Name: Tuba Mahboob
Roll no: D20200
What are upper case letters? How do we introduce them to
the child?
Upper case letters here refer to English language alphabets in their capital
form.
Materials:
There are three sets of cards, each having all 26 letters of the alphabet:
First set: Each card is 8x10 cm and shows one small letter (lower case).
Second set: Each card is 98x10 cm and shows one capital letter (upper
case).
Third set: Each card is 16x10 cm and shows both small and capital letters
the small letter is on the left side and the capital letter is on the right.
Presentation:
This activity is best for children who are around five years old. The teacher
(called the directress) begins by inviting a child to join her for the activity. At
first, she picks three letters where the capital letters look similar to the small
letters. In this lesson, the teacher tells the child the names of the letters (not
just the sounds, which the child may have learned before). She first shows the
small letter, then the capital letter, and says its name, also telling the child
that it is a capital letter. She does the same for two more letters. To help the
child remember better, the teacher uses the Three Period Lesson. She uses
both terms – "capital letter" and "upper case" – so the child becomes familiar
with both. Once the child understands these well, the teacher continues
teaching three letters at a time until all 26 letters have been introduced. After
that, the teacher lays out all the small letter cards randomly in vertical
columns. She leaves space next to each one for the capital letter card. Then,
she gives the child one capital letter card at a time and asks the child to place
it next to the matching small letter. While doing this, the teacher asks the child
questions in a friendly way – for example, she may ask whether the capital
letter looks the same or different from the small letter. She keeps using the
terms “capital letter” and “upper case” to help the child become comfortable
with both.
When all the capital letters have been matched with their small letters, the
teacher brings out the third set of cards (the ones that show both upper and
lower case letters). She uses them to check if everything is correct, and then
Name: Tuba Mahboob
Roll no: D20200
puts the third set away. At the end of the activity, the teacher collects all the
small letters and capital letters and puts them back in alphabetical order.
Conclusion:
This activity helps children see and understand the difference between capital
and small letters. It builds on what they already know and introduces them to
the other form of letters. It also helps them later when they start learning
about punctuation and writing sentences, as capital letters are used at the
beginning of sentences and for proper nouns.
