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 FB Productions
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Virgil, Ontario Lewiston, New York 14092-8297
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Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Chabot, A. M., 1952-

Start with A : a beginner’s guide to the alphabet

ISBN 1-895451-37-X

English language -- Textbooks for second language learners. * 2. English

language -- Alphabet. I. DiSimone, Cynthia, 1959- . II. Title

PE1155.C42 2000 428.2’4 C00-932952-8

Printed in Canada.

ISBN 1-895451-37-X
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
1. 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
1
2. 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
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

3 3 3 3 3

a a a a a
1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2

3. Draw a line to match the picture with the word.

ape

goat

ball

hat

4. 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
5. Follow the arrows and trace all the letters in the words below.

a pp l e
1 2 2 1
2 1 1
2
1

g o a t
1 1 1 1
2 2 2

b a l l
1 2 1 1 1
2

6. Put an X in the box below the drawings that begin with the letter A.
1 2 3 4 5

7. Tic-Tac-Toe: Draw a line through the three words on each Tic-Tac-Toe grid
that have the most in common.

1 2 3
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

Hints:
first letter rhyming words animals

3
8. Practice writing the letter A. The first one is done for you.

A
1 2

a
1

9. Starting at A, connect the dots by following the letters of the alphabet.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Unscramble the letters and name what is in the picture. EIRPAALN

4
Bb B is the second letter of the alphabet.

Bat begins with the letter B. ➔

b a t
1. The following words with illustrations contain the letter B. Study the words
with your teacher. After you study all the words, circle all the B’s.

b a l l c a b b a g e b e d

b a n a n a b u t t o n b o a t

z e b r a b o x e l b o w
5