Home » Education & Career » Themed Lesson Plans » Alphabets - Part 2

Alphabets - Part 2

© Regenia G. Butcher

Welcome back.

In "Part 1" we learned that letters can be used as initials instead of writing complete words. You can also use initials instead of writing your full name. For example:

• If your name is Susan Jones, your initials are S.J..
• If your name is James Andrew Smith, your initials are J. A. S..
• What are your initials?

MONOGRAMS Plastic or metal initial shapes are often used in making jewelry and key chains. Monograms (mah-no-grams) are initials that are used as a "stamp" on an item such as a towel, robe or baseball cap. They can be sewn or printed onto the item. Here are a few that show how letters that are used as a person's initials can become a monogram.

Some initials are used as part of a business "logo". They can also make it easier for customers to remember the product. A few examples are:

• "BMW" is "Bavarian Motor Works"
• "KFC" is "Kentucky Fried Chicken"
• "BBC" is "British Broadcasting Company"
• "HP" is "Hewlett Packard"
• "RPG" is "role playing game"

HANDWRITING

In "Part 1" we also learned that the English language alphabet has 26 letters. These letters are meant to be printed and cursive-written in somewhat the same way. However, if you look at handwriting samples from a lot of people, you'll see that not all of them are written exactly the same. Some people cross their t's high, some cross them lower. Some people use PRINTED capitals in their CURSIVE writing. And some handwriting you can't read at all because it's not easy to decide what many of the letters are supposed to be.

Graphology (graff-ol-o-gee) is the study of handwriting. A graphologist (graff-ol-o-jist) is someone who looks at a person's writing and sees certain things about the person. Each pencil or pen stroke and letter connection we make means something to a graphologist. Even the empty margins we leave on a page say something about our personality and habits.

HIEROGLYPHICS

The ancient Egyptian and Mayan written languages were made of pictures that were used as words and sounds. The Egyptian hieroglyphics "alphabet" contained a couple of thousand pictures that represented sounds, syllables, objects or ideas. You can print out these symbols.

RUNES

Sometimes, Runes have been listed with alphabets. Years ago, they were used to "write" short personal messages. Today, Runes are used for spiritual and self-improvement reasons. They have also been described as being magical.

Getting Creative With the Alphabet

The copyright of the article Alphabets - Part 2 in Themed Lesson Plans is owned by . Permission to republish Alphabets - Part 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.