Make a Spanish Alphabet Banner | Letter and Sounds Craft

An alphabet banner is a tool to learn and review the Spanish alphabet and sounds. Each letter of the alphabet hangs on a string across the wall or ceiling for the classroom decor.

It serves students who are:

• visual,
• auditory,
• kinesthetic and or
• read and write learners.

The letters are a reminder and reference for any classroom activity. It is helpful for spelling, making sound-letter connections, vocabulary, etc…

You may want to create the alphabet banner on your own or with your students.

The Most Overlooked First Step

I homeschooled and tutored for 10 years plus. I always want to include visuals for the students.

When I learned Spanish as an adult in college, the teacher covered the alphabet in the first lesson. We learned all the letter names. That was it. From there on out we learned the sounds from a simplified sound spelling. The pronunciation I learned was incorrect.

That teaching method missed the target on so many levels. That’s because the Spanish sound system is different from English. And using the American sound system caused so many pronunciation problems.

That’s how I came up with some ideas connecting the letters to sounds in Spanish. The alphabet banner is one of the tools I used to do that with my family. I designed it to match my interior, be easy to read, and remind my kids of the Spanish sounds they learned.

Download the Spanish Alphabet Banner Craft.

Spanish Classroom Decor

The Spanish Alphabet banner is a printable craft. You choose the paper colors and materials for hanging that complement your classroom decor. Get as creative as you want. Include your students in the craft too.

Spanish Alphabet Banner for the Classroom

The Spanish Alphabet Banner displays each letter of the alphabet. You can hang it across the wall or crisscross it on a door. Another option is to use each letter as a set of individual cards.

Letter and Sound Practice

The English and Spanish alphabets are the same, with one exception. The Spanish alphabet has one more letter, the ñ.

The biggest difference is in the sound systems which are quite different. Beginners do not know these differences yet. But they do know the things they share in common.

Practice the different sounds

Say dime

Did you say dime as in the coin or did you say it in Spanish dee-meh?

You could have used English or Spanish.

Which sound system did you use?

Beginners will default to their native language. This is why teaching Spanish sounds is so important. Learners need to be informed about the sound of each letter in Spanish. There is a big difference between the letter names and the letter sounds.

Spanish Alphabet Characters

I don’t want to dismiss the importance of the letter names at all. The letter names are important for spelling, alphabetizing, writing, looking up vocabulary in a dictionary, pronunciation and so much more. Every student needs to know some basic facts about the Spanish alphabet.

Spanish alphabet characters chart

The Spanish Alphabet Banner includes the 27 letters of the Spanish alphabet.

Spanish Alphabet Basic Facts

• The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, one more than the English alphabet.
• The letter ñ is unique to the Spanish alphabet
• Each letter has a name and at least one sound.

The Spanish Alphabet banner is a visual learning tool designed to help with letter and sound awareness. See Inside.

Make Your Spanish Alphabet Banner – Instructions

The Spanish Alphabet Banner and flashcards will equip you with an effective learning tool for every learning style. The printable consists of a card for each letter in the Spanish alphabet. The cards can be strung together and hung on the wall, or they can be used as flashcards.

Download the Spanish Alphabet Banner instructions.

Spanish Alphabet Craft Printable

There are two options to make:

Spanish Alphabet Banner / hang on the wall, ceiling or door for classroom decor

Spanish Alphabet Banner Flashcards / individual letter cards for hands-on practice

Both learning tools work for all learning styles.

Craft Supplies List

The craft requires some basic supplies.

Letter size paper

• White printer paper
• Colored paper – brights, pastels, flesh tones,
• Cardstock – spice, metallic, brights, kraft,

Printing Supplies

• printer – a good choice is hp all-in-one color
• laser toner cartridges
• inkjet cartridges

Craft materials

• scissors
• portable paper cutter
• hole puncher
• colorful yarn
• twine – choose your color

Lamination option for durability

• laminator
• laminating pouches

Spanish Alphabet Banner Instructions

The craft instructions tell you how to make the banner or flashcards step-by-step. I have included pictures to show the assembly process.

