LEFT TO RIGHT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high. 
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky. 
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight. 
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right. 
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.


Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet 
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.
Lotion 
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.


Flag 
Trace around your right hand on construction paper and cut it out. Place it near the flag so children can visually match up their right hand and then place it over their hearts.



Poem 
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”

Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!

Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.



Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.

Top to Bottom Song (Dawna Hunter) 
(Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”) 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 
My mind knows that writing always goes 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 

HARRY HORIZONTAL AND VENNY VERTICAL

DO YOU KNOW HARRY HORIZONTAL AND VENNY VERTICAL?

Sometimes I think we put the cart before the horse. What am I talking about? Well, we start letter writing before children even know what "curve," "line," " horizontal," or "vertical" mean. Here are some basic terms children need to be familiar with.

What’s a line? What’s a curve?
Start by finding out what children know about lines and curves. Let them take turns drawing lines and curves on the board. Can they walk around the room and touch a line? Can they touch a curve? As you walk down the hall have them silently point to lines and curves. Can they find lines and curves in nature on the playground?

Play Dough
Draw lines and curves with a permanent marker on placemats or plastic plates. Let children roll the dough and place it on top of the lines and curves.

Letter Sort
What letters are made from lines? Curves? Lines and curves? Let children sort magnetic letters on the board or for a center activity.

I love this song that two teachers taught me several years ago.

Horizontal, Vertical (Carrie O’Bara and Terri Miller)
(Tune: “Where Is Thumbkin?”)
Horizontal, horizontal,
(Forearms held up horizontally in front of chest.)
Vertical, vertical.
(Forearms bent at elbows to form right angles.)
Horizontal, horizontal,
Vertical, vertical.

Then diagonal, then diagonal.
(Right arm slants in front and then left.)
Add a curve. Add a curve.
(Make a “c” with right hand and then left.)
Then diagonal, then diagonal.
Add a curve. Add a curve.

Harry Horizontal and Venny Vertical
Children will never forget horizontal and vertical with these friends!

Practice Books
This is a super idea to help children learn to track from left to right and practice pre-writing strokes. Lay 4 sheets of paper on top of each other and staple four times along the left side. Cut horizontal lines to make four skinny books. Children practice drawing horizontal lines, vertical lines, curves, and diagonal lines on each page.

 

Artsy
Prepare sheets of paper ahead of time with random curves and lines made with a black marker. Children choose a sheet of paper and try and create a design or object from the lines and curves on their page. *Encourage them to fill in the whole page.

TOP TO BOTTOM - LEFT TO RIGHT

Sometimes I think we put "the cart before the horse" when it comes to teaching young children to read. Here are some tricks and tips for helping children learn some basic concepts about print.


Magic Fingers
Have children hold up their pointer and explain that it is their “magic finger” to help them read. Put a little spritz (magic lotion) on their finger. Use the finger to touch the front of the book and the back of the book. Touch the top of the page and the bottom of the page. Sweep your magic finger under each line from left to right.


When You Read You Start at the Top
Children can sing this song to the tune of “London Bridge” as they practice the movements:

When you read you start at the top,
Start at the top,
Start at the top.
When you read you start at the top
And go to the bottom of the page.
When you read go left to right,
Left to right,
Left to right.
When you read go left to right
And then go to the next line.


Yummy Pointers
Give children Bugles to put on their fingers to practice following a line of print. They can eat them when they are finished.

*Pretzel sticks also make edible pointers.

Finger Pointer
Glue a fake fingernail to a craft stick. What an engaging way for children to track print from top to bottom and left to right!




Envelope Bookmark
Cut a diagonal corner off an envelope. (One envelope will make 4 of these.) Let children decorate these with markers. Practice reading books and putting the bookmark on the upper corner to “save your place.”

Simon Says
Each child will need a book to play this variation of “Simon Says.”
Simon Says show me the front of the book.
Simon Says show me the back of your book.
Simon Says show me the first page in your book.
Simon Says show me the last page in your book…

WRITING ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH

One of my favorite pre-writing activities at the beginning of the school year is called “Writing Round the Mulberry Bush.” I clearly remember where I got this idea. About 15 years ago I was doing a workshop in Huntsville, Texas. A young teacher said, “My mentor needs to tell you how she teaches handwriting. Her kids have the best handwriting in the school.” Well, she grabbed my attention and when I asked the older teacher her secret she smiled and said they practiced “Writing Round the Mulberry Bush” several weeks before introducing letters.

Basically, you have children make the strokes as shown on a blank piece of paper as they sing the different verses to the song “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” It makes sense because children need to go from top to bottom and left to right as they learn to master simple strokes.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljSUZWMl9YZVh4UVE/view?usp=sharing

Good teaching is good teaching, and I’m going to let Denise Brackenridget Brownlee tell you how she adapts this activity in her classroom.

At the beginning of the year we did not begin by writing names. Instead we began with your “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” song. We incorporated the song in a multi-step process.

1st We began by singing the song on the carpet. As we sang, I would write the marks on the board. After many exposures, children would join me by writing it with 2 fingers on the carpet or in the air.

2nd We then transitioned to the salt trays. Children had the opportunity to explore the salt. We also discussed how to gently shake the tray to "erase" your writing. We began by using fingers to draw as we sang. Then we transitioned to unsharpened pencils.

As you can see in the photos, children were at various skill levels and worked at different paces. I sang the song slowly as I would walk around the table to assist children with the direction they were writing.

3rd In our final step we moved to a worksheet that I created. As we sang the song, we now drew the marks in the boxes. I would model this as well. I kept a paper from the 2nd or 3rd day in their portfolio. We worked on this process for a couple of weeks. It was pretty amazing to see the difference from the first worksheet to a worksheet a few weeks later. Later on I was able to tie the concepts that we used with Mulberry Bush into name writing.

Note! I did this activity right before parent conferences. It was a great way to demonstrate to families how much their child's fine motor skills were developing.

I loved how much we were able to incorporate this song into so much of what we did. The kids greatly enjoyed it and it was valuable as a writing foundation in my TK classroom.

LEFT TO RIGHT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high.
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky.
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight.
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right.
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.

Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.

Lotion
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.

Flag
Trace around your right hand on construction paper and cut it out. Place it near the flag so children can visually match up their right hand and then place it over their hearts.

Poem
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”

Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!

Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.



Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.

Top to Bottom Song (Dawna Hunter)
(Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
My mind knows that writing always goes
Top to bottom,
Left to right.

SPRING PENCIL WALK

Here's a "Spring Pencil Walk" that I hope your children will enjoy. Story symbols can help children develop top to bottom and left-to-right orientation. They’re also an engaging way to develop small motor skills. These stories should be told multiple times so children can practice the pre-writing strokes and feel more competent. You might want to do the same story every day for a week as you invite the children to recall what will come next.

Hint! Demonstrate these stories on the board or a large chart so children will be able to copy what you do on white boards or clip boards.

A SPRING WALK
Let’s put a green dot at the top of the page to show us where to start. And let’s put a red dot down here at the bottom to show where our story will stop. Pick up your pencil and let’s use it to tell a story.

It’s a beautiful spring day, so let’s go for a walk.

The grass is growing nice and tall.

The sun is shining in the sky.

The clouds are rolling around.

The insects buzz up and down.

The little rabbits hop around.

The kites are flying in the air.

All of a sudden, the wind starts to blow.

The wind is blowing in every direction.

Better run home as fast as we can!

Home at last!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljc0J0SF95WHZnS2s/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljc0J0SF95WHZnS2s/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-QVa-3lEUAVH8PGiEnjcAWw


*Make a tape of the story to put in a listening center.

Here's another pencil story about a walk in the zoo. Can you guess what the different symbols represent?



https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljY0FscXBmekxxSDg/view?usp=sharing

Note! Challenge children to create their own pencil walk stories.

LEFT TO RIGHT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high.
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky.
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight.
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right.
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.

Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.
Lotion
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.

Flag
Trace around your right hand on construction paper and cut it out. Place it near the flag so children can visually match up their right hand and then place it over their hearts.



Poem
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”

Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!

Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.



Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.

Top to Bottom Song (Dawna Hunter)
(Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
My mind knows that writing always goes
Top to bottom,
Left to right.

LINES AND CURVES

It’s time for a little geometry today, but these ideas will also reinforce small motor skills, letters, and creativity.

What’s a line? What’s a curve? 

Start by finding out what children know about lines and curves. Let them take turns drawing lines and curves on the board. Can they walk around the room and touch a line? Can they touch a curve? As you walk down the hall have them silently point to lines and curves. Can they find lines and curves in nature on the playground?

Horizontal, Vertical Song (Carrie O’Bara and Terri Miller)
(Tune: “Where Is Thumbkin?”)
Horizontal, horizontal,
(Forearms held up horizontally in front of chest.)
Vertical, vertical.
(Forearms bent at elbows to form right angles.)
Horizontal, horizontal,
Vertical, vertical.

Then diagonal, then diagonal.
(Right arm slants in front and then left.)
Add a curve. Add a curve.
(Make a “c” with right hand and then left.)
Then diagonal, then diagonal.
Add a curve. Add a curve.

*Sing the song as children make appropriate strokes with crayons on paper, with chalk on the playground, in a sand tray, and so forth.


Skinny Books
This is a super idea to help children learn to track from left to right and practice pre-writing strokes. Lay 4 sheets of paper on top of each other and staple four times along the left side. Cut horizontal lines to make four skinny books. Children practice drawing horizontal lines, vertical lines, curves, and diagonal lines on each page.

                         

Play Dough
Draw lines and curves with a permanent marker on placemats or plastic plates. Let children roll the dough and place it on top of the lines and curves.

Letter Sort
What letters are made from lines? Curves? Lines and curves? Let children sort magnetic letters on the board or for a center activity.

                                    

Number Sort
Using a Venn diagram, have children sort numerals that are made with lines, curves, or both.
                                                                    

Artsy
Prepare sheets of paper ahead of time with random curves and lines made with a black marker. Children choose a sheet of paper and try and create a design or object from the lines and curves on their page. *Encourage them to fill in the whole page.

LEFT TO RIGHT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high.
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky.
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight.
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right.
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.


Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.

Lotion
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.


Flag
Trace around your right hand on construction paper and cut it out. Place it near the flag so children can visually match up their right hand and then place it over their hearts.

                         


Poem
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”

            


Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!


Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.

Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.