Letter A Book List

When teaching the letter A, you want to teach the short letter A sound.  I make sure that the children know the short letter A sound EXTREMELY WELL before moving on to any other vowel sound.  If the children know the letter A sound well…, it is easy to teach that the short letter a sound controls the word.  For instance, cat can become cot or cut.  I usually teach the short letter A early in the school year (week 7) and then introduce the next vowel until week 12.    Here are the books I would use to teach the short letter A sound:

Ten Apples Up On Top!

The antics of a dog, a tiger, and a lion, as they attempt to balance apples on their heads.  Can you balance 10 apples up on top? Try having the students balance 10 bean bags up on top! They love this activity!  10 Apples up on Top activities (included in downloads)

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree

This book about nature and the changing seasons focuses on a young boy and a very special apple tree. In Gail Gibbons’s bright illustrations, Arnold collects apple blossoms in spring, builds a tree house in summer, makes apple pie and cider in the fall, and hangs strings of popcorn and berries for the birds in winter, among other seasonal activities. Includes a recipe for apple pie and a description of how an apple cider press works. Classify and organize the seasons..then compare and contrast them with last week’s TREE book. Compare and contrast the TREE book with The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree

Apples, Apples, Apples

– It’s a blue sky autumn day and Minna, Pop, Mom, and Dad have decided to go on an outing to Long Hill Orchard. As the bunnies fill their baskets, Farmer Miller teaches them all about apples. This charming story is filled with fun facts, activities, and an applesauce recipe. Taste test different apples –yellow, green red –and make a chart of how many people like each type of apple
Go Apple picking! Play the Alligator Short A game (includePlay the Alligator Short A game (included)

There’s an Alligator under My Bed

The nightmare’s gone, but what about that alligator? You have to be so careful getting in and out of bed! Maybe a midnight snack to lure him into the garage will do the trick. In this funny and beloved follow-up, Mercer Mayer faces another nighttime fear head-on. Play the Alligator Short A game (included)

Alligator Shoes (Picture Puffin Books)

An alligator with an interest in footwear spends the night locked in a shoe store trying on the merchandise.

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t!

Note to self: If your teacher tells you to bring something from nature for show-and-tell, she does notwant you to bring an alligator! But nothing will stop Magnolia, who’s determined to have the best show-and-tell of all–until her reptilian rapscallion starts getting her into some major trouble. Now it’s up to Magnolia to find a way to send this troublemaker home–but what could possibly scare an alligator away?

Madreen Karle and Meeghan Karle Mousaw

Madreen Karle is a master first grade reading teacher with over 30 years of classroom experience. She taught reading in a special needs and English as a Second Language classroom. After retiring she wrote a reading program to help others learn how to teach reading. She is a trusted educator and author of 5 books to help teach children to read and write. In addition to her books, she is a mentor for 3 websites that give reading teacher tips (Mrs. Karle's Sight and Sound Reading, Mrs. Karle's Reading Patch, and Mrs. Karle's Handwriting Patch). Through her teaching she learned that confidence was the key to learning to read. A child who is not confident at reading does not like to read and struggles to read. Mrs. Karle created "sunshine moments" to help teach children how to grow their confidence and learn to read.

Meeghan Karle Mousaw (Madreen’s daughter) has her Master’s in Special Education. She has 7 years experience teaching children to read online. In addition, she developed a curriculum to teach children handwriting called The Handwriting Patch. With the Handwriting Patch learning is fun because children learn to draw and learn handwriting at the same time. In 2019 The Handwriting Patch curriculum became an amazon best seller the first year it was released, helping thousands of kids learn handwriting with a unique, fun method. She is mom to 6 kids, each with differently learning abilities and struggles.

The Reading Patch was established by the creators of Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading. Together they have been featured on the NBC media outlets. Over the last 7 years in their online platform, Madreen and Meeghan have worked tirelessly with teachers, homeschoolers and parents looking to help children learn to read to become a trusted authority in teaching children to read and advocating early literacy skills. They often partner with other educational experts to deliver the most current information to the Reading Patch community.