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Encouraging Literacy
Using the "Dollar Store" |
| TACTILE LETTERS: |
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Give your child the opportunity to write/make letters in
various mediums. Write in: |
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shaving cream
salt
paint
pudding |
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Make letters from: |
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play-dough
pipe-cleaners
blocks |
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Put a large letter on the floor with masking tape.
Let your child: |
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walk it
hop it
crawl it
drive a small
car on it |
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Cut out or write a letter on a construction paper. Let
your child glue on items that begin with that letter. |
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buttons on B
noodles on N
cotton balls on C |
| LETTER DETECTIVE |
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Give your child a magnifying glass to look for
letters around the house. Tell him he is a letter detective. |
| “EYE” SPY |
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Give your child a pair of silly glasses
(sunglasses, frames without the lens, etc.) Have him play “eye” spy by looking around the
house for letters or words. |
| BURIED LETTERS |
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Fill a dishpan half full of sand. Bury some plastic letters in the sand. Have your child dig for them. Have him name
them as he discovers them, or dig for a specific letter. |
| CATCH A LETTER |
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Fill a dishpan half full of water. Add plastic or sponge letters.
Give your child a small fish net to catch and then name the letters. |
| FISHING FOR LETTERS |
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Make a fishing pole from a dowel and yarn. Tie a magnet on the end. Cut fish shapes from construction paper and let
your child decorate them. Write a letter on each one. Put a paper clip on the fish where the mouth
would be. Spread the fish on the floor. Let your child catch a letter and tell you what
it is. |
| LETTER SORTING |
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Give your child a handful of plastic
letters. Have him look to see how they are alike. Find: letters with straight lines/ slanted
lines/ curved lines/ tails/ humps/ etc. |
| ALPHABET HOKEY POKEY |
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Write a letter on several index
cards, and spread them out on the floor. Call out a letter. Have your child find the letter
and dance with it. |
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You put the letter “M” in.
You put the letter “M” out.
You put the letter “M” in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey and
You turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all
about. |
| WIGGLE WORMS |
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Write the words Wiggle Worms on a gift bag. Inside, put index card cut in half with a
letter printed on each one. Draw a worm on several cards, and add them to
the bag. Let your child close his eyes, reach into the
bag, and draw out a card. If it is a letter, he names it. If it is a
worm, he screams wiggle worm, and you both wiggle. This can be done with turkey stickers at
Thanksgiving (gobble, gobble), Santa Stickers at Christmas (Ho, Ho, Ho), or any
other item your child is interested in. |
| POINTERS |
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There are a variety of items that your child can
use as pointers. Allow him to point out letters or words in
books, newspapers, magazines, etc. Items to use for pointers: |
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Unsharpened pencils
Backscratchers
Wooden spoons
Magic wands
Tongue depressors with the tip dipped in glue then glitter
Dowel rods with Velcro on the
end/attach any small item with Velcro (a plastic insect, flower,
etc.) |
| HIGHLIGHT IT! |
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Buy a roll of removable book covers. Cut out some small pieces. Have your child find a specific letter or word
in a book, chart, etc. and highlight it. |
| BEAN BAG TOSS |
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Write letters in random order on a shower
curtain. Provide your child with a beanbag. Have him throw the beanbag and name the letter
that it lands on. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT |
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Environmental print is the print we recognize from the
colors, pictures, and shapes that surround it. his is usually the first print
a child recognizes. We see it all around us (on labels on food and clothing, logos on stores and
restaurants, and signs) There are a variety of activities to do with
environmental print: |
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Look at actual food items, store ads, coupons, etc. Use actual labels to match, find a specific
letter, cut apart to make a puzzle, etc. Make books using environmental print: “My Favorite Restaurants”, “My Favorite Cereals”, “My ABC Book”, Make an “I Can Read So Many Things” book: I can read
"Cheetos", I can read "M and M’s", etc. Glue the logo of the item on each
page. |
| SHAKE IT |
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Fill empty film containers with a variety of
materials: beans, rice, paperclips, keys, marbles, etc. Glue an additional object onto an index card. Have your child shake the container, listen for
the sound, and place the container by the correct object. Additional games:
Find the loudest/softest sound. Fill two containers with the same
material, and have your child match each pair that sounds the same. |
| THUMBS UP |
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Glue two pictures on an index card. Make some of the cards with rhyming pictures
and some without. Show them to your child and say the two words. If the words rhyme, your child puts his thumb
up. If the words do not rhyme, your child puts his
thumb down. |
| RHYMING BASKETS |
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Find a variety of objects that rhyme: |
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Van/fan
Chime/dime
Cat/hat
Bone/phone
Rock/sock
Car/star |
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Have your child choose an object from the
basket, say the name, and then search for the one that rhymes. |
| ALLITERATION FUN |
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Choose a small stuffed animal, and help your
child give it a name to match it’s beginning sound (Peggy Pig). Assist your child in making up a story about
the animal using as many of the same letter sounds as possible. This is Peggy Pig. She likes to eat pizza,
popcorn pickles, and peaches. Her favorite colors are purple and pink. |
| SOUND SURPRISE |
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Put several objects starting with the same sound in a
“surprise bag”. Have your child take an item out of the bag and
name it. Have him do this with each item, and try to
guess the beginning sound.
