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Letter Ff Unit from Now
I Know My ABCs and a Whole Lot More!: A Complete Alphabet Curriculum for
Preschool and Kindergarten
*Please note that this is only one unit from the book. The
complete curriculum contains 26 units with their own unique ideas and
activities as well as review units after every fourth letter.
Ff is for Freddie Frog
If you would like to view or print the accompanying picture
cards, patterns, puppet, and worksheets for this letter unit, please click
here:
Puppet Mascot
Make a simple frog puppet by cutting out the frog picture provided on
page 98 and gluing it to a popsicle stick. If you would like a more elaborate
puppet a great suggestion is to use the frog pattern in the book The
Paper Tube Zoo by Jo Ellen Moore and Joy Evans or you can search the
internet for puppet patterns. A great website is www.dltk-kids.com. They
have a variety of easy to make animal crafts.
Introduce the children to Freddie Frog and explain that he is here to
teach them the letter F. Show the children upper and lower case Ff (you
can color the pattern from Worksheet #1 on page 88 or make your own).
Have Freddie explain to the children that the letter F is his favorite
letter of the alphabet because his name begins with F. Have him ask if
anyone else has a name that begins with F. If so, hang their picture under
the letter F on your alphabet display (see Alphabet Display on page 2).
Feeding Freddie some flies
To prepare for this activity copy the fly pattern on page 95. Label some
flies with an upper case F, some with a lower case f, and some with other
letters of the alphabet. You can also purchase a few Sticky Mix Grabbers
to represent frog tongues. These are rubbery, sticky, slimy grabbing toys
often found in gumball machines or Dollar Stores. They are long and thin
on one end and have some sort of shape on the other end. Children hold
the long, thin end and throw the shaped end toward a wall or object and
it “grabs” it or sticks to it. Have Freddie Frog explain to
the children that frogs like to eat flies and they catch them with their
long, sticky tongues. You can put one of the Sticky Mix Grabbers into
Freddie’s mouth to represent his tongue and have him grab one of
the paper flies with it. Have Freddie ask the children if they would like
to help him catch some flies. Spread the flies on the floor and give a
few children a Sticky Mix Grabber. Have them hold the long, thin end and
throw the shaped end towards a fly. The shaped end will stick to the paper
fly and spring back towards the child (it closely resembles how a real
frog’s tongue works). See if the children can catch a fly with an
upper case F on it or a lower case f on it. When they catch one they can
feed it to Freddie.
A version for older students is to glue picture cards (Letter F picture
cards from page 97 as well as a few from other letters) on the flies and
have them catch flies that have pictures beginning with F.
Lily pad jumping
Copy the lily pad pattern from page 95 onto green construction paper.
Label each lily pad with either an upper case F, a lower case f, or another
letter of the alphabet. Make sure you have an F lily pad for each student.
Have Freddie Frog explain that frogs love to jump on lily pads. Have him
ask the students if they know how to hop like a frog. Demonstrate this.
Spread the lily pads out on the floor and explain to the children that
this is a pretend pond and they are going to be pretend frogs. Put on
some lively music and have the children hop around the pond like frogs.
When the music stops they must hop onto a lily pad with an upper case
F or a lower case f.
Another option would be to play this similar to musical chairs and take
an F lily pad away each time. If a student can not find an F lily pad
to hop on they are out.
Yet another option is to glue picture cards on the lily pads instead of
letters. Use the letter Ff picture cards on page 97 as well as picture
cards from other letters. When the music stops the children have to hop
on a lily pad that has a picture of something that begins with F.
F is for frog
Teach a unit on frogs. Explain what they like to eat, where they live,
the different types of frogs, etc. Read some books about frogs (see Suggested
Books on page 86).
Sing the popular song “5 Green and Speckled Frogs”:
5 green and speckled frogs sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious flies, yum, yum!
1 jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool
Now there are just 4 green, speckled frogs.
(continue singing until there are 0 green, speckled frogs)
Teach children about the life cycle of a frog (how it changes from a tadpole
to a frog). There are a number of books on this subject suitable for children
(see Suggested Books on page 86). Have the children make their own Tadpole
to Frog book by cutting out the pictures on page 94 and putting them in
order. Staple them together to form a book.
F is for fish
Make a letter recognition fishing game by copying the fish pattern on
page 96. Label some with an upper case F, some with a lower case f, and
some with other letters of the alphabet. Attach a large paper clip to
each fish. Use sticks for fishing poles. Attach a piece of yarn to the
stick and put a magnet or magnetic tape on the end for bait. Each child
tries to catch a fish by dangling the magnet near the paper clip and “hooking”
a fish. When a child catches a fish he/she must tell you the letter on
the fish. Older children can also tell you the letter’s sound and/or
something that begins with that letter.
