Kindergarten
A2.1 name upper- and lowercase letters (both in and out of order)
Teacher ToolkitElementary Activity Toolkit - Letter Recognition
How can I recognize and name the uppercase and lowercase letters from A to Z in different places and formats?
What?
Each of the learning modules in this series will support students’ learning of the alphabet. Students will practice recognizing and naming the letters from A to Z (uppercase and lowercase) and locating the letters in familiar words and texts.
Whom?
Press the following tabs to explore Kindergarten and Grade 1 curriculum expectations connected to the content of this learning module.
Kindergarten
A2.2 use proper formation patterns to write letters
Grade 1 – Language
B2.2 name and form the upper- and lowercase letters both in and out of order and demonstrate knowledge of alphabetic order, with automaticity
Kindergarten
A2.1 name upper- and lowercase letters (both in and out of order)
Grade 1 – Mathematics
B2.2 recall and demonstrate addition facts for numbers up to 10, and related subtraction facts.
B2.4 use objects, diagrams, and equations to represent, describe, and solve situations involving addition and subtraction of whole numbers that add up to no more than 50
Kindergarten
A2.1 name upper- and lowercase letters (both in and out of order)
Grade 1 – Language
B2.7 demonstrate an understanding of commonly used words, acquire and use explicitly taught vocabulary in various contexts, including other subject areas, and use their developing morphological knowledge to analyze and understand new words
Extensions
Press the following tabs to explore opportunities to extend learning. Each extension includes aligned curriculum expectations or transferable skills. You can also find these by pressing the Discover more button inside each letter's learning module.
Extension description
- Do you know someone who has a name that starts with uppercase A?
- Do you know someone who has a name with lowercase a in it?
- Think about people in your family, community, or classroom.
- How many people can you think of?
Examples:
- A name that starts with uppercase A is Abdul.
- A name with lowercase a in it is Luka.
Extension description
- Is there a library at your school?
- If possible, visit the library with a family member or guardian and find the section of books that start with uppercase C.
- Open a book and count each time you see uppercase C or lowercase c.
- Are there books that you enjoy reading?
Extension description
- Explore what is around you and try to find objects that can be used to make letters.
- Can you make an uppercase E?
- Can you make a lowercase e?
- Which letter needed more objects to make?
Extension description
Have you seen a keyboard before? On a phone, laptop or computer at your school, library or home? Were the letters lowercase or uppercase?
Extension description
- Think about objects in your classroom, community, or home. Do any of these objects have letters or words on them?
- Can you find a word on an object that starts with uppercase 'O'?
- Can you find a word on an object with lowercase 'o' in it?
Examples
- A store sign might have the word 'Open' on it.
- A map might have a compass with the word 'North' on it.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2026). Language foundations continuum for reading and writing, Kindergarten–Grade 4. https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/fbd574c4-da36-0066-a0c5-849ffb2de96e/d46dfab6-b0bd-494a-b636-c0583fe83986/AODA%20compliant%20-%20Language_Foundations%20Continuum_2026%20%282%29.pdf
How?
Please note all prompts and information included in this Teacher Toolkit are suggestions only. Educators are always encouraged to evaluate the specific needs of their learners and use their professional judgement.
1. Get ready…
Before you begin teaching, consider the following prompts to prepare yourself. Some suggested answers have been included as samples.
- What materials will you need for this learning module?
- printables of letter cards
- optional manipulatives (ten frame, magnetic/foam letters, playdough)
Press the following Document button to access printable letter cards.
- What pre-conversations will you need to have with your students?
- “Today we’re going to learn about another letter of the alphabet.”
- “Where have you seen this letter before?”
- “Let’s say the letter name together: _.”
- “Sometimes letters look a little different (different fonts). What clues help you know it’s still _/_?”
- What vocabulary do your students need to know?
Vocabulary list:
- letter
- uppercase
- lowercase
- match
- start
- add
- What pre-teaching needs to happen to prepare your students for this content?
- Pre-teach/review that letters have names and can be written in different ways. If possible, review the difference between uppercase (capital) and lowercase letters, and practice identifying the letter of focus using a few examples in the environment.
- Is there any pre-reading that you need to do to facilitate this content?
- Preview the TVO Learn learning activity “Letter Recognition – _,_” and decide whether students will complete it independently, in partners, or as a guided whole-class activity.
- Will students work independently, in partners, in small groups, or is this a full class activity?
2. Get set…
Before you begin teaching, consider the following prompts to prepare your learners. Some suggested answers have been included as samples.
- What are the learning goals and success criteria for this learning module?
