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How to Teach a Toddler Letter Recognition

Three Methods:Helping Your Toddler Understand LettersPracticing to Recognize Each LetterUsing Words to Help With Letter RecognitionCommunity Q&A

Alphabet knowledge is how familiar a child is with both the way a letter looks and the sound that letter makes. How well a child knows letters and their associated sounds can predict how well that child will do when it comes to reading and spelling. Children who start kindergarten without a lot of alphabet knowledge may struggle to keep up with their classmates. Therefore, it’s an excellent idea to start teaching your child to recognize letters and their sounds when still a toddler.[1]

Method 1
Helping Your Toddler Understand Letters

  1. 1
    Print or buy an alphabet chart. The best way for a toddler to start to recognize the various features of different letters is to practice writing those letters. And easy way to practice writing is to use an alphabet chart on a piece of paper. You can either print them off the internet, or buy a book with these charts. These charts will have all the lower and upper case letters and include arrows to show how each letter is to be written.[2]
    • You will likely want to practice writing the alphabet multiple times, so printing off several copies of the alphabet chart will be very helpful.
    • It is also important that the alphabets used have properly proportioned letters. For example, toddlers need to understand the size difference between an upper case “A" and a lower case “a."
  2. 2
    Help toddlers understand how letters are written. Letters are normally written starting at the top, then going down. And starting at the left and then going to the right. It is important that toddlers understand this when practicing their letters. While it may be tempting to use plain paper, using paper that either already has the letters drawn on it, or using paper with the proper lines, will be easier for toddlers to understand at first.[3]
    • You may want to start with a pencil as the writing instrument, but don’t limit toddlers to only one instrument. While toddlers are learning, use pens, pencils, markers, or even finger paint.
    • When teaching toddlers to write letters, stick with only one type of font. Avoid mixing different types of fonts (which may be found on different alphabet charts) so as not to confuse them.[4]
  3. 3
    Use a description to help toddlers understand the lines on the paper. You will probably remember this type of paper from your own school days, but it consists usually of three horizontal lines, in-between which each letter can be written. The top and bottom lines are solid, while the middle line is dotted. Some letters, like ‘g,’ ‘j,’ ‘p,’ ‘q,’ and ‘y,’ will have a part of the letter that goes beneath the bottom, solid line.[5]
    • In order to help verbally guide toddlers when writing on this type of paper, it is helpful to name each line and each section so they can follow along.
    • One suggestion is to call the top line the “roof,” the middle dotted line the “fence,” and the bottom line the “sidewalk.” The are under the “sidewalk” might be called the “ditch."
    • Another suggestion is to use “ceiling,” “window,” “floor,” and “basement."
  4. 4
    Describe how to write each letter using easy-to-remember descriptions. Ideally, toddlers who are leaning how to write their letters will also remember your verbal descriptions. When they are working on their own, they may even say these verbal descriptions out loud to help guide them. There are no set descriptions to use for all the letters, however, the language used needs to be vivid and concrete.[6]
    • For example, when verbally describing how to write the letter ‘b,’ you might use the following language: “To make a lower-case b, start at the roof, drop straight down to the sidewalk, and then bounce back up to the fence and around.” Eventually this could be shortened to “drop down, bounce up, and back."
    • For reference, the URL http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/letters.html has detailed descriptions for each upper and lower case letter of the alphabet.
  5. 5
    Expose toddlers to nursery rhymes, songs, and poems. Nursery rhymes, songs, and poems are a great learning experience for toddlers as they help teach how letters and words sound. The more you expose your toddler to these items, the more your toddler will recognize rhyming words and sounds without help.[7]
    • Around the time a child is three years old, sounds and syllables will become recognizable.
    • Also around the ages of three or four years old, children will begin to recognize when two words begin with the same sound.
    • This is a great time to teach your toddler the Alphabet Song. And while it may become annoying, try to sing the Alphabet Song every day.
    • While teaching your toddler about sounds and rhymes, you can also help teach about syllables by clapping each syllable out that is contained within your toddler's name. For example, if your toddler is named “Alexander,” you can teach him to clap four times for each syllable in his name — “Al + ex + an + der."

