Letter Hunt

Little levels (ages 4 to 6)

1. Find the letter Tap the letter the narrator names from four cards; each one is for a picture word.
2. Big and little Drag little a, b, d, g to big A, B, D, G; three rounds.
3. Letter sounds Which picture starts with the sound of M, S, B, T, D, P?
4. ABC order Tap A to E, L to P and V to Z in order.
5. What is missing? A, B, ?, D, E: pick the missing letter.

Big levels (ages 7 to 9)

1. Vowels and consonants Sort eight letters into vowels and consonants, twice.
2. ABC order with words Alphabetize ant, bee, cat, dog; then words that share a first letter.
3. Tricky sounds Which letter starts yarn, jam, queen, van, zip, kite, web, fox?
4. Capital letters Sort names, days, places and I from ordinary words.
5. Before and after What comes after Q, before M, between G and I?

The big ideas

• Letters have names, shapes and sounds. B is called bee, looks like a line with two bumps, and says the first sound in ball. Knowing all three for every letter is the start of reading.

• Big and little are the same letter. A and a are one letter in two sizes. Capitals start sentences and names; little letters do most of the work in words.

• The alphabet has an order. A, B, C, D is the order of the alphabet song. It is how dictionaries, lists and library shelves are arranged, so knowing what comes before and after a letter is a real skill.

• Vowels are special. A, E, I, O, U are the vowels: every word has at least one, and they are the letters that change sound the most. The other 21 letters are consonants.

• Capitals point things out. Names of people and places, days of the week and the word I always start with a capital letter, wherever they sit in a sentence.

Try it at home

1. Letter of the day Pick a letter and hunt for it on cereal boxes, signs and books. Count how many you find before dinner.
2. Alphabet line Write the letters on sticky notes, mix them up and put them in order along a wall or the floor. Then take one away and ask which is missing.
3. Sound sorting Gather small things from around the house and sort them by their first sound: everything that starts with B in one pile, S in another.
4. Capital spotting Read a page of a picture book together and point to every capital letter. Ask why each one is there: the start of a sentence, a name, or the word I.

Ask after playing

• What sound does your name start with? Which letter makes it?
• Can you say the five vowels?
• What letter comes right after the first letter of your name?