Early Years Activities for the Letter Hh
Classroom Hands-on Lessons Ideas for Teaching the Alphabet
Oct 27, 2009
The next letter students will learn is the letter H. Planning a letter H lesson is made simple with these educational activities to choose from. These hands-on lessons will allow students the needed exposure to develop strong letter recognition skills.
Here are some activities for the week of studying the letter Hh.
Letter Hh Items From Home
Here are some items that can be brought in to school on the Monday morning: horse, hammer, hat, horn, helicopter and helmet.
Letter Hh Activities
Class Chart: As a group, discuss all the items brought in to the class and print the words on chart paper. Beside each word, draw a picture beside the word and post on the wall.
Horse Letter Activity: Print an uppercase H on a cut out of a horse. Ask student to glue beans on the outline of the letter. Ask student for an example of a letter H word. Print word on the horse.
Hat Letter Activity: Print a lowercase h on a cut out of a hat. Ask student to glue beans or squares on the outline of the letter. Ask student for another example of a letter h word. Print word on the hat.
Hat Day Activity: Send a note home to parents letting them know the class will be celebrating Hat Day in the classroom. All students will need to bring in a special hat to class for the day. Start Hat Day by reading The Many Hats of Mr. Minches by Paulette Bourgeois [Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1996]. This story is about a little girl who was serious and careful but she always wanted to be brave and bold. All that changes when the Minches’ come to town.
Each student can draw a picture in the journal of him or her wearing a hat and dictate a sentence about the hat.
Handprints: All students can make paper handprints out of green construction paper. These handprints can be placed on a bulletin board to create a huge green wreath. This wreath can stay up on the bulletin board and have paper poppies added for Remembrance Day.
Hh Stories, Dream House and Other Activities
"Things that are…" Activity: As a large group brainstorm things that are heavy and print on chart paper. Draw a picture of the item next to the word. Other ideas are: things that are hot, things that can be heard or things to do around the house to help.
Wacky Hair Day: Plan a day when everyone in the class has to come to school with wacky hair. Try looking at hair under a microscope or magnify glass as a class.
Dream House Activity: Read to the class the story The Big Orange Splot! By Daniel Pinkwater [Scholastic Inc., 1993]. This story is about the change Mr. Plumbean goes through when his house is hit by a splot of orange paint. He decides that everyone’s house on the street all looks the same but it is not his dream and creates a house that is filled with his dreams.
Draw a large outline of a house on paper. After reading the story ask each student to draw and colour a house filled with his or her dreams.
Taste-Test Foods Beginning with Hh: Here are some foods to try in the class that begin with the letter H: hamburgers, ham, honey and hummus. Horseradish may be too strong but students can smell the sample and describe what it smells like.
Letter Hh Internet Site Resources: There are many great resources to find on the Internet. Here are two such sites that are excellent to look for additonal activities for the letter Hh. The first website has great craft ideas to choose from ranging from a habitat to puzzles. The second site gives examples of songs and poems that has examples of Hh words to use in the classroom.
Whether the class is taste-testing ham, wearing a silly hat or creating a dream home, learning the letter H can be fun and educational. These activities are wonderful ways to teach letter recognition to young learners.
Anselmo, Sandra; Rollins, Pamela; and Schuckman Rita. R is for Rainbow: Developing Young Children's Thinking Skills Through the Alphabet, USA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. 1986.