Method 2
Practicing to Recognize Each Letter

  1. 1
    Teach toddlers to spell their names. Up until now, toddlers have mainly scribbled when drawing or writing on their own. They understand that letters are suppose to mean something that someone can say out loud, but they don’t know how to read those letters on their own. In order to help toddlers recognize and understand letters, teach them how to spell their own names.[8]
    • Toddlers often recite stories based only on visual clues. The same may happen with their name. It may appear like they’re reading their name, but in fact they recognize the visual look of their name and simply know that it means their name.
  2. 2
    Read to toddlers all the time. Toddlers love story time. And while it’s fun for them and you, it’s also a great learning experience. The best way to use reading to teach letter recognition is to read the words while toddlers can see the words in the book. You may even want to follow along with your finger so they know which written words correspond to which sounds.[9]
  3. 3
    Buy sticky letters that can be used during a bath. There are all sorts of neat bath toys out there, including letters that can be stuck to the tiles beside the bath tub. While you’re giving your toddler a bath, play with the letters and help your toddler spell words on the wall. The words don’t have to be ‘real,’ but you can help your toddler say the letters as they’re put on the wall.[10]
    • This is a great opportunity to have your toddler spell their own name.
  4. 4
    Draw letters with sidewalk chalk. Using your driveway or sidewalk, write out several letters of the alphabet. You can use any set of letters, but you might want to consider using the letters in your toddler’s name. Once drawn, ask your toddler to go to a specific letter (and help direct your toddler if necessary). After awhile your toddler should be able to recognize the letters without help.[11]
    • Games like this work best if they’re repeated over and over again. In the case of this game, each time should include slightly different letters put in different places.
  5. 5
    Prepare alphabet soup or cereal to eat. It might seem silly, but the letters of the alphabet that are in cereal or soup can also help your toddler with letter recognition. While your toddler is eating, point out specific letters and ask what it is. Correct your toddler if the letter isn’t know.[12]
  6. 6
    Make bean bags with letters on them. Another great way to help teach your toddler letter recognition is to use bean bags. Each bean bag should have a different letter of the alphabet on it. You can turn the bean bags into a game by asking your toddler to toss the bean bag with a specific letter on it.[13]
    • These bean bags are also useful for simply displaying the letters when playing at the table or on the carpet.
  7. 7
    Use magnetic letters. You can either buy your own set of magnetic letters, or you can make your own. Either way, they can be used on any flat metal surface, including: the fridge, a metal baking tray, or sometimes even a chalk board. Ask your toddler to find specific letters in the bunch, or isolate a specific letter and ask your toddler what it is.[14]
  8. 8
    Write letters using a toddler’s body. A creative alternative to writing letters out on paper, or seeing them on a specific material, is to actually form each letter with or on a toddler’s body. Toddlers could lie on the floor and write different letters using their body and other props.[15]

Method 3
Using Words to Help With Letter Recognition

  1. 1
    Ask toddlers to find specific letters in a group of words. Using a piece of paper, write a variety of different, simple words (e.g. box, top, bed, stop, cat, bird, etc.). Then ask your toddler to circle each word that starts with a specific letter, such as the letter ‘b.’[16]
    • Write a variety of these word groups and focus on different letters each time.
  2. 2
    Start the letter of the day. Each day select a different letter that you and your toddler are going to focus on. Write or display that letter somewhere prominent where your toddler will see it all day. Then ask your toddler to go through magazines or newspapers and look for words that start with the letter of the day. Get your toddler to cut that word out and post it near the letter of the day.[17]
    • Another aspect of this game is to also ask your toddler to draw an object that starts with the letter of the day. For example, if the letter of the day was ‘d,’ your toddler might want to draw a dog.
  3. 3
    Identify letters while reading. While reading your toddler a story, ask your toddler to point out words that start with a specific letter. You could do this page-by-page to help your toddler recognize that specific letter in different words.[18]
  4. 4
    Scramble the letters of your toddler’s name. In addition to simply teaching toddlers how to spell their names, you can also play a game where you scramble the letters of their name so they have to put them back in order. This works best with letter cards that can be easily mixed up and put back in order.[19]

Community Q&A

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  • In general, toddlers between the ages of one and three years old have the following abilities:[20]
    • They are able to identify object drawn in a book. They will also be able to name familiar pictures.
    • They are likely to pretend they can read a book, and can even end a sentence from a familiar book when a parent is reading out loud.
    • They can scribble on paper, but aren’t yet able to write actual letters.
    • They are able to recognize specific books based on the covers. And they’ll be able to turn the pages of a cardboard book on their own.
    • They are also likely to have a favourite book that they want read over and over.
  • Letter recognition is not based on the memorization of what a specific letter looks like. Rather, letter recognition is based on a sequence of features present in the letter. For example, the letter “m” starts with a short line and is followed by two bumps.[21]
  • One important aspect of letter recognition is to use a variety of letter sources. For example, don’t just use a letter chart or magnetic letters. Instead, use a variety of different letter materials with different textures, colours, etc. Toddlers need to learn to recognize the letter, not the item the letter is printed on.[22]
  • The internet is full of all sorts of homemade letter games that can be used to teach your toddler letter recognition. Because it’s best to play a variety of games with your toddler, search the internet every so often for a new game idea. The process can be made fun by having your toddler help you make the game.[23]


  • Avoid teaching two letters that could be confused at the same time. For example, if you’re focusing on the letter ‘b,’ you might want to wait and do the letter ‘d’ at another time.[24]
  • An example of letters NOT to teach at the same time include:
    • e, a, s, c, o
    • b, d, p, o, g, h
    • f, l, t, k, i
    • n, m, u, h, r

Sources and Citations

  1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2910925/
  2. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/letters.html
  3. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/letters.html
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Categories: Toddlers

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