We are learning to:
- recognize and name the uppercase and lowercase version of a letter
- find specific letters in words around us
I can:
- say the letter name for letters from A to Z
- match uppercase and lowercase letters from A to Z
- find the uppercase and lowercase version of a letter, in words, labels, or sentences
- share why different versions of a letter are the same even if it looks a little different
- How will you activate and/or assess your students’ prior knowledge ahead of this learning module?
- Use a photo, a short introductory video, an audio clip as an activation.
- Have students complete a KWL chart (What I know, what I wonder, what I have learned).
- Have students complete a mind map.
- Students can answer a reflection question.
- How will you draw your students’ attention to the learning outcome for this learning module?
3. Go!
- Students will learn about recognizing uppercase and lowercase versions of the alphabet through guided and independent practice using the TVO Learn “Letter Recognition – learning activities, plus quick letter hunts and matching/sorting tasks.
- Students will have an opportunity to check their understanding by completing the interactive TVO Learn activity “Letter Recognition – _/_”
- Students will demonstrate their learning about the letter of interest by completing one of the following assessment opportunities:
- Letter hunt: Circle/highlight examples of the letters on a page of text or a teacher-made letter-search sheet.
- Sort and match: Sort mixed letter cards into “A, a” and “not A, a,” then match uppercase A to lowercase a.
- Create: Write, trace, or build the letter(s). (Possible materials: pencils, markers, playdough, magnetic letter)
Press the following Show Suggestions button for ways to assist students while they work through the learning module.
While students are working through this module, you can make yourself available to:
- answer any questions
- observe students’ engagement with the content
- conference with individual students using the self-check activity
- lead a guided group through the content on a tablet
Resources
As an extension of learning, extra information, or supplementary activities, please refer to the following resources:
- Ontario Ministry of Education: The Kindergarten Program (Opens in a new window)
- TVO Learn
- Kindergarten Content Collection (Opens in a new window)
- Kindergarten (Opens in a new window)
- Grade 1 Learning activities - Language (Opens in a new window)
- TVO Learn – Letter Recap activities (Opens in a new window)
- Alphy and the Magic Mirror
- TVO Kids Youtube (Opens in a new window)
- TVO Learn Youtube
Assessment opportunities
Growing Success – The Kindergarten Addendum describes the Ontario Ministry of Education’s policy for assessment, evaluation, and reporting for Kindergarten.
Assessment is an important part of students’ learning in Kindergarten. It takes place alongside instruction and is an important part of highlighting student thinking and making learning explicit.
Documenting students’ learning is an essential part of assessment in Kindergarten. Pedagogical documentation is the process of gathering and analyzing a wide range of documentation of student’s thinking and learning over time, often in collaboration with the students’ caregivers and community. This documentation provides insights to guide students’ next steps.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2026). Kindergarten curriculum: Assessment and evaluation. Curriculum and Resources. https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/kindergarten/grades/jk-sk/context/assessment-learning.
As educators in Kindergarten interact with children in play and inquiry, provide descriptive feedback, and review documentation of the children’s learning with them, they use “noticing and naming the learning” to articulate what the children are doing (e.g., “I see you’ve put down two blue blocks and one green block, then two blue ones and one green one again. We call that a pattern.”). They introduce language that enables the children to describe their own learning. They make the children’s thinking and learning “visible” to them. In Kindergarten, the strategy of “noticing and naming the learning” serves as a vehicle for sharing “learning goals” and “success criteria” with the children.
Educators draw on their knowledge of the expectations and conceptual understandings set out in the Kindergarten program document to articulate the broad learning goals – representing subsets or clusters of knowledge and skills – that they share with the children. In Kindergarten, learning goals are expressed in terms and language that children understand – for example, “I am learning about patterns”. Learning goals articulated in this way enable children to think about and to begin to direct their own learning. Success criteria are expressed as the accomplishments that occur along the way – for example, “I can identify a pattern”; “I can describe a pattern”. Together, learning goals and success criteria help to make what the children are learning “visible” to them, so they can focus their learning efforts, understand what comes next, and begin to make decisions about their learning.
“Noticing and naming the learning” in terms of learning goals and success criteria is a way in which educators can create a picture for children of what and how they are learning, and support.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2018). Growing success: The Kindergarten addendum. Assessment, evaluation, and reporting in Ontario schools. Government of Ontario. https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/GSKindergartenAddendum2018.pdf
Tips
Creating Learning Goals
- Clearly identify what students are expected to know and are able to do in language that students can readily understand. This represents the knowledge and skills that the students must successfully demonstrate to achieve the overall expectation.
Triangulation of assessments
- The following is a sample chart/checklist for use in documenting your triangulation of assessments across the 4 Frames during observations, conversations, and conferences: