Fun Ways To Form Letters

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Fran W

When we think of learning how to write letters, very young children come to mind, so many of the activities offered on the internet are geared toward young hands that need to develop finger/hand dexterity. For whatever reason, older people sometimes need to learn or relearn how to form letters too, and many of the suggestions offered within this post consider that issue. Regardless of the age, a fun or playful approach can make the learning/relearning process much more interesting, no matter where the learner needs to begin.

Note: Have a letter chart handy so letters can be copied more easily and independently. Do not limit how letter formation is learned, allow the learner to choose the process that appeals to them most.
Here are some suggestions…

Finger play: Learners who enjoy forming letters with their finger, a chopstick, or a cotton swab may enjoy writing in sand, salt, baking soda, cornstarch, or shaving cream. A cookie sheet makes a great base for these mediums.

Hand play: There are lots of ways to form letters with the hands such as with toothpicks, chenille stems (pipe cleaners), bendable wire, a paintbrush and water color, yarn or string, play clay, and any other items you can think of.

Tracing tools: Stencils, clay stamping letters, large cut-out letters, wooden letters, etc, can all be used to trace letters with something. Cut out letters from textured papers (example: sand paper, shiny paper), can be used to trace with fingers or around with a writing instrument.

Games to play: Encourage the use of one letter at a time with simple games like tic-tac-toe and Dots. Instead of X’s and O’s, use the first letter of the players’ names or any letter chosen to claim a square.

Playing with writing instruments: There are a wide variety of things to write with, and just as many colors to choose from, that can make learning to write letters much more interesting. Choose something that appeals to you to play the game Follow Me. This open-ended game is designed as a playful way to make the writing process fun and purposeful. The game uses easy to find items and encourage pre-writing skills such as shape formation, lines, squiggles, circles, dashes, dots, curves and other fun things. It can be used as a precursor for script as well…where letters connect. Make up your own fun games too.

Letter art: Focus on one letter at a time and play with it by drawing within or around it an interesting way. Make swirls at the end, make block, bubble, or large letters. Draw something that begin with that letter inside it. Example: F/flowers

Body letters: Body learners may enjoy forming the letters of the alphabet with their body. Active Alphabet is one example of a game. Dancing while forming letters may be fun for some as well.

Word Puzzles: Word puzzles such as fill-ins and crossword puzzles allow for puzzlers to write letters that fit into a certain sized area. There are puzzle books available for people who need larger areas to write in, and some have easy to solve puzzles. These are great for the relearning process.

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Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Learn The ABC’s

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Fran W

Play a word or letter game. If you are unfamiliar with letters, there are informal ways to become familiar with the letters of the alphabet other than the alphabet song or memorizing the letters by rote. Learning them through games, and need, helps to create a purpose. Not only can it be fun, it can be a wonderful way to prevent unnecessary frustration.

What’s In A Name?: The letters of a person’s name is important in a variety of way, so it makes it a great place to begin the letter learning process. People learn best if they have a purpose or a need. You need to know you name, and how to write and spell it, and that offers purpose. The link provided offers hints and tips for short names or names that do not offer very many words. It’s a lot of fun to find out what’s in your name.

Letter matching games: Make your own letter matching game by cutting blank index cards in half and writing a matching letter on both sides. The letter can be the same or one can be capitalized and the other lower case. Another option is to put a letter on one side and a picture that begins with that letter on the other. Pictures can be printed, drawn, cut from magazines or mail, stamped, etc..

Letter matching word games: For this game you can use a set of ABC cards, blocks, dice, magnetic letters, letter tiles, etc. and a way to keep the letters hidden. Cards can be turned over.

How To Play: Choose a letter, then ask the player to find an object around the house that begins with that letter. Players who do not wish to hunt for objects can name something that begins with that letter.

Optional: Someone can write the letters and words used down in ABC order.

Words within Words games: This is a fun way to use letters in random ways, it is open-ended and encourages players to think in a creative way. Dictionary skills can get a little workout too, if players choose to use one.

I Spy Games: Letter Version: This is a easy and fun game that can be played anywhere and offers players a chance to use their observations skills.

How to play: The player asking looks around, and once they make a choice, they say, “I spy something that begins with the letter “?” “. Other players get to guess the thing that begins with the chosen letter. The player that guesses correctly gets to choose the next item, and play continues. Alternately, a busy picture can be used to play the game.

Note: Look in your library, book store, or yard sale for books like: I Spy, Look Alike, and Search & Find.

Guess My Word (Hangman): This is a fun game that can be played by two or more players. One way to help inexperienced players is to choose a category (holiday, season, snack foods, animals) or a give them a list of words to choose from. Other players should not look at the list to keep it as fair as possible. A list can be made before hand. The list can be made using voice to text, someone can write it, or a book can be offered. As players get better at the game, written lists can be eliminated from the game. Keep it fun and friendly.

Active Alphabet: This game is great for active learners (people who like to move as they learn). It’s played with simple items, and needs some space so players can move around freely. It’s a great way to learn what sounds things make, so it can be played with very young children. This can be played indoors or out.

Rainbow Codes: This fun game is great for improving reading and writing skills while adding an element of science to the activity.

Play Granny’s Handbag – Sharpen your memory skills with this ABC Memory game. It is great for multiple players of any age.

How To Play: Write down all the letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper, or digitally, then starting from A or Z, players take turns adding items, in ABC order, to the “handbag”. Upon each player’s turn, they must recite all the items mentioned in order, and add their own item to the “handbag”. One player is needed to keep track of the items being added to the “handbag”, and keep the list hidden from the other players. The word keeper can play too, if they hide the words as they recite them in order. This a great way to build memory skills, and learn the order of the alphabet, forward or backward.

There are lots of commercial games on the market to choose from as well.

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Using Pictographs or/and Pictograms To Learn How To Read or Improve Reading Skills

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Fran W

Before there were words, people communicated with pictures, drawings, and symbols. This can be a great place to begin the reading process or build upon it. Learning to read using pictures is a creative process that encourages the imagination, and cuts down on limitations. Pictures and symbols can represent a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts.

Allow creativity to flow.

Make up a story from a picture or picture book – Pictures, picture book, drawings, and books with a lot great illustrations are wonderful for inspiring stories. Once a story begins to develop, record it in some way: Have someone write while you speak, record it using an audio or video device, use a voice-to-text program. Draw it. Story dice can be used to inspiring stories as well.

Note: If a mistake is made while recording the story, have the story teller keep on going. The editing stage can take care of mistakes. Allow creativity to flow unhindered.

Use Pictographs (drawn pictures) to write notes back and forth to other people. Start with symbols such as I love you, I love Ice cream, Go 4 A Drive, Go 2 the Park. Picture dice can be fun to use to have a conversation with as well. After a while, exchange the symbols for words, one at a time. Native Americans and ancient cultures used pictographs and glyphs to record their history, tell stories, and communicate.

Rebus Puzzles – Rebus puzzles use pictures and words to solve hidden meanings. After you do some of the ones that are available online, you can make some of your own to give to someone else. http://www.fun-with-words.com/rebus_puzzles.html

Rebus Story – Rebus stories use pictures and/or word art as a substitute for a regular word. Instead of writing: The castle was surround by a wall. You can substitute the word castle for a picture of a castle, and the word wall for a wall. Small graphics can be used, dingbats, stamps, sticker, or pictures can be drawn.

Create your own comic – Draw a comic, it can be made from stick figures if you like, and write in thought or word bubbles to express an idea.

Out-Of-The-Box Ways To Learn How To Read…And Improve Reading Skills At Any Age