Teaching the alphabet involves learning uppercase and lowercase letter names and sounds. But once kids master those skills and begin to learn decoding, they can also move on to alphabetical order. ABC order practice activities for kindergarten provide exposure to a skill that can be tricky. Alphabet games, like my Free Printable Alphabetical Order “War” Card Game make learning alphabet order a snap! I paired the game with a food theme to keep it interesting. Just print this fun alphabet game and play it like the classic card game of war.
Recommended Grade Level:
Alphabetical Order Food Card Game Supplies:
- Printer/Ink
- Scrapbook Paper (optional)
- Laminating Supplies
- Paper Cutter
- Pencil
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Learning Alphabetical Order in Primary Grades
NUTRITION THEME ALPHABETICAL ORDER GAME
ALPHABETICAL ORDER CAN BE TRICKY. IT REQUIRES LOTS OF PRACTICE IN HANDS-ON WAYS, LIKE ENGAGING ALPHABET CARD GAMES AND ALPHABET ACTIVITIES.
Learning to put the letters of the alphabet in order seems harder when we merge that skill with words. Help your students practice ordering the alphabet in kindergarten and beyond with this free alphabet printable for kindergarten war game.
Students that benefit from a visual can have an alphabet strip on the table while they play the game. Then they can easily references the letters as the cards are flipped.
This game is valuable on a lot of levels. First, students work on food and nutrition vocabulary with the food theme preschool/kindergarten game. Next, they have to identify what letter each word starts with. Finally, they have to figure out where in the alphabet it lies.
I love this game of war because it can easily be adapted, depending on the skills your learners already have. Not ready for ABC order? Use it for sound/letter matching learning game, or a letter recognition game.
You can even just use the game as a nutrition activity or an opportunity to learn about food groups. To focus on alphabetical order while playing the alphabet game for kindergarten, free, pose thoughtful questions:
- Which letter comes before/after?
- What do you do if both words start with the same letter?
- How do you konw that letter is at the beginning/end of the alphabet?
What Can Children Learn From Kindergarten Alphabet Games?
KINDERGARTEN ALPHABET ACTIVITIES
PRACTICING LETTERS AND SOUNDS ON ALPHABET WORKSHEETS IS A GREAT WAY FOR KIDS TO GAIN CONFIDENCE IN RECOGNIZING AND WRITING LETTERS.
Use the war game to teach letters, sounds, alphabetical order, or food names. There are 14 food cards included:
- Apple/Bacon/Cherry/Donut/Egg
- Fish/Grapes/Hot Dog/Kiwi/Lentils
- Milk/Nachos/Orange/Peas
Why Is It Important For Kids To Learn Alphabetical Order?
Understanding the order of the alphabet is important. ABC order encompasses the basic skills of sequencing and ordering which is found in other topics, like science and math.
Background Knowledge
Alphabetical order is really a life skill. You’ll need it to find a book in the library, a number in a phone book, a vocabulary word in the back of a book, etc.
Organizing
Organizing information, whether by letter or category, is an important thinking skill. The more ways our brains know how to do it, the better.
Sequencing
Putting things in order transfers to other topics. Numbers go in order, life cycles follow a sequence, scientific experiments are step-by-step.
Make Connections
Alphabet activities for kindergarten and beyond that focus on order allow kids to make broader connections, like ordering students in class by last name or lining up a by first letters in our names.
Tools you’ll need
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Don’t worry about making a special trip to the store. You can get all the supplies for this activity right here. Click the pictures above to get what you need.
How to Make the Alphabetical Order “War” Card Game
To Prep:
Print 3-4 copies of the food card game pages. I like to use the backside of scrapbook paper, so the cards aren’t see-through. Laminate if desired and cut apart the cards.
If desired, print the recording sheet also.
To Play:
Divide cards evenly among two players.
Place cards face down in a stack.
Players each turn over one card at the same time.
Player with the word that comes FIRST in alphabetical order takes both cards and adds them to the bottom of their pile.
In case of tie, each player lays down three cards face down and then turns the third card. First in alphabetical order wins all the cards.
Play continues as time allows or one player runs out of cards.
Extension: Choose ten cards from one set, put them in alphabetical order and record them on the provided sheet.
Our Favorite Alphabet Books For Kids:
We can’t live without these!
Once your child’s creativity is sparked with this fun activity, take it a step further with these engaging resources:
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The Construction Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
My First Bob Books – Alphabet Box Set | Phonics, Letter sounds, Ages 3 and up, Pre-K (Reading Readiness)I Spy LettersA New Alphabet for Humanity Children’s Book: A Children’s Book of Alphabet Words to Inspire Compassion, Kindness and PositivityEating the AlphabetAlphabet TrainsLMNO Peas (The Peas Series)Alphabet Mystery
Go Fish Alphabet Card Game
Use the cards from the war game to play a game of Go Fish! Just use two pics of each food.
Letter Matching
Place the cards in a draw pile. Draw a card, then match the beginning sound to a set of kindergarten A to Z alphabet flash card game.
Rhyming Game
Use the cards to generate rhymes or another skill in alphabet practice for kindergarten, like first or last sound, or syllable segmenting.
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After you’ve fallen in love with this game like we have, you can get more alphabetical order “War” card game sets here. They have been one of my most popular resources for the last year and they specialize in easy-to-read words starting with a CVC reading level and progressing from there to other commonly used words.
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