HOW ABOUT A CUP OF LETTERS?

I guess I am easily entertained because I have fun taking something simple and seeing how many creative ideas I can come up with for using it in the classroom. You can’t beat plastic cups for price, adaptability, storage, and hands-on. So, raise your cup and here we go!!! If you like these ideas you can watch me demonstrate them LIVE at FIVE this Thursday, January 5th.

You can use any size cup for these activities. The inexpensive variety works just as well as the name brand cups. I used permanent markers, but I think letter stickers look better than my handwriting. I also used my favorite E6000 to glue for the words and pictures.

*The good thing about using the bathroom size cups is that you can stack them and store them in Pringles cans.
                                           
Alphabet Cups 

Write letters on the sides of the cups. Children can put these in alphabetical order or make words with the cups.
(I put the uppercase letter on one side and the lowercase letter on the side.)

*Trace around the bottom of a cup and write uppercase letters in the circles.  Have children match cups with lowercase letters.
                                            
*Glue pictures to cups and use them to match beginning sounds, ending sounds, vowels, etc.
                  
*Put letters together to make spelling words and word wall words. As a follow-up ask children to write the words.
                                                         
*Write words on cups. Children can arrange them to make simple sentences.

*Write word families on cups. Children can read the words as they stack the rimes.

*Glue pictures of opposites or write synonyms on cups to make a matching game.
                                
*Write compound words (one word on each cup) and have children stack them and say the word. Write the compound words as an extension activity.