Any one know any kinesthetic activties for helping kids learn to read?

[Cathpot]

Hello, I am after practical examples of kinesthetic activties to help with reading - remembering phonics, in fact memory aids in particular.

I remember seeing an example on TV where a child having trouble learning spelling was giving a washing up bowl of plastic letters underwater and had to pull out letters by feel and spell words.

Any more of that sort of thing?

I saw something where people ( it was adults learning to read not children) made letters on the floor out of pipe cleaners and were able to feel the shape of the letter and relate the sound to it - the results were really good

Thanks , thats exactly the sort of thing. I suppose you could adapt that idea to lots of other materials. Maybe sand paper and feel it with eyes shut?

Jolly Phonics uses VAKs (visual, audio and kinaesthetic) Each sound has an action (kinaesthetic) which the children learn in response to the visual (written letter) while saying the sound (audio). I also use Action Words to teach "tricky words" which again involves an movement in response to the word.

When I was at teachers training college in South Africa (many moons ago) we all had to make a set of sandpaper letters for teaching kids letters and reading. In the class I worked with I made all the children their own set and they felt the letters before sounding them out. we also hid them under a sheet in words and they had to feel out the words before looking at them.

Thanks opps

Does Jolly Phonics have movements for just the letter sounds or does it cover letter combinations like 'ay' etc?

Jolly Phonics does have actions and they certainly cover some of the phonic digraphs (like 'ay') - I've seen a JP book with CD which has got them and the songs in.

Or you could even make up your own actions...

Using magnetic letters? Tracing the letter combinations in sand boxes?

Also tracing the letters into the air,

or on to someones back and having them do it to you

is an interesting way of helping remember the shapes.

I use the pipe cleaner ones, also sand paper. That's an old Montessori trick. Or put a layer of sand on an old baking tray and write on it with your finger.

Other ideas - a water pistol against an (outdoor!) wall, writing with your finger on a spare carpet tile (gives a vibrating feeling), play doh/ clay letters, I love lower case wooden letters (use in a feely bag a few at a time), writing icing, squeezy cream, toothpaste on a mirrir....

When my DD was struggling with phonics, her teacher suggested making letters out of pastry (using biscuit cutters or play dough cutters). Then spelling out words and eating them - it did seem to catch her attention and helped her remember some sounds which has escaped her previously.

I spray shaving foam onto the kitchen table for dd to trace the letter shapes. The learning support teacher would also trace letters on her back or use water to trace letters on paper etc.

these are great, thank you