Take a look at a few alphabet charts online. Now think about the children you know—do they have the experiences or language background needed to connect each letter with the picture shown? Often, they don’t.

Creating a truly “universal” alphabet chart isn’t possible. The children in our classrooms come from a wide range of backgrounds from which they bring bring personal and community  experiences, knowledge, and language use.

Consider the example above: if a child sees a picture of a what they see as a chicken labeled with the letter H , or what they refer to as a flower labeled with an R, or what they know as spaghetti with N, it’s only logical for them to assume those are the starting sounds of the words they already know. Asa result, the purpose of the chart, which is to provide a quick reference to initial sounds, is unmet.

For example, if a child sees a picture they know as a chicken labeled H, a flower labeled R, or spaghetti labeled N, it’s natural for them to assume those letters match the words they already know. When that happens, the chart doesn’t do what it’s meant to do—help children quickly connect letters with their starting sounds.

So, what can we do?

We can turn this challenge into an opportunity by Rethinking Alphabet Charts: Aa is for more than apple Here’s a simple way to start.

Create a shared space. Set aside a child-accessible wall area for 26 alphabet cards, large enough to see from anywhere in the room. Leave space under each letter for two or three images that reflect students’ experiences.

Listen to your students’s conversation. Jot down their interests. A letter connected to what children like to do is a solid anchor to a letter. 

Your don’t have to be an artist to create the image that matches the letter. A child’s drawing or a student created AI image will provide a meaningful link to between the letter and the word.

Engage the students in “Walk and Talks”. Explore your school and community together. Photograph or draw objects, places, plants, and people that connect to different letters. 

Use the alphabet chart to anchor letter learning, phonological awareness and phonics lessons. Build phonological awareness and phonics lessons around the alphabet chart’s images.  When children recognize themselves in the content, engagement deepens.

Let the chart grow. Add images over time and discuss how the sound of the first letter is (or isn’t) the same. 

Connect vocabulary across the curriculum. When appropriate, link the words from the alphabet chart to  science or health conversations, and inspire meaningful writing in language arts and math.

A note about tricky letters like X. Connecting X to an X-ray image may be unfamiliar—and it doesn’t reflect x’s /ks/ sound. Instead, highlight how X often works with other letters, as in exit or box. This opens the door to future learning about how letters work together.

NOTE: Remember that children have varied experiences. In addition to a classroom alphabet chart, engage students in creating a personal thesaurus (Lemoine) that builds on the cultural and linguistic history of each child and serve as scaffolds between Home Language and Standard English. 

By grounding the classroom alphabet chart in your students’ real-world language and experiences, you’re doing more than teaching letters and sounds—you’re honouring identity, encouraging curiosity, and making literacy meaningful from the start.

Please continue to visit us at: Beyond the Apple . . . Reframing Conversations in Education