Building Literacy Skills in Small Moments of Time

Using your time effectively.

Having a book ready for those moments when you have time to spare is ideal but not necessarily possible. So what do you do then?  Try a different activity to build up those literacy muscles.  Here are 10 suggestions.


1.  Find logos that are recognizable as prereading skills.  Examples may be local to your area. Examples would be: Apple, Nike, McDonald's, Disney

2. Share a story.  It can be from your life, from the world around them or from something you encountered such as a book you have read.

3.  Play I Spy.  Find an object that begins with a certain letter of the alphabet (I spy something that starts with C)  Take turns.

4. Retell a story.  Maybe you have read them a storybook so often that you can retell it word for word without the book or you can paraphrase a popular story such as "The Three Little Pigs".

5.  Find shapes in the environment matching letters of the alphabet. Maybe a stick is shaped like a Y or a chair like an h or a hook like a J or an orange like an O.

6.  Pick out an object or a person that you see and describe it/them with an adjective.  A runner may be described as fast or dedicated.  A tree may be labelled as an oak or as being old or green.  A ball could be described as bouncy or round.

7. Play detective to find the wrong word in your sentence.  You can be silly with this.  Her hair is spaghetti. No, her hair is long/blond/straight.  I had a tiger for lunch. No, you had a sandwich for lunch. The dog had four foot.  Oh? The dog had four feet.

8. Draw letters of the alphabet on their hand or back with your finger and they are to guess which letter it was.  Did you draw an E or an F?  You can expand the game by then naming something that starts with that letter.

9.  Build knowledge of opposites by having them state the opposite to the word you share.  Bright/dark, high/low, good/bad, friendly/unfriendly etc.

10.Guessing games like What is it? are fun to do while waiting.  For example, I am thinking of a tall animal.  It is extinct.  It has a long neck and tail. What is it?


Not only are these activities fun ways to use your time well, it keeps children active, engaged and learning while also creating positive interactions and meaningful memories.

What are your best literacy-based activities for those random moments?

Comments

  1. Unknown17 April 2021 at 13:38

    I love these ideas showing you can use what is at your disposal and not only learn but have fun and bond at the same tume🙃

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

W is for Water: Themed Activities

  Water: As a fundamental necessity for life, water is highly esteemed. Without it, we cannot survive. But more than a basic requirement, it is also the source of many fun activities that you may enjoy with the child(ren) in your life.  Here are a few suggestions but the list is extensive! Be creative! Add rice or beads or coloured water to a water bottle and seal it to make a sensory bottle or shaker. Bob for apples in a bucket of water. Saturate a sponge and wring it out in another bucket 20 feet away. Which relay team will reach a set limit first? (ie. fill a glass to the brim) Learn to swim. Add food colouring to glasses of water and add in white carnations and wait. Watch how they change colour. Practice a thorough hand-washing routine. You can use a GloGerm kit to find out if you managed to get rid of all the germs! Learn about the water cycle. Do a science experiment to test different paper towel brands. Which one is the most absorbent when placed on a spill of 1/4 cup ...
Read more

S is for The Snowy Day: Library Notes

Image
We have had a snowy winter so perhaps this book has already been well-read and loved by the child(ren) in your life!  I wanted to be sure you know it exists because it is a classic. It covers the winter season, clothing for cold weather, and it suggests things to do on a snowy day...all in one book! Not only that, but it also helps children know that snow melts too and as the boy goes through that disappointment they think through what to do when they face that scenario too. Ezra Jack Keats wrote and illustrated this picture book in 1962 about a boy named Peter. His illustrations won him the Caldecott Medal. He layered fabrics and decorative paper and then added to that to create his illustrations.  A great follow up activity for children would be to attempt a picture using various materials such as those used in this book. The scenario is simple and familiar.  What do you do on a snowy day? Crunch in the snow. Make patterns as you walk and leave footprints behind. Make s...
Read more

Library Notes: Clap Your Hands

Image
One book that has proven the test of time is called "Clap Your Hands" by Lorinda Cauley.  The sheer number of lessons that can be covered by reading this book are incredible.  You can find the book online to purchase and/or to listen to in a recorded storytelling  Here are some accompanying thoughts. Expression: With body and words this book helps you express ideas in a fun manner alone or in a group Engagement: It is an interactive book to entice reluctant readers and engage children in the class. Understanding Emotions:  Build on the phrase, "Show me a smile. Show me a frown." Connection to the world:  Connect to people ("Tell me your name.  How old are you?") and to the animal world by making animal sounds and copying their actions ("roar like a lion, growl like a bear") Language Skills:  Study verbs (action words) such as clap, stomp, shake, wiggle, wave. How many are in the book? Vocabulary: Label body parts ("clap your hands, stomp you...
Read more