You can also make a counting and number recognition game by copying the
fishbowl pattern on page 96. Write a number on each fishbowl. Give children
a fishbowl along with some Goldfish crackers and have them put the appropriate
number of fish in their fishbowl. If they are correct they can eat the
Goldfish as a reward.
Have Goldfish crackers or Swedish licorice fish for snack. You can make
a fishbowl snack by filling a glass bowl with blue gelatin and putting
it in the refrigerator for about a half-hour or until it starts to mold.
Push some Swedish licorice fish into the gelatin and put it back in the
refrigerator to set.
F is for feet/footprints
Talk about different kinds of feet. Ask the children if your feet are
the same as their feet. Ask the children if our feet are the same as an
animal’s feet. Read the book Whose Feet? by Jeannette Rowe.
It is a flap book that shows only an animal’s feet and the children
have to guess the animal. Another good book is Let’s Look at
Feet by Simona Sideri. It compares our feet with animal feet.
Discuss the difference between running feet and walking feet and the appropriate
times to use both of them.
Make crafts using the children’s feet. You can make flowers, snowmen,
and butterflies using their feet as a pattern.
Follow the Footprints
Play a game of Follow the Footprints. To prepare, cut out a number of
footprints (trace both your feet for patterns). Label some with an upper
case F, some with a lower case f, and some with other letters of the alphabet.
Put Freddie Frog in a location out of the children’s view. It can
be somewhere in your room or in another part of the building. Put some
rewards beside him (stickers, candy, stamps, etc.) Lay the footprints
on the floor in a path so it looks like someone was walking. Using only
the Ff footprints make a path from the starting point to Freddie frog.
This will be the main path that the children are supposed to follow. Using
the footprints with other letters of the alphabet make alternate paths
that veer off of the main one (like a Y in the road). Explain to the children
that Freddie Frog is missing and they must find him. Ask if they see any
clues. Tell them they must follow only the F footprints to find Freddie.
Have the children follow the footprints to Freddie (as they are doing
so you can tell them to use fast feet, slow feet, tiptoe feet, loud feet,
soft feet, etc.). When they find Freddie have him give each child a reward.
For older students glue picture cards on the footprints and have the children
follow the footprints that have pictures beginning with F.
F is for flower
Discuss the parts of a flower with the children (roots, stem, leaves,
flower). Bring in a real flower and see if they can tell you the parts
as you point to them.
Make a flower puzzle by drawing a simple picture of a flower (with roots),
labeling its parts, and cutting it apart (the roots are one piece, the
stem another, the leaves another, and the flower another). Have children
take turns putting it together.
Plant some flowers with the children. Make flower art projects. Let the
children paint a coffee filter, glue it to a piece of paper, and draw
a stem and some leaves. You can also use cupcake papers for the flowers
but do not let the children paint them. Instead decorate them with crayons,
markers, glitter, etc. and glue the child’s picture in the center.
F is for flag
Take this opportunity to teach the children about the American flag. Explain
the colors used, that there are 50 stars (one for each state) and 13 stripes
(these represent the original 13 colonies), that Betsy Ross sewed the
first American flag (it only had 13 stars), when displaying or hanging
the flag the stars always go in the upper left hand corner, etc. Have
the children color their own American flags or use children’s handprints
to make one big class flag. Teach them the Pledge of Allegiance.
F is for fossils
Discuss fossils with the children and show them pictures of several different
kinds. There are several good books on this subject listed under Suggested
Books on page 86. Make simple fossils with the children using clay and
plastic dinosaurs. Give the children a handful of clay and have them press
it flat like a pancake. Allow each child to choose a plastic dinosaur
and make an impression of its footprint in the clay. The child may also
make an impression of the side of the dinosaur’s body or the side
of its head. Allow the clay to harden overnight.
F is for friend/fireman
Discuss what it takes to be a good friend. Read some books about friendship.
Some favorites are: Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, Swimmy
by Leo Lionni, It’s Mine by Leo Lionni, and a series of Pooh
Just Be Nice (…to Your Little Friends, …and
Let Everyone Play, …and Not too Rough) books by Golden
Books. Role play what to do in various situations (when someone is mean
to you, when a friend doesn’t want to do the same thing you do,
when someone won’t share, etc.).
