Do your kids love Lego Duplo blocks? I’ve never met a preschool or kindergarten child who didn’t! So why not teach the alphabet by leveraging this interest and using this classic toy as a vehicle?
When you use high interest materials such as Lego Duplo blocks to teach an academic skill it motivates and engages young children. And better yet, research has proven that when children are motivated and engaged they learn more.
This fantastic quote from Alfred Mercier says it all, “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.”
Supplies Needed to Teach the Alphabet with Lego Duplos
- Permanent marker
- Lego Duplo blocks
- Printable recording sheet {see freebie below}
- Pencils or crayons
Preparing to Teach the Alphabet with Lego Duplos
First, write the letters on the Lego Duplo blocks with your permanent marker. I wrote the uppercase letters on 26 blocks and did the same for the lowercase.
Next, I placed the blocks in my alphabet center along with some crayons and copies of the recording sheet.
How Students Use the Lego Duplo Blocks
Students are invited to find the matching upper and lowercase blocks, connect them and then place them on their recording sheet.
If they are able, they can write the letters on the sheet using the crayons.
Visit the link in the image above to get your free letter matching recording sheet.
Differentiation
For students who are not ready for the challenge of matching upper to lowercase letters, create two sets of uppercase letters and invite them to match upper to uppercase.
Extensions
You can place the recording sheet in a sheet protector or make your own dry erase sleeves to save paper.
You could also invite your students to wear hard hats while participating in this activity to show they are busy “working.” Plastic hard hats can usually be found at the dollar store.
When children play with Lego Duplo blocks they are also developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as they grasp, put together, and take apart the blocks.
Shopping Tips
Spring is almost here and spring means garage sales. At garage sales you can find plenty of Lego Duplo blocks on the cheap!
You can also try your local thrift stores. I found a large set of blocks called Mega Blocks at my local Wal-Mart; they are inexpensive but very similar to Lego Duplo blocks and work just as well.
More Alphabet Activities
Magnetic Letter Alphabet Soup Activity
Alphabet Sensory Play Activity
Printable Puppy Chow Recording Sheet
Printable Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Recording Sheet
Follow my Alphabet board on Pinterest for more great ideas!
Photo Credit: dhester
