Free printable letter A worksheets for preschool and kindergarten: trace uppercase A and lowercase a, find the letter, follow the letter maze and color A words.
Preschool and kindergartenCommon Core RF.K.1.D, RF.K.3.A2 free PDFs with answer keys
Change the numbers, layout and number of problems, then download a new PDF with its answer key.
A is the first letter of the alphabet and one of the five vowels, so it shows up in almost every early reading word. These free letter A worksheets start with big tracing letters, then ask children to spot A among look-alike letters, follow an A path through a maze and color pictures for the classic line “A is for apple”.
Quick answer: Letter A worksheets teach children to trace, find and say the letter A. This free set has 4 printable PDFs for preschool and kindergarten: trace A and a, find the letter A, a letter A maze and “A is for apple” coloring. Updated October 2026.
Free letter A worksheets to print (PDF)
Each of these letter A worksheets is a one-page PDF; the find and maze pages add an answer key. Press Customize to change the colors or paper size in the maker on this page.
Trace A and aArrows first, then on their own.PDFCustomizeFind the letter ACircle and count, with key.PDFCustomizeLetter A mazeColor the A path, with key.PDFCustomizeA is for appleColor, trace and draw.PDFCustomize
The letter A sound
Short a is the sound in apple, ant, cat and hat, and it is usually the first vowel children learn to blend. Long a says the letter’s name, as in acorn, apron and cake, where a silent e at the end makes the a long. Teach the short sound first: hold the jaw open and say /a/ like a surprised “ah” cut short, then blend it into simple words such as a-t, at.
A is for apple: letter A words for kids
Words that start with A: apple, ant, alligator, airplane, acorn, apron, arrow, astronaut, ankle, ax.
Short a in the middle: cat, hat, bag, map, van, jam.
The color page uses apple, ant, alligator and airplane, so children trace each word and color the matching letter.
Letter A at a glance
Place in the alphabet
1st of 26, before B
Type
Vowel
Uppercase shape
Straight lines only
Often confused with
d, o and e (lowercase a)
Scrabble tile value
1 point
Grouping letters by shape helps handwriting: letters made of straight lines, like A, are usually easier to start with than curved ones.
How to write A and a
Uppercase A: Two slanted lines from the top point, down to the left and down to the right, then a line across the middle.
Lowercase a: Curve around like a c, go up to close the circle, then straight down.
Lowercase a is formed as “magic c”: start a c shape, close it, then pull straight down. Children who draw a circle first and add a stick often end up with a d-like shape, so watch the starting point. If your child writes the printed two-story a from books, gently show that both forms are the same letter.
Letter A tracing and the rest of the pack
Trace: letter A tracing with arrows to follow, then uppercase A and lowercase a on their own.
Find the letter: circle every A and a hidden among similar-looking letters, then count them.
Letter maze: color the A squares to make a path from start to finish.
Color: color the big Aa, trace the A words and draw something that starts with A.
Letter A activities for preschool
Short, hands-on games make the letter A worksheets stick. Try one a day alongside the printed pages:
Apple tasting: try red, green and yellow apple slices and make a tally chart of favorites, saying /a/ each time you write an A.
Ant trail: press thumbprint ants along a giant A drawn on paper, following the stroke order from the top point down.
Alligator snap: make an alligator mouth with your arms and snap only when you hear a word that starts with the /a/ sound.
A hunt: look for A and a on cereal boxes, signs and book covers, and circle them with a crayon on a copy of the find-the-letter page.
A letter A week plan
Monday: say the /a/ sound together, trace A and a on the first page, then try the Apple tasting idea above.
Tuesday: work through the find-the-letter page, count how many you circled, and move on to Ant trail.
Wednesday: solve the letter A maze, then play Alligator snap.
Thursday: color “A is for apple”, read apple, ant, alligator and airplane aloud and finish with A hunt.
Friday: write A and a from memory, look for A in a favorite picture book and reprint any page that felt tricky.
Letter A worksheets kindergarten teachers can use
The letter A worksheets teachers use most often go beyond naming the letter: children blend short a words such as cat, sat, map and van. Once your child can trace and find A, read the color page words aloud together, then build three-letter words with letter cards. The letter A worksheets here cover the first two steps, and the short a word families on our word family pages cover the next one.
Names: if someone in the family has a name that starts with A, the name tracing worksheets turn it into a tracing page.
Whole alphabet: the alphabet worksheets hub has all 26 letter packs plus ABC order and matching pages.
Letter A worksheets for preschool
These letter A worksheets for preschool are a short set: one tracing page, one find page, a maze and a coloring page. Choose Extra large letters for three and four year olds. Many families search for letter a worksheets preschool, a letter a preschool worksheet, preschool letter a worksheets or letter a preschool pages. All are in the PDF section above, free and with no account. For children who already know A, use the find the letter page as a quick letter A worksheet for the start of a week.
Trace letter A: tracing worksheet and printable letter A
To trace letter A, children follow the arrows from the top point down the left and right sides, then across the middle. The trace the letter A worksheet in the PDF section has uppercase A and lowercase a, and the letter a tracing worksheet ends with an empty row for writing alone. You may find it listed as a letter a trace, a letter a tracing sheet, trace the letter a, tracing letter a or a trace letter a worksheet; they are the same page. A printable letter a can also be the big Aa on the coloring page, which you can print and use as a poster.
Free printable letter A worksheets and practice pages
The free printable letter a worksheets here include letter a free printable pages, letter a practice worksheets and printable letter a worksheets for home or class. Open a card, choose US Letter or A4, and print or save the PDF. Each page has an answer key where needed, such as the find the letter page, and a printable letter a that goes straight into a letter of the week binder.
Short a words: how many sounds?
Once a child can say /a/, they can blend simple words. The table shows eight short a words with the sounds in each, which is a good warm-up before a word family page:
Short a word
Sounds
Number of sounds
cat
/k/ /a/ /t/
3
hat
/h/ /a/ /t/
3
map
/m/ /a/ /p/
3
van
/v/ /a/ /n/
3
jam
/j/ /a/ /m/
3
bag
/b/ /a/ /g/
3
sat
/s/ /a/ /t/
3
at
/a/ /t/
2
Letter A worksheets: frequently asked questions
What age are letter A worksheets for?
Preschool and kindergarten, usually ages 3 to 6. Kindergarten expects children to recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters (Common Core RF.K.1.D).
How many days should we spend on the letter A?
A letter-of-the-week plan uses one page a day: trace on Monday, find on Tuesday, the maze on Wednesday and coloring on Thursday, with Friday for review or a craft.
Is A always a vowel?
Yes. A is one of the five vowels (a, e, i, o, u). It has a short sound as in apple and a long sound as in acorn, and it also appears in words like car and ball where its sound changes.
Why is the lowercase a in books different from the one children write?
Many fonts print a two-story a, while school handwriting uses the simpler round a. Both are the same letter; point out each kind when reading so children recognize them.
Can I print a different letter or several at once?
Yes. The maker on this page can build packs for any letters, like S, A, T, P, I, N, or the whole alphabet.
Where can I download free letter A worksheets?
Open any card in the PDF section above, choose US Letter or A4, and print or save the PDF. All four letter A worksheets are free and need no account.
What is the best letter A worksheet for preschool?
Start with the trace A and a page in an extra large size, then try the find the letter page. The maze and coloring pages are good for children who like to move on from tracing.
