this is the perfect way to get him engaged in learning letter sounds! Arrange the Alphabet Dots on the floor, turn on some music, and tell your child to dance from dot to dot as the music plays. Stop the music every few seconds, and when the music stops, your child will say the sound of whatever letter he is standing on. I highly recommend doing this activity with your child. You will both have way more fun if you are dancing together and your child will benefit from you engaging and saying the letters that you land on as well.
Alphabet Dots Activities for Phonemic Awareness
Find the First Letter
This is a fun activity for matching the beginning sound of a word to its matching letter. In addition to the Alphabet Dots, you will need the Short Vowel Matching Cards (the picture cards only). Alternatively, you can use small toys, flashcards, or any other cards with simple pictures on them. A timer also makes this activity extra fun. Arrange the Alphabet Dots in alphabetical order on one side of a room. On the other side of the room, spread out the picture cards from the Short Vowel Matching Cards. Have your child choose one of the picture cards and say the name of the picture. Ask her what the very first sound of the word is. Then you will flip the timer, and your child will run to the other side of the room and jump on the letter that makes that sound.
Note: If your child selects the wrong letter but the correct sound (if she jumps on K for cat) let her know that the sound is correct, but it is made by a different letter. Ask her what other letter can make that sound.
You can also use this activity to practice middle sounds and final sounds of words as well. Just follow the same instructions, but ask your child to find the letter that makes the sound in the middle of the word or the end of the word instead of the beginning sound.
Find the First Letter (Easy Version)
This is an easier version of the Find the First Letter game. It is played the same way, but instead of using all of the Alphabet Dots, choose two or three Alphabet Dots for each turn. For example, your child chooses the hat card. You place the V, H, and B dots on the other side of the room for your child to choose from. On the next turn, you give your child a different set of letters to choose from. An example from start to finish looks like this: Your child chooses a picture card. She selects bus. You place three letter dots on the other side of the room – you choose B, R, and X. Ask your child what the first sound is in bus. If she needs help, help her identify the sound by saying the word bus sound by sound: B – U – S. Then ask, what sound comes first? If she needs extra help, repeat the individual sounds. Once she can identify the sound correctly, she will run to the Alphabet Dots that you have selected and jump on the correct letter. You can use a timer, but only if it makes the activity more fun for your child. Do not use the timer if it makes the activity stressful. This is an excellent way to practice phonemic awareness for children who are just beginning to understand the idea that letters make sounds and sounds make words.
Match It!
This is another game for practicing connecting beginning sounds in words to the letters that make them. You need the Short Vowel Matching Cards (only the picture cards) in addition to the Alphabet Dots for this game. To play the game, select three to five picture cards and the Alphabet Dots for the letters that those words begin with. Place the three to five Alphabet Dots on one side of the room. On the other side of the room, spread out the picture cards that you selected. Your child will choose a picture card and race to the other side of the room to match that picture with the letter that makes its initial sound. He will then run back and grab the next picture card and match it, repeating this sequence until all the picture cards have been matched with their beginning letters. You can also play this game with ending letters and middle letters as well. Use a timer or a stopwatch if it adds an element of fun for your child.
If your child struggles with this activity, you can do a simpler version in the following way: choose three to five of the Short Vowel Matching Cards (picture cards only). Select the beginning letters of the picture cards from the alphabet dots, plus one additional letter for each picture. Place a picture cards in a row with the correct initial letter for that word on one side, and a different letter on the other side. Do the same for the other cards. For example, if you have the picture card with the cat on it, place a C from the alphabet dots on the right of the cat card on the floor, and a W on the left. Below this row, place the bat picture card. Place the B alphabet dot on the left of the bat card, and the L alphabet dot on the right. Lay out 1-3 more rows like this, or more if your child is catching on and can match words to their initial letters fairly well. Have your child find the dots that have the correct initial letter for each of the picture cards. Have him jump from one correct dot to the next.
You can also use this activity to practice middle sounds and final sounds of CVC words.
Make That Word
This game is similar to Find the First Letter, but in this game, your child will find all the letters that make a CVC (consonant vowel consonant) word. You will arrange the Alphabet Dots in a circle on the floor. Your child will select a picture card from the Short Vowel Matching Cards. You will ask your child to walk on the Alphabet Dots until she finds the letter that is at the beginning of the name of the picture (pot, for example). She will pick up the P and put it in the middle of the circle. Have her keep walking around the circle of letter dots until she finds the middle sound of the word. She will pick up the O and put it in the middle of the circle. She will continue to walk around the circle of letter dots until she finds the letter that makes the ending sound. She will pick up the T and put it in the circle. Once she has found the letters that make the initial sound, middle sound, and ending sound of the word, ask her to arrange the letters to make the word pot. Help her as much as she needs. If this is too advanced or if it becomes frustrating, you can skip this step.
If this process is overwhelming for your child, you can play a simpler version with fewer Alphabet Dots. Make a small circle or line with the dots needed to make the word that your child has chosen, and add a few extra letters. Then play the game as outlined above.
Note: Once your child has made the word, you can have her try sounding it out. She knows what the word is already, but this process can help your child make the connection between sounds, letters, and words, and help her understand how the letter sounds blend together to make a word.
Sound it Out!
This is not really a game, but it is a way to engage the body while learning to sound out words, which is a really good practice when teaching young children (and older children too)! Spell out a CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) word with the Alphabet Dots. For example, you can spell out CAT. Have your child stand on each letter, from left to right, while saying the sound of the letter. He can jump from letter to letter if he would like. Have him do this faster and faster and ask him if he can hear the word. If not, start with just two letters – A and T. Have him step from the A to the T and ask him if he can hear the word. If he does not, you can sound it out with him, making the sound with him as he stands on the letter. Extend the sound of A until you make the T sound. If he can’t hear the word AT, that’s ok! Come back to sounding out in a few weeks and try again. There are developmental aspects to learning to read, so if a child isn’t ready there is no need to push or rush. Just relax and wait a little bit. When your child is ready, the process of learning to read should be fairly easy when using the right method for your child.
I hope you enjoy these Alphabet Dot activities and find them useful in your homeschool or classroom. Remember that the activities are intended to be fun and engaging, and to make learning feel like play, so if that is not happening for your child, try a different way or try again later when he or she is more ready. Thank you for visiting! Come again soon!
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