Arabic words start on the right. In qalam, qaf comes first. Then comes lam. Meem is last, on the far left.
1بـstart
2ـبـmiddle
3ـبend
Letters hold hands
In a word, letters join like they are holding hands. Ba changes shape a little. At the start, it reaches left. In the middle, it holds both sides. At the end, it holds only the letter before.
1جـjeem: start
2ـسـseen: middle
3ـنnoon: end
The dots stay the same
Other letters change shape like this too. The dots never move. Jeem keeps its dot. Noon keeps its dot on top. Seen keeps its three teeth.
1عـstart
2ـعـmiddle
3ـعend
Ain changes the most
Ain has an open curve at the start. In the middle, the curve closes into a small loop. At the end, it gets a tail.
بَاب
Letters that let go
Some letters never hold hands with the letter after them. Alif and dal are two of them. In bab, there is a gap after alif.
قَمَر
Find the middle
In qamar, qaf is first and ra is last. Meem is in the middle.
For parents
Goal: Your child learns that Arabic letters join in a word and change shape at the start, middle and end.
Point to the rightmost letter of a word and ask: which letter starts this word?
When letters join, the dots stay the same. Ask your child to find a letter by its dots, even if its shape looks a little different.
Alif and dal never join the letter after them. Look for the small gap in a word.
Away from the screen: Hold hands in a line to show joined letters. One person is alif and lets go of the next hand. Talk about how that makes a gap in the word.