The first step to literacy is learning to identify letters. If your child has already mastered saying aloud her ABCs, here are a few ABC games that will help him recognize the letters of the alphabet before she starts reading fluently!
Photo by: Leol30
Cool ABC Game Ideas
Learning one’s name –
Names are important to babies and literacy programs are begun worldwide with one’s names. Why don’t you too start your child’s literacy program with her name? Whenever you’re out with the toddler, acknowledge her name’s first letter on the hoardings, advertisement banners, and number plates on cars. Play with letter blocks, magnetic letters, and index cards with the child at home to improve her letter recognition ability. Scramble them up and work together to put them in the right order to spells her name. You can also use this ABC game to introduce simple words to her like ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’, etc.
Introducing upper case and lower case –
Most likely, kids will start reading with books that have a mix of both upper and lower case letters. Therefore, it’s important to introduce them to both the cases from an early age. Play letter games with the kids that require them to match an upper case with its lower case counterpart, or match the lower/upper case letters with words that start with them.
Print referencing –
Print referencing is a reading technique that’s used by speech-language teachers to introduce children to literacy skills. Here are a few ways that explain how you can implement print referencing to teach kids –
1. Run your finger under the words as you read them
2. Point to the book’s title
3. Point where the author’s name is generally found
4. Draw your fingers from left to right as you read
5. Move swiftly to the next line
These actions help kids understand that every book/story has a title and author and that every line is read from the left to the right. When the child has started to read and you think it’s time to gravitate towards punctuations, adopt print referencing to teach kids the same.
Recognizing sounds –
When teaching kids the ABCs, correspond each letter with a word that starts with that letter. For example, use ‘S for a star’, ‘M for a mango’, with the kids whenever you see the alphabet on cereal boxes or newspapers. Throw in a couple of similar sound-recognition lessons with regular conversations for kids to learn the skill easily.
After all the ABC games that you’ve played with the kids, remember no lesson is complete till it’s rewarded. Always remember to applaud and acknowledge your child’s newly learnt skill with an extra helping of marshmallows or a long, warm hug!
Learning one’s name –
Names are important to babies and literacy programs are begun worldwide with one’s names. Why don’t you too start your child’s literacy program with her name? Whenever you’re out with the toddler, acknowledge her name’s first letter on the hoardings, advertisement banners, and number plates on cars. Play with letter blocks, magnetic letters, and index cards with the child at home to improve her letter recognition ability. Scramble them up and work together to put them in the right order to spells her name. You can also use this ABC game to introduce simple words to her like ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’, etc.
Introducing upper case and lower case –
Most likely, kids will start reading with books that have a mix of both upper and lower case letters. Therefore, it’s important to introduce them to both the cases from an early age. Play letter games with the kids that require them to match an upper case with its lower case counterpart, or match the lower/upper case letters with words that start with them.
Print referencing –
Print referencing is a reading technique that’s used by speech-language teachers to introduce children to literacy skills. Here are a few ways that explain how you can implement print referencing to teach kids –
1. Run your finger under the words as you read them
2. Point to the book’s title
3. Point where the author’s name is generally found
4. Draw your fingers from left to right as you read
5. Move swiftly to the next line
These actions help kids understand that every book/story has a title and author and that every line is read from the left to the right. When the child has started to read and you think it’s time to gravitate towards punctuations, adopt print referencing to teach kids the same.
Recognizing sounds –
When teaching kids the ABCs, correspond each letter with a word that starts with that letter. For example, use ‘S for a star’, ‘M for a mango’, with the kids whenever you see the alphabet on cereal boxes or newspapers. Throw in a couple of similar sound-recognition lessons with regular conversations for kids to learn the skill easily.
After all the ABC games that you’ve played with the kids, remember no lesson is complete till it’s rewarded. Always remember to applaud and acknowledge your child’s newly learnt skill with an extra helping of marshmallows or a long, warm hug!