Preschool teachers and daycare providers can help children learn to recognize and write the letter O through fun activities that support clear learning objectives.
Learning Objectives
The students will identify the letter O.
The students make and recognize the long O sound.
The students will learn to trace and write upper and lower case Os.
The students will identify objects that begin with the letter O.
The students will play a letter O math game.
The students will learn the song “Wave Your Oval”.
The students will listen to books that feature the long O sound.
Handwriting and Alphabet Recognition
Introduce the children to the letter O along with simple objects that begin with the letter O. Create a colorful letter O poster board or bulletin board that presents both the upper and lower case O . Include pictures of objects cut from magazines that begin with the letter O. For example: Oatmeal, Ocean, Oak, Oval, Open, and Oboe.
Write both the upper and lowercase O on a whiteboard or chalkboard. Demonstrate the O sound and ask the children to make (repeat) the long O sound. Next ask the children to think of words (names, objects, or places) that might begin with the long O sound.
Encourage the children to practice tracing the letter O in both upper and lower case using a letter O worksheet. A good example of such a Letter O worksheet is available on the Enchanted Learning website. Children can also practice writing and tracing the letter O on blank sheets of paper using pencils, colored pencils, or crayon.
Letter O Math Activity
Ocean Animal Sequencing
Trace one family of ocean animals such as seahorses, jellyfish, sharks and starfish in a variety of sizes. Cut them out and lay them in random order on an activity surface. Help children to place the animals in order of size from smallest to largest or largest to smallest. You can also create ocean animals from felt and ask children to arrange the ocean animals on a felt board.
Letter O Music and Movement
Teach the children to “Wave Your Oval”* by Heather McPhail to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. Give each child an oval shape cut from construction paper.
Wave your oval in the air, in the air.
Wave your oval in the air, in the air.
Wave your oval in the air,
Then wave it here and there.
Wave your oval in the air, in the air.
Wave your oval at your toe, at your toe.
Wave your oval at your toe, at your toe.
Wave your oval at your toe,
Then wave it to and fro.
Wave your oval at your toe, at your toe.
*Wave Your Oval taken from Preschool Education.
Letter O Story Time
Here are some interesting books to share with students that feature the letter O or objects that begin with the long O sound:
On My Boat: The Sound of Long O (Wonder Books Phonics Readers; Vowels) by Robert B. Noyed (Aug 1999)
Olivia by the Ocean: The Sound of Long O (Phonics Friends) by Cecilia Minden and Joanne D. Meier (Aug 2005)
Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes and Jeanette Canyon (Sep 1, 2004)
Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz (Mar 2002)
Ovals (A+ Books: Shapes) by Sarah L. Schuette (Jan 2006)
I See Ovals (All about Shapes) by D. H. Dilkes (Sep 2010)
OLIVIA Opens a Lemonade Stand by Kama Einhorn and Jared Osterhold (May 4, 2010)
Including these simple activities into the curriculum of child care centers will greatly enhance preschoolers’ language learning. Lesson plans should contain clear learning objectives but also remember to seize spontaneous moments of opportunity to teach.
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