1 – download the file

Download and print the instructions.

2 – Gather Your Supplies

The supply list above has links to some of my favorite supplies for this craft.

Feel free to be as creative as you wish. There are limitless colors and materials to choose from. I vote for matching your decor. The more appealing to the learner the better.

Each letter has two parts:

Backing / rectangular paper behind the letter

Letter card / flag-shaped paper with the printed letter (white or light colors best)

Many color combinations and different decorative paper types are possible. It is best to choose white or a light color for the letter card. This ensures the letter is readable from a distance. The backing can be any color, pattern, or material you can imagine.

For flashcards, the heavier-weight paper will hold up best over time.

Only for banner, the letters are attached together by a string:

Banner string / connects the letters together

You can many different kinds of materials. Some options are string, wire, twine, ribbon, or whatever material goes best with your decor.

3 – print the letter pages

Follow the instructions carefully.

Stack the paper in order for the correct amount and color. Insert into the printer paper tray. Close and print.

4 – trim the letters

Now, cut the letter cards and backing sheets out.

For the banner:

Backing / cut along the lines

Letter cards / leave a margin of white space along the outside of the line

There should be about 1/4″ of margin around the letter cards, so you can see the backing.

For flashcards:

Cut them out the same as above.

Or, if you prefer cut the letter cards into rectangular shapes.

Then laminate them for durability.

Flashcards are done. Continue with the next steps for the banner option.

4- hole punch letter cards

Next, stack a letter card on top of a backing piece. Make sure everything is aligned and centered before punching the holes.

Use a hole puncher to make two holes on the top edge:

• Leave 1″ space above the holes to the top edge
• Leave 1″ space on sides to side edges

Alternate your backing colors according to your custom design.

4 – Lace the string through the holes

Finally, stack the sets of cards in alphabetical order. Weave the end of a long string through the holes. This connects all the pretty letter cards together.

Make sure they are properly placed on the string:

String / 10 feet or longer

Letter cards with backing / stacked in reverse alphabetical order from Z to A

Pull string / end goes through hold from back to front, front to back

Repeat this process until all cards are attached to the string.

Leave an extra length of string on both ends to tie onto the wall or door.

Letter and Sound Practice for All Learners

The alphabet is the basic unit of any language. The banner and flashcards are effective teaching tools for Spanish letters and sounds. They can be used in many ways in the classroom, homeschool, or at home with kids.

It’s important to understand the learning styles of the learner.

Here are some ideas to get you started with letters and sounds:

Auditory Learners / prefer listening

• sing the alphabet song and point to the letter
• chant the alphabet letter names to a rhythm
• repeat back the letter name
• repeat back the letter sound
• tell words and point to letters
• listen to the explanation about the letter and respond

Read-Write Learners / prefer using words

• recite the letters and write them on paper
• list vocabulary with the letter
• spell a word with letter flashcards
• play memory with flashcards (need two sets)
• label items with letter flashcards

Visual Learners / prefer using sight

• help choose the colors for the craft
• mix up flashcards and place them in alphabetical order
• write letters in different colors or designs
• stylize the letters and say the sounds

Kinesthetic Learners / prefer action and reality

• make the alphabet banner craft together
• clip words to the letter card
• include real pictures with letter
• say a letter and whoever is holding the card responds with action
• demonstrate the letter sounds
• team competition for the most or quickest letters or sounds

Example of a spanish alphabet activity

I’m a creative person. I like to add little playful surprises to keep things interesting.

As usual I introduced the silent h. The next day I placed letter cards on the small table. I laid out the word “hola”. Sure enough they read it ho-la as they walked by. It was a great opportunity to remind them about the silent h. Learning is all about repetition of the right things.

This was the beginning of a tradition. I kept the flashcards on the table. I spelled out words and so did each of them.

Download the printable craft.

Now it’s your turn! Please answer these questions in the comments: How do you use the banner? How do you use the flashcards?

Bien hecho ♥

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