Pre-K Pages: ABC/Literacy Center Pictures & Descriptions

ABC/Literacy Center

Above you can see our ABC center as it is set up in the classroom.

Below you can see photos and explanations of each of the items pictured above.

Do you ever change out the items in your ABC/Literacy center?

Yes, I change out the items according to the students interests and ability levels. The items pictured below are those I use most in the beginning of the year. Check out the resources section at the very bottom for many more great ideas.

Items on top of shelf L-R

1. ABC Sorting Mats

These ABC sorting mats were purchased from Lakeshore. I think they may have been discontinued because I couldn't find a picture of them. The students match small, primary colored plastic letters to to the letters printed on the vinyl mats. There are two large mats, one for uppercase letters and one for lowercase letters.

2. Lakeshore Alphabet Boxes

I have 3 of the 10 theme boxes available in this set from Lakeshore, frogs, ladybugs, and pigs. Each box is filled with 26 foam manipulatives printed with uppercase letters, 5 activity mats with lowercase letters, and 5 mats with easy-to-recognize pictures. Students match manipulatives to the letters or pictures on the mats.

3. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree and Magnetic Letters

Place this magnetic tree in your ABC center along with magnetic letters and your kids will have a blast placing the letters of their names, their friends names, or sight words on the tree. The magnetic letters are stored in a nuts and bolts box. You can find these at Wal Mart or Target, they are very inexpensive and well worth the investment. Each drawer is labeled with a letter sticker so the children know where to put the letters.

Directions for making Chicka Chicka Tree:

Materials: Two coffee cans of the same size, packing tape, wood grain contact paper, florist foam, Exacto knife, fake fern plants.

Tape the two coffee cans together, one on top of the other. Wrap the wood grain contact paper around the coffee cans. Take the lid off the coffee can on top and stuff with florist foam making sure that the foam reaches the very top of the can, then replace the lid. Using the Exacto knife make slits in the lid and push the fern plants down into the slits until they are secure in the florist foam.

First shelf - left side

1. LeapFrog Fridge Phonics

Leap Frog Fridge Phonics is one of the most popular learning activities in the ABC center! If you haven't heard about these they are a must have if you are teaching your students letters and letter sounds. The Letter Factory DVD by Leap Frog is also a fantastic accompaniment to the toy. See the links at the bottom of this page to order the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics toy and DVD for your classroom.

2. ABC Lacing Beads

The student above is using Learning Resources Smart Snacks ABC lacing beads to create a necklace that spells the word "Mom". My students love creating necklaces and bracelets that spell their names and names of their classmates. See the link at the bottom to order these ABC lacing beads for your classroom.

3. ABC matching card game

I made a simple matching card game in Microsoft Word using uppercase and lowercase letters printed on cardstock and laminated. I printed the uppercase letters on one color and the lowercase letters on another color. Students have to match the uppercase letter to the correct lowercase letter.

First shelf- right side

1.Letter Unifix Cubes

You can buy these pre-made under the name "Alphabet Reading Rods", however I made my own using regular Unifix cubes and a Sharpie marker. Pre-K students love to make their name and Kindergarten students can make sight words.

2. Name Clothesline

To make the clothesline pour plaster of paris into two yogurt cups, put one dowel in the middle of each cup and let dry. Next, attach string or yarn between the two dowels to create your clothesline. Next, write each student's name on a sentence strip and cut apart, put in an envelope and write his or her name on the front of the envelope. Students select a name from the pile of envelopes and attach the letters to the clothesline using mini clothespins. This is a great fine motor activity.

3. Tactile Letters

The letters on the top are sandpaper letters, the plastic yellow letters on the bottom and I purchased from the teacher store. Students who are having difficulty recognizing letters often benefit from tactile activities such as these. I have the students look at the letter, touch the letter, and say the name of the letter and the sound.

Bottom Shelf L-R

1. Foam Magnetic Letters & Magnetic Boards

This is a classic that never gets old, magnetic foam ABC letters and magnetic white boards. Students can make their names or the names of classmates on the white boards.

2. Phonics Fishing

From Lakeshore, this game features colorful, double-sided mats with pictures on one side, and pictures and words on the other. Kids use the magnetic fishing poles to catch sea creatures with letters printed on top. Students match the creatures to the words on their mats that begin with the same letter. This game comes with four plastic poles, 32 magnetic "creatures" and four mats.

3. A-Z Sorting Mats

This is another wonderful item from Lakeshore. It comes with letters in six different colors, both upper and lowercase. Students match the colored letters to the correct colored mat.