start with a (a beginner guide to alphabet)

Start with A is a reproducible book designed to introduce learners to the alphabet and guide them toward reading and writing. Each chapter is four pages long, and follows a similar pattern. The first feature of Start With A is each unit concentrates on a particular letter of the alphabet. There are 26 units in the book: A to Z. Each unit presents ten vocabulary words. Words often used in teaching the alphabet were chosen.

Start With A A Beginner’s Guide to the Alphabet Start With A A Beginner’s Guide to the Alphabet by A M Chabot Copyright © 2000 FULL BLAST Productions IN CANADA IN THE UNITED STATES FB Productions Box 408 Virgil, Ontario L0S 1T0 FB Productions Box 1297 Lewiston, New York 14092-8297 Photocopying rights are granted to the individual teacher or the single school purchasing the materials A copy of this book purchased by an individual teacher is that teacher's property and can travel with her from school to school A single copy of this book may not be kept at a resource center and used to service several schools To be entitled to copy this book, a teacher in the school or the school itself must own an original copy Please respect copyright Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Chabot, A M., 1952Start with A : a beginner’s guide to the alphabet ISBN 1-895451-37-X English language Textbooks for second language learners * English language Alphabet I DiSimone, Cynthia, 1959- II Title PE1155.C42 2000 Printed in Canada ISBN 1-895451-37-X 428.2’4 C00-932952-8 INTRODUCTION Start with A is a reproducible book designed to introduce learners to the alphabet and guide them toward reading and writing Each chapter is four pages long, and follows a similar pattern The first feature of Start With A is each unit concentrates on a particular letter of the alphabet There are 26 units in the book: A to Z Each unit presents ten vocabulary words Words often used in teaching the alphabet were chosen The letter in focus may appear anywhere in the vocabulary word (e.g For the letter A: arm, hat, banana, etc.) The vocabulary words are introduced by ten clearly labeled illustrations Immediately, the learners can begin to associate the printed word with the pictures in preparation for meeting many of these words in their reading texts The first task for you and your students is to study the drawings and their associated words It is strongly recommended that you allow your students to hear each word repeated several times, and allow your students a chance to say the words out loud You may decide to spell each word for your students After studying the ten drawings, the students then circle all the examples of the letter in focus for that unit Start With A gives students ample opportunity to print the letters they are learning In the first printing exercise the learners are guided in the formation of the letters by shadow letters and numbered strokes Their next opportunity is a cloze exercise Here the students are given vocabulary words from the unit and they need only fill in the blanks with the letter in focus for that lesson From there, the learners practice, with shadow letters and numbered strokes, writing whole words from the unit Finally, in another exercise, the students are given a chance to print the letters without shadow letters or numbered strokes It is hoped that with this amount of exposure and practice, learning will be both enjoyable and effective Other exercises include a matching the word with the picture exercise For working with sounds, in another exercise the learners are presented with several of the illustrations from the unit The students are asked to identify those that begin with the letter in focus This should help them to associate the letter with the sound or sounds in some cases A more challenging part of Start With A is a Tic-Tac-Toe exercise This task gives the learners a chance to apply their cognitive skills in identifying three related items on a Tic-Tac-Toe grid The grid contains nine words and the students must decide which three have the most in common You should read the words aloud to your students, and make sure they know the meaning of each word If the learners need help with a particular puzzle, there is a clue printed upside down below each grid Another feature of Start With A is a connect the dots drawing at the end of each unit Rather than use numbers, the learners are given a playful opportunity to follow the letters of the alphabet in their proper order to complete the picture With Start With A, repetition and discovery work hand in hand as the learners acquire new and valuable knowledge Enjoy! A M Chabot Aa A is the first letter of the alphabet Apple begins with the letter A ➔ a p p l e The following words with illustrations contain the letter A Study the words with your teacher After you study all the words, circle all the A’s b a n a n a a r m h a t m a n g o a t a p r o n b a l l a n t a p e Follow the arrows to trace the upper case and lower case letters below The first one is done for you A A A A A a a a a a 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 Draw a line to match the picture with the word ape goat ball hat Fill in the missing letter or letters in the words below 1) _ p r o n 4) b _ n _ n _ 2) b _ l l 5) _ p e 3) _ n t 6) h _ t 2 Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below a pp l e g o a t b a l l 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter A Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common apple cup coat cake rake lake ape boat apple ant four man arm ball goat cow zebra butter apron big soup hat apple soup sun box puppy rhyming words animals first letter Hints: Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below w i n g c o w e l b o w 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter W Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common circle diamond wall water flower button first letters Hints: watch box ostrich fish rose stairs seven queen insects cow 91 tax wax ax wasp snake rain table fly apple nose fish mosquito rhyming words Practice writing the letter W The first one is done for you W w 4 Starting at A, connect the dots by following the letters of the alphabet ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Unscramble the letters and name what is in the picture MLIWDILN 92 Xx X is the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet Xylophone begins with the letter X ➔ x y l o p h o n e The following words with illustrations contain the letter X Study the words with your teacher After you study all the words, circle all the X’s a x f o x b o x s i x t a x i m i x e r w a x e x i t h e x a g o n 93 Follow the arrows to trace the upper case and lower case letters below The first one is done for you X X X X X x x x x x 1 1 2 2 Draw a line to match the picture with the word ax fox xylophone exit Fill in the missing letter or letters in the words below 1) _ y l o p h o n e 4) b o _ 2) t a _ i 5) s i _ 3) h e _ a g o n 6) a _ 94 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below wa x s i x m i x e r 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter X Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common Hints: wolves mosquito dog canines honey sun ax vitamin zebra heart giant dog dress six seven four finger teeth glass square violin box toe flower grass numbers mouth fox 95 last letters wax Practice writing the letter X The first one is done for you X x 2 2 Starting at A, connect the dots by following the letters of the alphabet ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Unscramble the letters and name what is in the picture X- RYA 96 Yy Y is the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet Yarn begins with the letter Y ➔ y a r n The following words with illustrations contain the letter Y Study the words with your teacher After you study all the words, circle all the Y’s y o - y o e y e s f u z z y v a l l e y m o n e y x y l o p h o n e p u p p y y a c h t s k y 97 Follow the arrows to trace the upper case and lower case letters below The first one is done for you Y Y Y Y Y y y y y y 1 2 3 2 2 Draw a line to match the picture with the word eyes fuzzy puppy sky Fill in the missing letter or letters in the words below 1) _ o - _ o 4) p u p p _ 2) e _ e s 5) v a l l e _ 3) _ a c h t 6) f u z z _ 98 2 Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below y a r n y a c h t v a l l e y 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter Y Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common six honey valley money Hints: circle last letters wax video puppy video rose yo-yo mouth dollar eyes ears nose puppy fly wallet rat quarter hat ears smile money parts of the body nose 99 cash eyes Practice writing the letter Y The first one is done for you Y y 2 Starting at A, connect the dots by following the letters of the alphabet ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Unscramble the letters and name what is in the picture GOAY 100 Zz Z is the twenty-sixth letter of the alphabet Zebra begins with the letter Z ➔ z e b r a The following words with illustrations contain the letter Z Study the words with your teacher After you study all the words, circle all the Z’s m a z e z o o h a z e l n u t z e r o b l a z e r m u z z l e h a z e f u z z y b u l l d o z e r 101 Follow the arrows to trace the upper case and lower case letters below The first one is done for you Z Z Z Z Z z z z z z 1 1 2 1 3 3 3 Draw a line to match the picture with the word blazer fuzzy bulldozer haze Fill in the missing letter or letters in the words below 1) _ o o 4) h a _ e l n u t 2) _ e b r a 5) _ e r o 3) b u l l d o _ e r 6) f u _ _ y 102 3 2 1 Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below mu z z l e z o o ma z e 1 1 2 2 3 1 3 1 2 2 3 Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter Z Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common apple cage giant fuzzy heart zero zebra zoo zero ball king seven cup dress ice milk big tea apple head eight lemon coat fish numbers 103 clothing first letter Hints: queen blazer watch Practice writing the letter Z The first one is done for you Z z 3 Starting at A, connect the dots by following the letters of the alphabet ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Unscramble the letters and name what is in the picture EPLZNPEI 104 .. .Start With A A Beginner s Guide to the Alphabet Start With A A Beginner s Guide to the Alphabet by A M Chabot Copyright © 2000 FULL BLAST Productions IN CANADA IN THE UNITED STATES FB... the A s b a n a n a a r m h a t m a n g o a t a p r o n b a l l a n t a p e Follow the arrows to trace the upper case and lower case letters below The first one is done for you A A A A A a a a a. .. each Tic-Tac-Toe grid that have the most in common ant face carrot cat watch chair doctor apron car bed cup apple dog apple car puppy flower bed socks car cabbage goat face cake animals 11 boat