This post will give you a comprehensive list of crafts, book ideas, sensory play, worksheets and movement ideas to help teach your children or students the letter E. Theseletter E crafts and activitiesare a great way to introduce and reinforce the formation and sounds of the letter E.
E is one of the vowels of the alphabet, which have both a long and short sound, whereas consonants usually have only one sound. Short/ĕ/ is pronounced eh and long/ē/ is pronounced ee like bee. You'll also notice in the crafts in this post are some words starting with e that have the /er/, /ur/ and /I/ sounds thanks to digraphs and trigraphs.
LETTER OF THE WEEK CRAFTS: LETTER E
Below is an extensive list of 14 letter E shaped crafts that include animals, food, body parts and objects that start with the letter E, including uppercase and lowercase letter e options.
These crafts will help children with letter recognition, letter formation, building fine motor skills and learning the various letter e sounds. It's important that students have a strong grasp of the letters of the alphabet including letter formation and phonics so they can recognise the letters, understand the sounds they make, and then use this foundational knowledge to learn to read.
E is for Elephant craft
The first animal I think of for the letter E is always an elephant, it seems to be one of the most popular ways to teach the short E sound... /ĕ/, /ĕ/ elephant. It's also easy to turn a letter E into an elephant by adding an ear, trunk and eye like Steamsational did to create their pink elephant.
E is for Elephant
If you prefer a more realistic looking elephant you can get thisgrey letter E elephant printable which includes tusks, toenails and a tail.
E is for Elmer craft
Most children will be familiar with Elmer the elephant, one of the most popular literary elephant characters thanks to the 49 different picture books that feature him. Elmer represents the short/ĕ/ sound in both his name and by being an elephant. Recreate his bright patchwork colours in the shape of a capital letter E with ourElmer letter craftand free template.
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e is for electric eel craft
A curled up electric eel is the perfect way to visually represent the shape of a lowercase letter e. You can add some extra lightening bolts to show the electric volts emitting from the eel. Both the words electric and eel have the long/ē/ sound.
E is for Eagle craft
An eagle is a great way to represent a capital letter E and the longēsound. Use this free template to create a hatching letter E eagle. It also incorporates children's handprints and can include real crushed eggs your children don't have an egg allergy.
E is for Elmo craft
Elmo is famous on Sesame Street, not only as a fun and infectious character, but he also regularly hosts the letter of the day section which helps teach children about different letters. He was the perfect choice to turn into an actual letter E.
Make a fun Elmo letter E using our free printable template and some red tissue paper or pom poms. This craft helps with letter formation, letter sound {short/ĕ/} and developing fine motor skills.
E is for Ernie craft
Of course once we made Elmo we thought about other Sesame street characters and decided to make Ernie into a letter E as well. I've also got a free printable letter E for Ernie template you can use to create this craft along with some orange paper for his fur.
In terms of letter e phonetic sounds, technically Ernie doesn't represent one of them as Ernie is pronounced with the /er/ digraph, so make sure to use this craft to teach the letter only and don't link it to the letter sound so children aren't confused.
e is for egg craft
The most recognisable food starting with the letter e is definitely the humble egg. This letter e egg craft is a great way to not only represent the lowercase letter e, but it also incorporates egg shells, egg white and egg yolk, reinforcing the short/ĕ/sound in multiple ways.
E is for Easter egg painting
It doesn't have to be Easter time to crack out the Easter eggs! Combine craft and sensory fun by using plastic eggs to stamp paint onto a letter E. We always keep a stash of plastic Easter eggs year round as they can be used for so many educational activities.
E is for Egg carton craft
A fun, tactile way to make a 3D letter E is to use empty egg cartons. The egg cartons represent the short /ĕ/sound and can also be easily cut and glued into a capital E shape. Once they're dry children could also put empty plastic Easter eggs in and out of the egg carton slots to further reinforce the letter e. Follow our instructions to create an egg carton letter E.