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| MARACA MUSIC |
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Glue two pictures onto an index
card. Put some pictures with the same beginning
sound, and some with different sounds. Say the two words and have your
child shake some
maracas if the words begin with the same sound. He will keep it “silent” if the beginning
sounds are different. |
| PASS THE PAIL |
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Put a variety of objects in a sand pail. Have your child choose an object, say it’s
name. And listen for the beats or syllables. Help your child clap the beats or syllables for
each word. |
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Sun glasses (3)
Flower(2)
Pencil(2)
Dog(1)
Dinosaur(3)
Apple(2)
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| HOW MANY WORDS? |
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Give your child 4-5 poker chips or
small blocks. Say a short sentence such as, “I like pizza.” Have your child repeat the sentence, moving a
chip for each word. |
| MYSTERY WORDS |
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Put several plastic animals into a
bag. Tell your child they must listen carefully for
the mystery word. Say the word stretching out the sounds. |
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/c/ /a/ /t/
/d/ /o/ /g/
/d/ /u/ /ck/
/p/ /i/ /g/
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After you say each word, give your
child an opportunity to figure out the “mystery”. When he guesses the word, pull out the animal
and let him see if he is correct. |
| WRITING CORNER |
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Give your child many opportunities
to write. Change materials as needed to increase his motivation. Things to write on: |
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Variety of colored paper
Stationary
Receipts
Post it notes
Clipboards with paper
Old forms
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Things to write with: |
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Markers
Pens
Pencils
Crayons
Chalk (white and colored)
“Squiggle” pens
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Accessories: |
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Envelopes
Tape
Ruler
Hole punch
Scissors
Junk mail
Catalogs
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| JOURNAL
WRITING |
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Allow your child to purchase a
special notebook/folder. Put your child’s name on the front (John’s
Journal) Allow him to write and draw about his
experiences. You may want to write what he says about his
page. |
| MESSAGE BOARD |
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Provide a dry erase board for your
child to leave family members important messages. Encourage him to ‘read” the messages to them. |
| MY VERY OWN WORDS |
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As your child begins to write and
ask questions about spelling, have him make a collection of his own special words.
When your child requests a word, write the word on a 3x5 index card.
Your child may draw or glue on a picture to illustrate the word. Words
can be places on a metal ring and kept in a special place. Your child
may refer to these words for reading or writing. Label the front with
his name (Justin’s Very Own Words). |
| MAKING BOOKS |
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Make a variety of books with your
child: |
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Baggie Book |
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Cut construction paper to fit in the bag.
Allow your child to draw pictures on the pages.
You may want to write what he tells you about
each picture on the page.
Attach 4-6 bags together to create a book.
Encourage your child to “read” the book.
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Lunch Sack Book |
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Take 4-6 lunch sacks and fold over the bottom of each sack.
Lift the bottom and glue or draw a picture so
it is hidden under the bottom flap.
Write the word on the left side of the sack.
Place the sacks on top of each other and attach
with a stapler, brads, etc.
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Tag Along Book |
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Fold several sheets of paper together and staple to make a
book.
Let your child write or draw pictures in the book.
Encourage them to write a title and their name
as the “author” on the front.
Punch two holes near the staples and attach a
pipe cleaner for the handle.
This book can “tag along” with your child.
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| PICTURE BOX |
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Place cut outs of interesting pictures from magazines.
Have your child glue pictures on paper and
write and or dictate about the picture.
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Linda Aston, M.S., Instructional Developer,
Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education |
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References
Beeler, Teri, 1993. I Can Read! I Can Write!
Creating a Print-Rich Environment.
Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press, Inc.
International Reading Association, IRA
www.reading.org
Morrow, Lesley Mandel 2001. Literacy Development in Early
Years, Helping Children Reand and Write.
Boston, Allyn and Bacon
National Research Council 1999. Starting Out Right.
Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Neuman, Copple, Bredekamp 2000. Learning to Read and
Write.
Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. Washing D.C.:
NAEYC
Preschool Early Language and Literacy Training, UT - Health
Science Center at Houston, 2001.
Schickedanz, Judith 1999. Much More Than the ABC's
The Early Stages of Reading and Writing.
Washington DC: NAEYC
Strickland, Dorothy and Morrow, Lesley 2000. Emerging
Literacy: Young Children Learn to Read and Write.
Newark, Delaware: IRA
The Upper grand District School Board. Making the
Speech-Print Connection.
Guelph, Ontario, 1995
U.S. Department of Education,
www.ed.gov
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