7 Creative ESL Activities You Can Do with Alphabet Cards

1
When you read you begin with ABC
One of the first things we do when we teach the alphabet is simply
point and teach, and then point and see if students
remember. Turn this letter recognition into a game. Place your
alphabet cards one next to the other to lay out a path. You may place
them in alphabetical or random order. Give each student or group a
game piece they can move along this path. They take turns rolling the
dice, they move their pieces, and they must say the letter they land on.
If they cant say it correctly they go back two spaces. The student or
team that crosses the finish line first wins!
2
Learning to Spell
For this game prepare a set of copies with three, four or five-letter
words. In the first column paste only the picture, like this:



Students take turns pulling letters out of a bag. If they get a letter they
can use, they add it to their grid. If they cant use it, they discard it. All
of the discarded letters are placed together for all to see. Before
students take a letter from the bag, they may choose to use one of the
discarded ones.
F A C E
S U N
H E A R T
The student that correctly completes his/her board first wins. This is a
highly versatile game, as you can print out sheets with any of the
vocabulary you wish to practice.
3
Learning to Spell Version 2
For this game, prepare a set of images, photos or flashcards for
words your students should be able to spell.

Each student gets a picture card. The student who gets this card has
the goal of spelling face. Students take turns pulling letters from a
bag. They take the letters they can use and put the ones they cant use
in a discard area. Students decide if they will pull a letter from the bag
or use one of the discarded ones. Once a student successfully spells
out the word, they take another flashcard. And so it goes till all of the
words have been spelled out. The student who has successfully
spelled the most words wins.
4
Word Scramble
This is a classic and very easy to play with a set of letters. A great
way to review vocabulary! Spell out a word using your letter tiles and
then scramble them. Students must unscramble them to correctly spell
the word. You can give your class one word at at time, or give each
student one word see who unscrambles theirs first!
5
Whats Missing?
Place your letter tiles in alphabetical order. Ask students to close
their eyes while you remove one. Move the letters closer together to
eliminate the obvious gap. Ask students to tell you which letter is
missing.
6
Scrabble, of Course!
Scrabble is a classic that you simply cant neglect in an ESL
class. If you dont have your own board game, heres a great Scrabble
board and letter tiles you can print out. Now heres a game you can
adapt to different levels!
7
Alphabet Race
Theres lots of fun racing you can do with alphabet cards. Divide
your class into two or three groups. Each group chooses a flashcard
with a word they must spell correctly as a team. Place the cards on
chairs at one end of the room and the letter cards at the other end. A
team member chooses a letter and races to the teams chair to place
the letter below the corresponding card. The next player chooses
another letter and so on till the entire word is spelled out correctly. If
they make a mistake they continue racing till the word is spelled
correctly. The first team that successfully completes the task wins.