I’m on my way to Roanoke, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Minneapolis this week, but like you plan for a substitute teacher, I plan blogs for you while I’m gone. And, I promise I’ll have lots of fantastic new ideas for you when I get home next week.
This week I’m going to explore Marvelous Magnetic Letters! Why? They are inexpensive, multi-functional, multi-sensory, and you probably already have them in your classroom! You can adapt these ideas for many standards and for different age levels. They are perfect for independent, small groups, or centers.
Sorting - Ask children to sort the letters by color.
Can they sort the letters that are made with lines? Curves? Lines and curves?
Letter Play - Let children just “play” with the letters on a cookie sheet, stove top burner, or file cabinet. Can children find anything else in the classroom that letters will stick to?
Words - Write words or children’s names on sentence strips. Children match up letters to spell the words.
Sand Box Treasure - Hide magnetic letters in your sand table. Children can take a magnet and try to identify letters they “attract.”
Letter Password - Place several letters you are working on around a metal door frame. As children leave the room, ask them to touch a particular letter. (You could also ask them to touch the letter they hear at the beginning of a word you say.)
Letter Hunt - Hide letters in the classroom (like Easter eggs). Children will
love to go on a “letter hunt.” - Can they identify the letters they find?
- Can they make a word with the letters they find?