Supplies
- Letter bead (Beads in shape of letters, NOT painted or printed on bead)
- Yarn to thread beads onto
- Towel or scarf to cover lenght of yarn
- White board, black board, or paper
- Dryer erase marker, or appropriate writing implement
Procedure
1. Adult sets up sight words on yarn, tying knots appropriatly to prevent movement of beads and leaving at least 3 inches of space in between each word. Child can help hunt for letters and string with adult supervision if desired.
2. Depending on skill level, child can either look at and feel letters prior to placing string of words under the towel or not.
3. Depending on skill level, child can dictate letters to adult once they have identified them, or child can write the letters themselves. In addition, depending on skill level, child can wait to write the word untill they have identified the entire word, or they can write each letter separtely and then read the word that they have written.
Benefits
- Tactile impression of letters increases memory of letter shape for letter identification as well as for written work.
- Tactile impression of sequenced letters increases memory for letter sequence.
- For some children touch is regulating and for those children this activity can help to decrease anxiety sometimes associated with other reading/writing activities. For children who rely more on thier vision, this exercise should be completed only after extensive exploration of letter bead without vision occluded in order to allow for success.
