ABC Sort: Curvy or Straight?

Playing an ABC game is one of the best ways to introduce the alphabet to your little ones. Our brains learn best when we use several senses at once, so this ABC sort helps pre-readers use a variety of senses to help their brains remember the differences between letters.

To play the letter sort, children reach into a cup and pull out a letter.

Then, they put that letter in one of three categories: curvy, straight or both.

Being able to look at the letter (sense #1) and then feel the shape of the letter’s sides (sense #2) is a helpful and entertaining way for children to learn about the alphabet.  And if you’re looking for more fun preschool learning activities, check out our Ultimate Preschool Activity Pack in our shop!

Getting Ready

To play the game, you’ll need:

• A printout of the activity (click the blue download button below.)
• A pile of lowercase letters.  (I used magnetic ones but foam or wooden letters work well too.  I like to introduce lowercase letters first because they are the most common letters used in books children read.)
• A cup.  (My boys are prone to dropping things so I grabbed a plastic one.)
• A sock.

Letter Sort

Fill the cup with a pile of lowercase letters and then place the cup inside a sock. Pull the sock completely over the cup and invite your child to reach into the sock and pull out a letter. (This is my son’s favorite part!)

Then, have your child sort it into the correct category: curvy, straight or both.  If your child is learning the name of the letters, say the name for him.  If he already knows the letter names, ask him to name each letter as he goes along.

Continue sorting until all of the letters are in their just-right spot.

That’s it! Pretty easy, huh?!

Grab Your Download

Click the blue button below to snag your freebie, then make sure to check out our super fun Ultimate Preschool Activities Pack!