Learning the ABC’s - Matching Capital to Lower-Case Letters

As children are learning the names of the letters, they often begin connecting the capital letters to their corresponding lower-case letters, as well. There are tons of worksheets available online to work on this skill, but playing games is much more developmentally appropriate and more fun, too! As they play the following games, you can reinforce the letter names at the same time by asking them to name the letter.

Activities for matching capital to lower-case letters:

Clothespin Match-up - Write one capital letter on the end of each clothespin. On a piece of stiff paper or cardboard, write the matching lower-case letters around the edge. Let your child match the capital to lower-case letter by clipping each clothespin in place and naming the letter.

Cars and Garages - Put a sticker on the top of each toy car and write on each sticker. (Those colored dots that are often used at garage sales are perfect for this.) Place stickers with the lower-case letters on the floor to to serve as garages. Let your child drive each car to the correct “garage” and park it there. Be sure you let them name the letter as they drive.

Legos - Place sticker dots on a bunch of Lego blocks. On half, write capital letters and on the other half, write the corresponding lower-case letters. Your child can match the letters by connecting the capital to the lower-case letters.

Letter-matching puzzles - I have several sets of alphabet puzzles which I made from poster paper. In some, there is an adult animal with the capital printed on it and a baby with the lower-case letter.  In others, there is an animal (like a fish, for example), that has the capital written on the body of the animal and a lower-case letter written on the tail, which is a separate piece. I usually lay out all of he capital letters in ABC order and let the child match the lower-case letters to them. If just beginning, then limit the number of letters offered at a time to 3-4, or just the letttes in their name.

Memory - Write one letter on each card, (use both capitals and their corresponding lower-case letters). Begin with no more than 8-10 pairs (or less). Mix up the cards and arrange them face down on the table. Each person turns over 2 cards (being careful to keep the cards in place on the table) and names the letters pictured. If they are a match, they keep the pair. If not, they turn the cards back over face down and the next player takes a turn. Play continues until all cards are matching.

Matching Cups - Turn a plastic cup upside down and write a capital letter on the side of the cup. Make a small slit in the bottom of the cup (which is now facing up). Write lower-case letter on the end of each craft/popsicle stick. Match the letters by placing the lower-case letter sticks in the slit of the corresponding capital letter.

There are so many different activities you can use for matching letters. I will post a few more on Instagram from time to time, so follow me there for updates. (@dottodotconnections)