The ABC song (alphabet song)

Lyrics:

Verse 1:
A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W and X Y Z

I can sing my ABCs,
Won’t you sing along with me?

Verse 2:
A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W and X Y Z

I can sing my ABCs,
Won’t you sing along with me?

Gestures and activities to use with The ABC song

There are a number of gestures or actions you can use with this song.  Here are a few ideas:

• Simply have your students clap along or pat their laps as they sing the song.

• Print out our Song poster and give to each student. As they sing along they point to each letter.
• Give letter shapes or blocks to students.  After they have arranged them in the right order have them touch each letter as they sing the song.
• Make an A4 poster of each letter and attach them to the walls of the classroom.  Make sure they go all around the 4 walls of your room in alphabetical sequence. As the song is played have your students point to each letter
• Prepare flashcards of each letter of the alphabet. Give them out in order to your students and make sure each student has approximately the same number of letters.  As the song is played the student with the letter holds it up in the air (so the first student holds the letter “A” up as the letter “A” is sung, the second student “B” is held up as letter “B” is sung, and so on, down the line of students).
• Prepare flashcards of each letter of the alphabet. Give them out randomly to each student and make sure each student has approximately the same number of letters.  As the song is played the student with the letter holds it up in the air (so the student with the “A” letter holds it up as the letter “A” is sung, then “B” is held up as letter “B” is sung, and so on, so letters will be popping up and down all around the class). This is fast and furious so this activity is best done with classes who have had enough time to learn the alphabet.

Using The ABC song in class

When teaching the letters of the alphabet this song is a must!  It can be used to introduce this section of your lesson and also as practice as the end.  Here are some guidelines you can use when teaching the alphabet:

1. Play the ABC song. As an introduction to this part of the lesson and have your students sing along, clap or pat their laps in time with the music.
2. Teach new alphabet letters. Depending on the age and level of your students you can teach from 1 up to 4 or 5 new letters each lesson.  First, hold up an alphabet letter flashcard (e.g. the “a” letter) so all of your students can see it.
3. Chorus new letters. Chorus each letter 3 to 5 times. Then ask each student individually to say the letter.
4. Teach the sound of the letter. (e.g. “A is for ‘ah’ … ah – ah – ah”).  Chorus again and check individually.
5. Provide an example of an object that begins with the letter.  Double-sided flashcards with the letter on one side and a picture on the other are great for this.  For example:
   “What’s this?” (elicit “A”)
   “And A is for…?” (elicit “ah”)
   “And ‘ah’ is for … (turning the card over) “apple!”.
   Chorus the word and check individually.
6. Do a final check.
   Teacher: What’s this?
   Students: A
   Teacher: And ‘A’ is for…?
   Students: ‘ah’
   Teacher: And ‘ah’ is for…?
   Students: Apple!”
7. Do a letter activity. Next, do one of the following small activities and change these activities with each letter (or set of letters) to provide a bit a variety:
   
   – Magic finger: hold the flashcard letter up in front of each student and let them trace the letter on the card with their ‘magic’ finger.  Then the teacher, using his/her magic finger, traces the letter in the air and the students follow suit.   The teacher and the students can then use their magic fingers to trace the letter on all sorts of fun places.  E.g. Teacher: “Draw ‘P’ on your hand.  Now on the floor.  Now on your partner’s back.  Now on your cheek.  Now on the wall.  Now on your foot” etc.  Finally, if you have posters on the walls get the the students to find examples of the letter in the posters.
   
   – Pass it: sit with your students in a circle.  The teacher holds up a flashcard letter and says the letter (e.g. “A”).  The teacher passes it on to the next student who also says it and passes it on to the next student.  Variations: change directions, speed rounds, have many flashcard letters going round at the same time.
   
   – Slam: lay the flashcard letters on the floor (the ones that have been taught up to this point) and tell your students to raise their hands.  The teacher says one letter and the students have to slam their hands onto the correct card (if things get a bit boisterous change the game to “Soft Touch”).
   
   – Close your eyes: lay the flashcard letters on the floor (the ones that have been taught up to this point) and tell your students to close and cover their eyes with their hands. The teacher removes one letter and then says “Open your Eyes”. Students have to shout out the missing letter.
   
   – Find it: The teacher holds up a letter flashcard and the students search around the room for an object beginning with that letter.  (e.g. A – arm, B – book, C – clock).  You can also do this activity by spreading picture flashcards around the classroom and having students find the picture that has the correct first letter.
   
   – Slow motion: The teacher holds a pack of alphabet flashcards with the letters facing towards him/her.  The last card should be turned around so the letter is facing the students but is hidden as it is behind the pack.  Slowly pull the flashcard up inch by inch so the students can only see part of the letter.  As the letter is slowly revealed students try to guess what it is.  The first student to guess correctly keeps the card (for 1 point).  Variation: To make it a little more difficult turn each letter flashcard upside down.
8. Give out worksheets for your students to do which practice the new letters they have learned today.
9. End with The ABC song.  Students can sing along and do any of the gestures explained in “Gestures and activities” above.