Take this opportunity to explain that a fireman is a friend and not someone
to be afraid of. Show a picture of what a fireman looks like when dressed
in all his/her equipment. Tell the children that even though they may
look a little scary with their mask on don’t ever hide from a fireman,
they are there to help you. Visit your local fire department or have a
local fireman visit the class.
F is for fruit
Cut up a variety of fruit and serve it for snack. Make a graph of the
children’s favorites.
Games
Leapfrog – Have children get in a line. Have them get down on their
knees and tuck their heads down. The last child in the line leaps over
all the children. When they reach the front of the line they duck down
and the last person in line leaps next. Continue until everyone has had
a turn to leap.
What Time is it Mr. Fox? – One child is the fox and stands at one
end of the playing field with his back to the class. The rest of the class
stands at the other end of the playing field in a horizontal line. Have
the class ask the fox, “What time is it Mr. Fox?” The fox
can reply with a time (10 o’clock) or he can say “midnight”.
If he replies with a time, for example 10 o’clock, the children
take that many steps towards him (10) and repeat the question again. If
he replies “midnight” the fox must turn around and chase the
rest of the class. The first person he touches becomes the new fox.
Freeze Tag – One person is “it” and chases the rest
of the class. When he touches someone they must “freeze” in
that spot and remain there until someone from the class touches them and
“unfreezes” them.
Frisbee – Teach the children how to throw and catch a frisbee.
Go Fish – Teach the children how to play the popular card game,
Go Fish.
Student Worksheets
There are several worksheets to choose from, all with different ability
levels. Choose the appropriate worksheets for your students.
Worksheet #1 (page 88) – Have the children glue feathers
or Goldfish crackers on their Fs, let them dip their finger in paint and
put fingerprints on their Fs, or have them draw faces or flowers on their
Fs.
Worksheet #2 (page 89) – Review upper and lower case Ff.
Show the students the correct way to form upper and lower case F. Have
them trace the Fs with their fingers using the correct format. Then have
them do rainbow tracings of the letters. Using different colored crayons
see how many times they can trace the Fs. Color the pictures.
Worksheet #3 (page 90) – Show the students the correct way
to write upper and lower case F. Have them trace the letters with a pencil
and try to write their own on the line provided. Color the pictures.
Worksheet #4 (page 91) – Show the students the correct way
to write upper and lower case F using 3 lines. Have the students trace
the letters with a pencil and try to write their own using the 3 lines.
Color the pictures.
Worksheet #5 (page 92) – Have the students circle, trace,
or color the upper and lower case Fs. If you are studying a particular
color have them use a crayon of that color. If you are studying shapes
have them put a circle, square, triangle, etc. around the upper and lower
case Fs.
Worksheet #6 (page 93) – Review the letter F sound. Name
the pictures on the bottom of the page (flag, snake, flower, fish, truck,
frog). Have the students cut apart the pictures and only glue the pictures
that begin with F onto the feet.
Reminder: You may also use the following activities in this letter unit.
Code Word (see page 2)
Necklace, Badge, or Magnet Reward (see page 2)
Letter Sound Game and Song (see page 3)
Alliteration Stories (see page 3)
We’re Going On a Letter Hunt (see page 4)
Suggested Books
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
This Is My Friend by Mercer Mayer
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Fish Is Fish by Leo Lionni
It’s Mine by Leo Lionni
How Many Fish? by Caron Lee Cohen
A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer and P.D. Eastman
Five Silly Fisherman by Roberta Edwards
The Fish Book by Christopher Angelfish
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
Any of the Froggy books by Jonathan London
Once There Was a Bull… (Frog) by Rick Walton
Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan
Where Do Frogs Come From? by Alex Vern
From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer
From Tadpole to Frog by Jan Kottke
From Tadpole to Frog by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Tale of a Tadpole by Karen Wallace
Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellog
King of the Pond by Carl Sommer
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Theo LeSieg
Whose Feet? by Jeannette Rowe
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Let’s Look at Feet by Simona Sideri
Busy Feet by Elizabeth Elaine Watson
How Many Feet in the Bed? by Diane Johnston Hamm
My Feet by Aliki
Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane de Groat
Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki
Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki
Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
DK Pockets: Fossils by DK Publishing and Douglas Palmer
The Pooh Just Be Nice series by Golden Books
Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
No Matter What by Debi Gliori
Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
To view or print the accompanying patterns, picture cards, worksheets,
and puppet for this letter unit please click here:
This is just a sample of what this preschool and kindergarten alphabet
curriculum, Now I Know My ABCs and a Whole Lot
More!, has to offer. Each letter unit has its own unique and creative
ideas and activities. For complete details and ordering information please
click here.
Thank you for your time and attention!
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