E is for Ear craft
We also have body parts that start with e like ear. Use the printable from Teach Beside Me to create a capital letter E with ears that stick out just like they do from the side of our heads. Although the word ear sounds like it has the long/ē/sound in it, it's actually the trigraph ear making the sound of the entire word.
E is for Eyes craft
Another body part that starts with the letter e is our eyeballs. Eye is a trigraph that actually makes the long I sound /I/ so it can be a little advanced when teaching phonics to younger children, however it's still a great word to represent E.
We made our E is for eyes craft using foam eyeball stickers so there'd be lots of fun variations in the eyes added. You could also use cartoon eye stickers or googly eyes.
e is for earth craft
Earth also starts with the letter e and it's easy to turn into a lowercase letter e like abcs to acts did below. You'll need blue and green paper for the land and water sections. In the word earth the trigraph ear actually makes the /ur/ sound.
E is for Envelope craft
Make a capital letter E from 4 letter sized envelopes. If you stick them down with the flaps facing up children can also post paper items into the envelopes once they're dry. No Time For Flashcards added pieces of paper with uppercase and lowercase e's on them to their envelope letter E.
MORE E THEMED CRAFTS FOR LETTER E WEEK
If you want to do more crafts during letter E week, that aren't shaped like the actual letter, try some of these below:
- Earth paper plate
- Egg cutting puzzles
- Emoji paper plates
- Eagle handprint craft
- Elephant handprint
- Emu finger puppets
- Elf paper cup ornaments
- Letter E sticky wall
LETTER E ACTIVITIES
It's important that the activities used to teach the letter of the week are diverse and captivating, addressing the needs of all children, whether they learn best with visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic tasks. By incorporating a range of activities from the options provided below, alongside some of the crafts mentioned earlier, you can ensure continuous reinforcement of the letter E in tangible, visual, and interactive ways.
Engaging in sensory activities such as tactile crafts or sensory bins is particularly beneficial for learners who thrive on touch, as they establish neural connections through hands-on experiences. Movement-based tasks are ideal for activating kinaesthetic learners, by teaching the letter E through physical engagement. Furthermore, integrating books enriches linguistic skills and auditory processing, as children listen to stories that help them learn how the letter E can be used in speech and real life situations.
Letter E tracing - children can practice forming the letter E in both uppercase and lowercase by using these free letter E tracing worksheets, letter tracing books, wooden tracing boards or dry erase boards.
Object recognition- use physical objects or pictures of items that start with the letter E to reinforce the sound and make connections between the letter and items that start with that sound. E.g egg, Easter egg, elephant, emu, echidna, eraser, envelope, Elmo, Ernie or Eeyore.
Letter search- use letter search pages for children to practice recognising and distinguishing the letter E/e from other letters.
Letter E sensory play-create sensory bins with sensory bases or figurines that start with the letter E. This could include letter E magnets,number eight, plastic Easter eggs, echidna, emu, elephant or eagle animal figurines, eyeballs {balls or googly eyes} or eucalyptus leaves.
- Emotions playdough mats
- Easter sensory bin
Letter E movement activities:
- Outdoor letter E scavenger hunt:hunt outside for objects or hidden items and flashcards that start with letter E.
- Letter E bean bag toss:throw bean bags at a target and try to only hit the letter E.
- Letter E basketball:throw a basketball into the hoop, every time it goes in say a word that starts with E.
- Letter jumping:draw letters on the ground with chalk and get children to jump on the letter E/e's.
- Letter E animal sounds & movements:slither and swim like an eel, crawl like an echidna, peck your beak like an emu, stomp like an elephant, raise your trunk and trumpet like an elephant, flap your wings and fly like an eagle, wiggle like an earthworm.
Read Letter E books- during the week read picture books that emphasise the letter E. Some ideas include:
Letter E themed snacks- have some elderberries, boiled eggs, edam cheese or English muffins as a special snack during letter E week. Ensure there are no food allergies to these foods before serving.
MORE LETTER CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES
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