Games on Words Starting with the Letter A

The Importance of ‘A’

Learning to read and identify letters is the first step towards reading and spelling. And learning the letter ‘A’ is perhaps the first stepping stone to making it all happen. Building familiarity with the letter, its form, and sound will help your child understand the concept of letter names and sounds and prepare them for a whole new world of learning.

Astounding Ways to Ace the ‘a’

If you’re looking to bring up a letter wizard, we have the best toolkit for you. These amazing educational games and practice exercises are sure to make learning fun and busy!

• Angle the ‘A’: If you think fishing is fun, you will enjoy this game more than the kids! You need to get some magnetic letters and stick a magnet on a pole. Now ask your child to fish out all the A’s – big and small. If your child knows their letters well enough, you can move on to words that start with the letter. This time, you need magnetic word cards, and your child can go fish!
   
• Aim at A: For anyone looking to release some pent-up energy and negativity, this one’s for you! Stick around some words randomly on the floor or walls(if it is the walls you are going for, prepare for a lot of washing up!). Now give your child a sponge soaked in some paint, and ask them to look at a word. If it starts with an ‘A,’ they get to throw the sponge on the word and splash it with some color. Does it sound exciting already? Wait until you begin playing!
   
• Write the A: This is an effortless task that can help your child with letter formations and writing. Put down some words on erasable cards. Make sure you have a blank every time the letter ‘A’ appears. Now get your child to fill the blank with the letter, using the capital form when it is at the beginning of the word and a lower case when in the middle. This helps them sort the concepts out and practice the art of writing too. Don’t be too fixated on letterforms at this stage because it may take them a while to acquire skills and neatness.
   
• Cup it: This is a fun game that helps correlate words, letters, and sounds. Take out some cups, and tell your child these are special ‘A’ cups. Now display a table laden with an assortment of things. Your child needs to name each object on the table. After calling out its name, they must decide if it starts with the letter ‘A’ and then covers it with the ‘A’ cup if it does. So many skills are brought into the mix here!

How to Teach the A’s

Remember that the letter A has a lot associated with it. The letter A comes with its character and form, and in lower case too. And then, of course, there are the sounds. Here are some pointers on how you can help make it easy:

• Start with letter identification. This is the first step in being able to relate letter names and sounds. Ensure your child moves from identifying the upper-case to the lower-case letter.
   
• Bring in the sound. The letter ‘A’ has several sounds, so start with the simple ‘ah’ sound. Ensure you only show your child words that carry this sound, or your child is bound to be confused. Progression to other sounds can be gradual. You can do this using objects and pictures that incorporate the ‘ah’ sound.
   
• Now bring in letter identification and sound together. Show your child simple words containing the letter ‘A,’ and have them only focus on the sound of the letter in the word. Use a lot of pictures and imagery in the activity.

Supporting Your Learner

Letters may be difficult, and their sound complex. Not everyone has a natural flair for it, and some children require a little help and work understanding these concepts. They soon take off and learn at exponential rates. 

Acknowledge the rocky start and allow your child the time to experiment, internalize and grasp the concept entirely. If your child is struggling, move on to another letter and return to the A’s later. It isn’t going anywhere without you!

Allow your child to develop a love for letters, words, and sounds. There is so much waiting to be explored, and you want your child to experience all of it. The more fun we bring in to learning, the more fun your child has as a reader.

Is there something we missed out? Write to us at help@splashlearn.com with your feedback and comments. We love to hear from you and improve the learning experience for your kids.