HIGHWAY LETTERS
Highway letters are a "rabbit trap" to engage kids and reinforce a variety of skills and different age levels. You can purchase a book with these or download them free at makinglearningfun.com. I put mine in clear sheet protectors because it’s cheaper and easier than laminating. You can also punch holes at the top and tie on string so the children can wear them like letter vests.
Here are just a few ways you can use the highway letters with different age levels throughout the school year.
Toy Cars - Let children drive over letters with toy cars.
Writing - Trace over the letters with dry erase markers. Erase and use again and again.
Hint! Put a green dot where they start and a red dot where they stop.
Play Dough - Roll play dough and place on top of the letters.
Songs - Pass out letter vests to children. Let them stand up when their letter is sung in the song.
Phonics - Practice blending C V C words. (consonant, vowel, consonant) with vests. Add the “silent e” to words to change the vowel sound.
Chunking - Start by asking children who are wearing “a” and “t” to stand. What does that say? Ask “m” to stand in front of “at.” What does that say? Tell “m” to go away and have “r” stand in front of “at.” Have children suggest other letters to stand in front of “at.” Reinforce other word families with this strategy.
Spelling Words - Slowly call out sight words or spelling words. (Stretch out the sounds.) Children come up if they are wearing that sound and make the word.
ABC Order- Children arrange themselves in alphabetical order according to the letter that they are wearing.
Hint! You can also play “I Have – Who Has?” with the letters. For example: “I have A. Who has B?” “I have B. Who has C?”
ALPHABET CUPS
Write letters on the sides of bathroom cups. Let children explore and experiment building with the cups.
*Make a matching game where they match upper and lowercase letters.
*Challenge children to make words (or their names) with the cups.
Hint! Store in a Pringle’s can.
Letter Man
Letter Man (or you could make a Letter Lady or Letter Monster) is easy to make and sure to capture your students’ interest. You’ll need a small swinging trashcan, felt scraps, googly eyes, pom poms, craft glue (E6000 works great), and magnetic letters.
*What’s My Sound?
Place the letters inside Letter Man. Children can take turns pulling out a letter, making the sound, and saying a word that starts with that sound.
*Alphabet Center
Put Letter Man (full of letters), paper, and pencils in an alphabet center. Children take turns choosing a letter and then trying to write the letter.
*Feed Letter Man
Ask children to feed Letter Man all the letters that are blue… feed Letter Man all the vowels… the letters in alphabetical order…and so forth.
*Words
Have children spell their name or sight words and then feed them to Letter Man.
*Sing this song to the tune of “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” as you put letters in the trashcan.
I know an old man who swallowed a (name letter).
What would he say if he swallowed a (name letter).
(sound), (sound), (sound) – (name letter).P.S. If you missed my FB Live yesterday on alphabet letters you can watch it today.