ALPHABETICAL ORDER

The Teaching and Learning Visual

We call it "The Alphabet Thing"

To actually show children how alphabetical order works, you might want to make the following visual.

MATERIALS

1 foam craft sheet (I used white).

Size: 18" wide by 12" long. (Craft store)

3 pieces of felt cut in long narrow strips, each 3 1/4" (inches) wide and approximately 6' (feet) long. I used 2 white strips and 1 red strip to distinguish the first, second, and third letter of the word. Felt comes in 6' wide bolts (usually).

I bought 1/4 yard (9") of the white felt and 1/8 yard (4 1/2") of red felt , cut from a 6' bolt. (Fabric store such as JoAnn Fabrics)

3 sets of 1 3/4" self-adhesive letters: 2 sets of black and 1 set of white. (The kind I bought was Kunin Felt RAINBOW PRESTO FELT 49 LETTERS (1 3/4 INCHES). Website address is www.kuninfelt.com. (Craft store)
Ruler, yardstick, scissors, pencil, sharp utility or artist's knife, smooth, hard cutting surface.

CONSTRUCTION

Window-----Window-----Window

Window-----Window-----Window

Using a pencil and a ruler, draw six windows in the craft foam, each about 3/4" long and 4" wide. The placement of the windows:

Row 1 windows should be about 1" apart , 2" from the edges, and 3" from the top.

Row 2 windows should be about 1" apart , 2" from the edges, and 6 3/4" from the top.

Cut out windows using utility or art knife. (Scissors might work, too.)

Using a yardstick, measure the felt for the strips and draw lines along the 6' length of the felt with a pencil (use your yardstick as a straightedge) to indicate where you will cut. Cut with scissors along lines.
Place the first letter 2 1/2" from the top of the first strip. Place each letter that follows about 1" from the one above. Watch to be sure your letters are centered directly under one another and between the side edges.
When you are finished you will have a space between your parallel windows that is approximately 3" wide. This is just about right so that the 1 3/4" letter and 1" between letters allows you to show only one letter at a time between the windows. If you use smaller letters, you will need to adjust the space between each set of parallel windows, so that only one letter shows at a time.
Lace the strips between the windows: red strip, white strip, red strip.
I tried to use velcro-type strips to hold the letter strips in place, without success. If you find something that works, let me know.
Remember to physically go through each letter strip from the top, to show that each letter in a word is also in alphabetical order, not just the first letter. Have children say alphabet with you as you do.
Below is what I try to tell children.

A B C D E F.G H I J K L M.N O P Q R S.T U V W X Y Z

PIE

Treat each letter in a word as a separate unit.

Take one letter at a time, beginning with the first letter in the word.

Each time you find a letter, go back through the alphabet in order again until you find the next letter in your word.

WHOLE ALPHABET

P s

PI s

P A

P B

P C

P D

P E

P F

P G

P H

P I

P J

P K

P L

P M

P N

P O

P P

P Q

P R

P S

P T

P U

P V

P W

P X

P Y

P Z

P I A

P I B

P I C

P I D

P I E

P I F

P I G

P I H

P I I

P I J

P I K

P I L

P I M

P I N

P I O

P I P

P I Q

P I R

P I S

P I T

P I U

P I V

P I W

P I X

P I Y

P I Z

STAGE ONE: HOW DO I REMEMBER THE ORDER OF THE LETTERS?