The Letter K
Alphabet Games
The letter K is the eleventh letter in the alphabet, but it’s used relatively little. In fact, in a study of letter frequency based on 40,000 words, K was the fifth from the last in terms of frequency of use. Dolch sight words and nouns for preschool through grade three list only four words that begin with the letter K: “know”, “keep”, “kind”, and “kitty”. Thirteen other words on the Dolch lists include the letter K as an internal or an ending letter. The uppercase and lowercase forms of K are very similar looking, which can help children learn to recognize the letter quickly. Writing the letter can prove somewhat tricky, however. It will take practice on the part of preschool and Kindergarten students to master the diagonal lines in the letter K. Help them practice by using three-lined handwriting paper as a guide. As they’re achieving reading fluency with the letter K, students will need to master some consonant combinations. The letter C is often found with K. Students can practice this combination with words like “truck” and “chicken”. The letter K is also found with the letter N as in “knock”, “know”, “knight”, and knee”. In KN words, the K becomes a silent letter. The KN combination can make a great language arts lesson introducing the concept of silent letters.
