Kick your letter lessons up a notch with these delightful cat-themed letter matching clip cards! This free printable resource allows children to practice identifying letters from A to Z and matching uppercase letters to lowercase letters. Plus, using the clips offers a fun way to develop hand strength and fine motor coordination.
How to Use the Cat Letter Matching Clip Cards
Setting up this activity is super simple. Just print the cards, cut them apart, and you’re ready to go. To speed things up, stack several pages together before cutting. Laminating is a nice touch if you want the cards to last longer, but it’s not at all necessary.
I personally like to keep things low-plastic and skip laminating altogether. Since the prep is quick and easy, you can always print another one of our seasonal themes when these get worn out.
Once cut, shuffle the cards and place them in a pile on the table. If you’re working with multiple students, try spreading cards around the table or creating a few piles so everyone can access them easily. Make sure each child has a handful of clips to use.
Have your learners start by naming the uppercase letter shown on the sign the cat is holding at the top of the card. Then, ask them to place their clip on the matching lowercase letter at the bottom of the card.
For an extra learning boost, encourage students to say the sound each letter makes. For vowels, it’s a great time to practice both short and long sounds!
Once kids understand how to use the cards, they make an excellent addition to centers or independent literacy time. You can even pair up students so they can help each other along.
Materials Needed
(There will be affiliate links throughout the remainder of this post for your convenience.)
- Clip cards printable (Get them towards the end of this post.)
- Clothespins (We’re partial to these colorful mini ones!)
- Laminator (totally optional)
- Cardstock (preferred)
- Scissors
Differentiation & Adaptation Ideas
These cards come with leveled answer choices for built-in flexibility. You can print them with either two or three letter choices across the bottom of the card. Start with two options for beginners and move up to three as their confidence grows.
If your learners have fine motor challenges that make pinching clips tricky, laminate the cards and swap the clips out for dot markers or bingo daubers. Try adding these easy-grip handles to the markers for even more support.
For students who use alternative communication methods, like eye gaze systems or AAC devices, we also offer plain alphabet cards. Simply add some hook-and-loop tabs to use them with felt boards and talking buttons.
Another Fun Way to Use These Alphabet Clip Cards
Looking to extend the fun? Try transforming your clip cards into a fun letter hunt!
To play, simply snip off the lowercase letters from the bottom of each card. Then, hide the uppercase cards around the room.
When you are ready for the hunt, give each student a lowercase letter card and allow them to search throughout the room to find the uppercase match.
More Alphabet Fun for Curious Learners
- Alphabet Activity 1
- Alphabet Activity 2
