August is National Literacy Month! Why not celebrate with the child or children in your care using some of the fun and easy preliteracy activities from the popular PBS Kids television show, Between the Lions.
“I Spy” The Letter
Note: The example used in this activity is the letter B, but you can use this technique with any letter of the alphabet.
What to Do:
- Focus on one letter of the alphabet, such as the letter B. Review the sound that the letter makes.
- The letter B makes the /b/ sound.
- Choose a nearby object that begins with that letter. Describe it, emphasizing the sound the letter makes. For example:
- I spy something that is round and begins with the /b/ sound. (ball)
- I spy something that is used to build things and begins with the /b/ sound. (block)
- I spy something that flies in the sky, lives in a nest, and begins with the /b/ sound. (bird)
Letter Shape Sort
What You Will Need:
What to Do:
- Place plastic letters F, H, T, C, S, and O in a bag.
- Divide a piece of paper in half by drawing a line down the middle.
- Draw a vertical straight line at the top of the left side and a vertical curved line at the top of the right side.
- Explain to your child that if a letter has straight line, it belongs on the side with the straight line, and that if a letter has curved lines, it belongs on the side with the curved line.
- Have your child take one letter out of the bag at a time, look at it, and decide where to place it on the paper.
- Think aloud as you model the activity. Let’s take a good look at the letter T. Move your fingers along the lines. Are the lines curvy? Are they straight? I see a straight line here and another there. The letter T has two straight lines, so it goes on this side of the paper with the straight line.
The activities in this post are excerpted from L Is for Lion, from the Between the Lions series.
L Is for Lion is filled with games, songs, and stories that make it easy for parents and children alike to teach and learn new literacy skills!
