Jambo Alphabet book - A

"A" Vocabulary and Oral Expression
Introducing "A"
Introduce "a" words through conversation, illustrations, and queations. (What makes
you angry? What would you put in an aquarium? Have you ever heard of Alaska and
Africa?)
    Foods            Names               Animals     Careers
   apples           Amy     Andy        alligator    accountant
   apricots         Ann     Alice       ape          actor
   asparagus        Andrew  Arlene      ant          actress
   avocado          Adam    Audrey      anteatar     astronaut
   almonds          Alex    Aaron       angel fih    astronomer
   angel food cake  Abby    Alan        armadillo    artist
   artichoke        Archie  Albert      aardvark     architect
                    April   Alvin       author
                    Arnold  Arthur
"A" Opposites
Ask students to tell the opposites of these "a" words:
   after            all
   alike            awake
   alive            above
You may also give other words and ask students to
tell "a" words which are opposite of the words you
name:
   before           none
   different        asleep
   dead             below


"A" Objects
Ask, "Can you tell me about any of the follwing things?" (Make a note of those thing
that no one can describe and provide pictures at a later date.)
   accordion     apron              ax
   acorn         angel              anchor
   anklet        antenna            awning
   arrow         acrobat            apartment
Tongue Twisters
. Ask children to repeat in unison after you, Then ask if anyone would like to try to
  say a tongue twister as fast as possible alone.
     Alex is  absent ogain.                  Astronaut Al's airplane arrived.
     Alan Arnold acts angry.                 Almost all the apricots are alike.
     Amy always asks for apples.             Arlene and Aaron are afraid of ants.
     Alligators are ancient animals.
. Now ask students to add one or more "a" words to the following to make tongue
  twisters:
   Alice ate. . .
   Austin's aunt.. ,
   Artie always.. .
   Arnold Ant adds. , ,
   All the apes are...
 Tell children to answer "yes" or "no" to these questions and to explain why they
 answered as they did.    '
  Can alphabets add?                        Can an ambulance arrivel?
   Can your Aunt Amy argue?                 Can ashes aim arrows?
  Can antlers be angry?                     Can an athlete applaud?
  Can an airplane appear?                   Is an anteater aqua?




"A" Art and Activities
Animal Cracker Art
Materials:  animal crackers (enough so each chlld can have three or four for the
               project and some to eat)
             glue
              construction paper
              crayons or markers
Discuss animal habitats (jungle, field, zoo, forest, farm, city, etc,). Give the children
the animal crackers. Tell them to select two or more to glue on the paper. Then have
them draw around the animala to ihow where they might Iivo.
Use Your Senaes
sense of Touch and Smell:
  1, Duplicate the letter "A" on page 3.
  2. Cover it with glue. Sprinkle with allspice or cinnamon.
  3. Have students close their eyes, then feel and smell the page.
Sense of Twist
Have an "a" tasting day. Ask parents for donations of foods whose names begin with
"a. " Let students try avocados asparagus, apricots, almsnds, and artichokes.
Sense of Hearing
Ask students to think of "alarming" noises to imitate (i.e,, alarm clock, fire alarm,
ambulance, fire engine, smoke detector, etc,).
Sense of Sight
Play "I Spy." When childron are out of tho room, place items beginning with the letter
"a' in clear view (apple, airplane, toy animale, apron, etc.). When studets return,
begin a game by saying, "I spy an 'a' object in the room..." and give a clue to its identity
(i.e., "...that you might wear while cooking"), The student who guesses corroctly may
then say "I spy." An adult may need to whisper a nuggestion for an object or clue.


Apple Day
     . Ask everyone to bring an apple on Apple Day. Be sure to have some extras on hand
                                               v
   for children who forget or aren't able to obtain one. Place them together and
   compare colors, taste texture, etc.
     .   Let students count the number of needs in their appleis, Have each student compare
    with others. Which appla have the most ,seeds? Which have the fewest? Are there
   any which have the same number?
                                                                                                    -
  Cut some apples in half as shown at right,
  Let children press them flesh aide down
  onto an ink pad or paint which has been
  rolled out on a pan. Have students press
  the apple halves on paper. Did they form
 stars?
. Eat apple, or Appls Sandwiches (recipe, page 16) at snack time,
. At the end of the day, give each child at least one of the apple awards on page 9.
.  On apple day, share books like the following with your students:
 Ten Applses Up on Top, by Theodore Lesieg, Random House, 1988.
  The Apple Tree, by Lynley Dodd. Careth Stevens, 1985,
  From Apple Seed to Apple Sauce, by Hannah Lyona Johnaon. Lotthrop, Lee &
 Shepard Co,, 1977, (While this book has advanced text, the pictures are ideal for
  discussion with young students.)
I        WHAT CAN WE COOK USING APPLES?
Baked Apples    Candy Apples
Apple Pie     Appie Sandwiches
Apple Sauce     Apple Butter

Apple Awards
Some ideas for these awards are "You are the apple of my eye because...," "An apple from
your teacher because..," and "I know the letter 'A'."