9 Ways to Teach Letter Recognition

Above all, letter recognition is the ability to recognize the size and shape of a letter by sight. However, there are also skills that are often taught alongside and this leads to confusion for parents and young children.

This is why very young children who have good visual perception skills are able to recognize – point to, group, and name (if they have the verbal skills) letters. To that end, all that is considered letter recognition.

In short, teaching young children how to recognize letters is actually a visual perception skill. Because of this, children who struggle or who appear to struggle with this fall into one or more of the categories below.

Addressing each of these is pretty simple once you are aware of the issue.

First, be sure you’re clear about the actual outcome you want. When you’re asking your young child to recognize letters of the alphabet you’re asking them to point to, match, or name. That’s it.

Next, remember that letter sounds are a different set of skills. While they can be taught at the same time, your expectation for each learning experience needs to be clear in your head.

Third, make sure your child is ready for this skill. In fact, there are lots of activities that can be done before teaching young children how to recognize letters. Because there are sometimes subtle differences between letters, it’s best to start with major differences (putting together 3-4 piece puzzles for example) before asking your child to begin to notice small differences in letters.

Finally, make sure the way you’re teaching is fun! In order to help with this one, keep reading.

10 Fun Ways to Teach Young Children Letter Recognition

First off, this play-based approach allows children to literally feel the shape of each letter as they zoom their cars around each letter. Being that letter recognition is a visual skill, this is important because some children learn best by doing!

Another way to practice is by helping your child tap into their creativity by using crayons, pencils, and watercolors to paint or draw letters. In addition to teaching letter recognition, this is a highly valued skill by employers and entrepreneurs alike. Use mixed media to stimulate their senses. Also, providing alphabet templates as an option or for inspiration helps as well.

Generally, alphabet stories are a fun way to help your child become familiar with letters. Choose books that have simple fun plots for your child to follow. In case you need a few suggestions, check out this list of fun alphabet books.

In addition, music and movement paired with alphabet cards help children to remember the letters. However, always keep in mind that different types of learners need different ways of teaching. For example, YouTube is full of great resources but one most preschool and kindergarten teachers swear by is Jack Hartman songs. His songs and videos help young children learn the letters of the alphabet among other skills.

Play is the work of childhood. For this reason, children are learning and rehearsing skills they need to master for success while playing! So, let’s take advantage of that! Specifically, simple puzzles that have children put together letters are a low-stress way for them to learn letter recognition. Furthermore, make sure pieces are 2-4 pieces per letter, and (depending on their ability) a guide would be useful.

A yummy treat awaits them (and you) at the end of this fun activity. First, get some alphabet cookie cutters or freehand the letters with the dough. Next, bake and decorate if you’d like. As you eat be sure to ask your child to pass you an R cookie. You could make different types of cookies to add to the conversation. For example, “I like the chocolate chip R cookies better than the sugar R cookies.”

Finally, you can use rubber alphabet stamps and let your child go to town! These are great for art or you can have your child match by stamping the letters using different color ink.

Above all, always start with two things in mind:

1. A clear understanding of what outcome you’re looking for

2. Would my child find this fun? Or How can I make this fun?

Letting these two thoughts be your guide will help to make teaching your child how to recognize letters much more fun and interesting for both of you. Also, if you’re looking for activities or games, check out the free Resource Library where I upload weekly printables. For example, this week I’ve uploaded Dots of Fun practice pages that can be paired with these ideas to help young children recognize upper and lowercase letters.