DIFFERENT WAYS TO LEARN LETTERS, NUMBERS, AND SHAPES
WITHOUT HOLDING A PENCIL
- Use magnetic letters to sequence and match letters. Build words and sentences.
- Use felt letters or alphabet cards to sequence and match letters.
- Put plastic letters in a feel bag or box and let children guess what letter they are feeling.
- Paint letters on an easel.
- Finger paint letters.
- Write letters with your finger: in cornmeal, in sand, in pudding (dry or prepared), in foam soap, in shaving cream, in bird seed, in colored sand
- Glue beans, noodles, cloth, cotton balls, miniature marshmallows, rice, or paper shapes to make mosaics in the shape of letters.
- Use push pins to outline letters.
- Build letters with Playdough, pretzel, or bread dough.
- Use letter stamps to sequence the alphabet or words.
- Air write letters. Use a dowel with colorful streamers attached.
- Water paint letters on the blackboard.
- Make letters with wikie sticks or pipe cleaners.
- Play alphabet bingo.
- Play mystery writing: take the student’s hand and write a letter with his or her hand while their eyes are closed. Have the student guess what letter it is.
- Cut out letters with scissors.
- Provide wooden, cardboard, or paper shapes to build alphabet letters.
- Use Scrabble tiles to match letters, build words, or sentences.
- Use computer games and programs to reinforce letter recognition such as “Baily’s Book House” by Edmark.
- Use masking tape or rope to make letters on the floor and have children: trace letters with their feet, walk or crawl on them following the path of the letter, drive toy cars on them, follow the shape of the letter by “painting” with a paint roller (paint free of course!), roll them out with rolling pins, hop or jump along the letter lines.
- Make alphabet cards for matching (visually or by touch) and tracing with: colored glue, yarn and glue, dry Jello and glue, puff paint, glue and sand or cornmeal
- Write letters on: Magna-doodles, clay trays (Styrofoam tray with clay spread on it. Use a dowel to write the letters in the clay.), black boards dry-erase boards paper with sandpaper under it, paper with a bumpy board under it
- Sort letters Play “go fish” with alphabet cards.
- Fish for letters using a homemade fishing pole with a magnet hanging on a string. Letter cards can have paperclips placed on them.
- Complete an alphabet puzzle of all the letters or sequence alphabet cards. Make alphabet cards and cut them into half; have students match them.
- Have students match upper and lowercase alphabet letters. Find letters in magazines, books, on cereal boxes and other household items.
- Hide letters in sand, rice and beans, or birdseed and have students find them and identify them by feeling them.