Find and Trace the Alphabet

These cute Find and Trace the Alphabet printables help young children improve letter recognition and letter formation. They include both alphabet tracing for upper and lowercase letters. Download the pdf file with the super cute free traceable letters template and print in color or black and white version. This is such a fun I spy alphabet letters activity for toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and first grade students.

Trace the Alphabet

These free printable alphabet worksheets are super cute and loads of fun as they include a hidden picture and i spy printable element. Toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and grade 1 students will look through the pictures and find all their alphabet letters A-Z. Once they find the hidden letter, they will trace the alphabet.  We’ve include full color pages and black and white free alphabet worksheets too. Either free traceable letters template you choose – kids will love practicing alphabet recognition and letter tracing!

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – this no prep alphabet activity helps with letter formation and alphabet recognition too! Use the lower case letter picnic with ants  or the upper case scuba diver scene for extra practice, summer learning, supplemental activity, or literacy center in your classroom.

Free traceable letters

Start by scrolling to the bottom of the post, under the terms of use, and click on the text link that says >> Download <<. The pdf file will open in a new window for you to save the freebie and print the template.

Find Alphabet

Print the uppercase or lower case letter pages in color or black and white.  If you sue the blackline version I suggest letting students color the picture first with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. If you are using the beautiful full color pages I suggest laminating the pages and using with a dry erase marker to use the activity over and over and over again!

Look at the page together and focus on the different letters. What letters does your child recognize? Can they search through the page to find specific letters? Can they trace the letter shapes with their finger?

What about the alphabet strips at the bottom of the page? Can they sing the alphabet song to point to each letter in turn? Can they recite the order of the alphabet easily or are they just beginning to learn that skill?

Trace the alphabet

Younger children can simply trace each letter by tackling them in any order. If they know each letter, or can be reminded by another child or adult, it’s best for them to say the letter (for example, ‘jay’) or the letter sound (for example, ‘j’) while they’re tracing it.

If they have the stamina, they should then find that letter on the alphabet strip at the bottom and cross it off.

For children with greater confidence with letter recognition ask them to find and trace the letters in alphabetical order. In other words, start with A and work through to Z. Or ask them to find specific letters in random order. Or ask them to find the letters in their own name and start with those.

Trace Alphabet

Neat or scrappy: How precise do you want the tracing to be? For some children, writing very neatly takes a lot of energy and concentration so you may need to either ask them to just trace a few letters at a time before taking a break, or else tell them it’s OK to not stay on the lines. There’s no reason this activity needs to be completed in one sitting so spread it out to suit your child’s abilities and motivation.

Upper or lower case: Children may be better at one than the other. Some teachers like to focus on lower case while others prefer to start children writing with upper case. Upper case letters are generally easier for children to form, but lower case letters are mostly what children see when learning to read. Either way, be aware that your child may prefer one over the other.

In order or random: It’s more challenging for children to work through the tracing in alphabetical order.

Checking off or not: Finding and marking off the letters at the bottom of the page gives them extra practice in letter recognition and alphabetical order, but for some children this might make the activity feel too difficult. In general, activities should be a bit of a challenge, but not so much that they’re disheartening.