Teaching a basic skill like letters to students with special needs seems simple- but can be a daunting task. Where do you start? It’s not just reciting the ABC’s, it’s matching, identifying, tracing, writing, words, pictures….. the list goes on.
Most IEPs will start with letter identification- either receptive or expressive. I prefer to do receptive, because of the level of kids I teach. I like to have some cards on hand that I can use to practice these skills easily.
With these cards, I start with the prompt “touch j” with a model on the card. As time goes on you may be able to fade the model by keeping your hand there as you flip through the cards.
When starting letters, I prefer to start with uppercase, then learn lowercase, then move to matching upper/lower, and finally beginning sounds.
If your students are still working on matching letters (and fine motor), there are many fun task boxes you can make with this. It is great if they can match letters in many different fonts and sizes.
These matching books are AMAZING for practicing skills independently. Velcro tasks are so easy to prep and have forever to practice these skills over and over and practice generalization!
Finally, while it isn’t a letter ID task, it falls under writing, tracing worksheets are a great tie in for letters to work on simultaneously as other goals. To save paper, time, and resources- print once and laminate or print once and reuse in those dry erase pockets!
Hope this post gave you some ideas on where to start, how to practice generalizing, and how to keep it all fresh and fun!
