Teaching the Alphabet

Competency: To be able to enact several techniques for teaching the names of
the letters of the English alphabet to persons literate in a language with a
similar alphabet.
Note: These activities will focus on teaching the names of the letters. It is
assumed that the students already knows the upper and lower case forms of the
letters and the alphabetical order of the letters and that they already read and
write in their native language. For suggestions of how to teach non-literates or
persons unfamiliar with the Roman alphabet, See Section V of this manual. It is
intended that only a few minutes of any class will be dedicated to teaching the
alphabet. It is preferable to spend several small blocks of time doing it rather
than one large block of time.

Activity 1
    Write the vowels on the board one at a time, pronouncing each one and
    allowing each student to write it in his notebook. Encourage students to
    write a representation beside each letter in their own language, that will
    help them to remember how to pronounce the letter.

For example: A Spanish speaker might write:
            Aey
            Eiy
            Iay
            Oow
            Uyu

Activity 2
    Write the letters of the alphabet in order on the chalkboard, pronouncing
    each as you write it.

Activity 3
    Have students go to the chalkboard. Dictate letters at random and have them
    write the letters on the board.

Activity 4
    Point at random to the letters of the alphabet on an alphabet chart and have
    students name the letters.