Year 1 English: The alphabet, letter names and capital letters
Part of the Year 1 English letters, sounds and the alphabet chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
The alphabet, letter names and capital letters
The alphabet is the set of letters we use to write words. There are 26 letters. They always go in the same order, from a to z.
Each letter has a capital shape, which is big, and a small shape, which is little. Small letters are also called lower-case letters. Each letter also has a name, like “bee” for b.
Key ideas
- There are 26 letters in the alphabet, from a to z.
- Capital letters are big, like A. Small letters are little, like a.
- Each letter has a name, like “bee” for b.
- The letters always go in the same order.
Key words. After is the next letter. Before is the letter just before.
Method. Find d in the alphabet. The letter after it is the answer.
- Find d in the alphabet. The alphabet always goes in the same order.… c d e …
- Say the letter after it. Letters go forwards one at a time.d → e
- Write the answer. e
Check. Say the alphabet from a to e. The letter before e is d. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the letter you started with. Move one letter, not two.
Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.
- Look at the capital M. Capital letters are big.capital M
- Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.M goes with m
- Write the small letter. m
Check. Both letters are called em. ✓
Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.
Key words. Between means in the middle of two letters.
Method. The letter between g and i comes after g and before i.
- Find g and i in the alphabet. Put your finger on each letter.… g ? i …
- Say the letter after the first one. The letter in the middle is one after the first letter.g → h
- Write the answer. h
Check. h comes after g and before i. ✓
Watch out. The letter between is not one of the two letters you started with.
Watch out
Watch out: a capital letter and a small letter with the same name are partners. When you need the letter after or before, say the alphabet and count one letter at a time.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Point to each letter of a line of letters on a chart and say the alphabet together. Ask: “What comes after d?” Then match capital and small letters with a card game. Say the letter names, like “bee”, but remember that the sound is different.
Exercise 1A The alphabet and letter names
Key words. After is the next letter. Before is the letter just before.
Method. Find k in the alphabet. The letter after it is the answer.
- Find k in the alphabet. The alphabet always goes in the same order.… j k l …
- Say the letter after it. Letters go forwards one at a time.k → l
- Write the answer. l
Check. Say the alphabet from a to l. The letter before l is k. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the letter you started with. Move one letter, not two.
Key words. After is the next letter. Before is the letter just before.
Method. Find p in the alphabet. The letter before it is the answer.
- Find p in the alphabet. The alphabet always goes in the same order.… o p q …
- Say the letter before it. Letters go backwards one at a time.p → o
- Write the answer. o
Check. Say the alphabet from a to p. The letter before p is o. ✓
Watch out. Do not write the letter you started with. Move one letter, not two.
Method. Look at the letters on each side of the gap. The missing letter comes between them.
- Read the letters in order. The alphabet goes a, b, c and so on, one letter at a time.a b c __ e f __ h
- Find the letter for each gap. The missing letter is the one between its neighbours.Gap 4: between c and e is d
Gap 7: between f and h is g - Write the missing letters. d, g
Check. Read the whole line again: every letter comes after the one before it. ✓
Watch out. Say the alphabet in order to find the missing letter.
Key words. Every letter has a name, like ay for a. The name is how we say the letter, not the sound it makes.
Method. Look at the letter, then say its name. The name is not the sound the letter makes.
- Look at the letter a. Each letter has a name, like bee for b.The letter is a
- Say its name. Use the name from the alphabet chart.a = ay
- Write the name. ay
Check. Say the names in order from a to a. ✓
Watch out. The name of a letter is not the same as its sound. The name of a is ay, but a has a short sound too.
Key words. Every letter has a name, like ay for a. The name is how we say the letter, not the sound it makes.
Method. Look at the letter, then say its name. The name is not the sound the letter makes.
- Look at the letter c. Each letter has a name, like bee for b.The letter is c
- Say its name. Use the name from the alphabet chart.c = see
- Write the name. see
Check. Say the names in order from a to c. ✓
Watch out. The name of a letter is not the same as its sound. The name of a is ay, but a has a short sound too.
Key words. Every letter has a name, like ay for a. The name is how we say the letter, not the sound it makes.
Method. Look at the letter, then say its name. The name is not the sound the letter makes.
- Look at the letter m. Each letter has a name, like bee for b.The letter is m
- Say its name. Use the name from the alphabet chart.m = em
- Write the name. em
Check. Say the names in order from a to m. ✓
Watch out. The name of a letter is not the same as its sound. The name of a is ay, but a has a short sound too.
Key words. Every letter has a name, like ay for a. The name is how we say the letter, not the sound it makes.
Method. Look at the letter, then say its name. The name is not the sound the letter makes.
- Look at the letter s. Each letter has a name, like bee for b.The letter is s
- Say its name. Use the name from the alphabet chart.s = ess
- Write the name. ess
Check. Say the names in order from a to s. ✓
Watch out. The name of a letter is not the same as its sound. The name of a is ay, but a has a short sound too.
Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.
- Look at the capital A. Capital letters are big.capital A
- Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.A goes with a
- Write the small letter. a
Check. Both letters are called ay. ✓
Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.
Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.
- Look at the capital M. Capital letters are big.capital M
- Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.M goes with m
- Write the small letter. m
Check. Both letters are called em. ✓
Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.
Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.
- Look at the capital T. Capital letters are big.capital T
- Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.T goes with t
- Write the small letter. t
Check. Both letters are called tee. ✓
Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.
Method. Find the small letter that goes with the capital letter.
- Look at the capital G. Capital letters are big.capital G
- Find its small partner. The small letter has the same name.G goes with g
- Write the small letter. g
Check. Both letters are called jee. ✓
Watch out. Make sure the small letter is small, not a capital.
Key words. A capital letter is a big letter, like A. A lower-case letter is a small letter, like a.
Method. Capital letters are the big shapes. Each small letter has a big partner.
- Look at the small letter e. It is a lower-case letter.lower-case e
- Find its big partner. The capital letter has the same name, but it is bigger.e goes with E
- Write the capital letter. E
Check. Say both names: ee for E and e. They match. ✓
Watch out. Make the capital letter tall. A capital is not always just a bigger letter, so check the shape.
Key words. A capital letter is a big letter, like A. A lower-case letter is a small letter, like a.
Method. Capital letters are the big shapes. Each small letter has a big partner.
- Look at the small letter r. It is a lower-case letter.lower-case r
- Find its big partner. The capital letter has the same name, but it is bigger.r goes with R
- Write the capital letter. R
Check. Say both names: ar for R and r. They match. ✓
Watch out. Make the capital letter tall. A capital is not always just a bigger letter, so check the shape.
Key words. A capital letter is a big letter, like A. A lower-case letter is a small letter, like a.
Method. Capital letters are the big shapes. Each small letter has a big partner.
- Look at the small letter w. It is a lower-case letter.lower-case w
- Find its big partner. The capital letter has the same name, but it is bigger.w goes with W
- Write the capital letter. W
Check. Say both names: double-you for W and w. They match. ✓
Watch out. Make the capital letter tall. A capital is not always just a bigger letter, so check the shape.
Key words. Between means in the middle of two letters.
Method. The letter between p and r comes after p and before r.
- Find p and r in the alphabet. Put your finger on each letter.… p ? r …
- Say the letter after the first one. The letter in the middle is one after the first letter.p → q
- Write the answer. q
Check. q comes after p and before r. ✓
Watch out. The letter between is not one of the two letters you started with.
Method. The last letter of the alphabet is the one that comes at the very end.
- Say the alphabet to the end. Keep going until there is no more.a, b, c … x, y, z
- Find the last letter. The letter at the end is the last one.z is the 26th letter
- Write the answer. z
Check. Count the letters: a to m is 13 letters, and n to z is 13 more. That makes 26. ✓
Watch out. The last letter is z, not y.
Method. Put the letters in the order of the alphabet, from a to z.
- Say the alphabet in your head. The alphabet is always in the same order.a, b, c, d, e …
- Find each letter in order. Put the letter that comes first in the alphabet at the front.q, c, m, a → a, c, m, q
- Write the letters in order. a, c, m, q
Check. There are 4 letters in the question and 4 in the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check each letter is in the right place. Look at the first letter of each pair.
Method. Look at the shape of each letter. Find the one that is different from the others.
- Look at each letter. Some letters are small and one is big.a, b, C, d
- Find the odd one out. The others are small letters. This one is a capital letter.C is big, the rest are small
- Write the answer. C
Check. Take the big letter away. The others are all small, so they match. ✓
Watch out. Look at the size of the letter, not the sound it makes.
Method. Count how many letters there are from a to z.
- Count the letters from a to m. Count one letter at a time.a to m = 13 letters
- Count the letters from n to z. These letters come after m.n to z = 13 letters
- Add the two numbers. Add the first part and the second part.13 + 13 = 26
- Write the answer. 26
Check. The alphabet has 26 letters, from a to z. ✓
Watch out. The alphabet has more than 20 letters. Count them all.