Ideas for Dyslexia Letter Fun
Choose a different activity each day! (let your child help choose which ones to play)
1. Writing in a tray of salt, shaving cream, sand.
2. Use clay to make the word. Then make a model of the word. (make the letters ‘c-a-t’, then make a little cat from the rest of the clay)
3. Use finger paint to spell words or practice letters, alternate hands, spell with toes, use you nose!
4. Use dry erase markers on the window.
5. Before starting the writing or spelling lessons, have the child make large infinity signs with their finger or on the chalk board. Have it so they cross the infinity sign in front of the middle of their body.
6. Use plastic textured letters. Have the child hold one letter at a time to get used to the feel. Have them close their eyes, place the letter in their hand (the correct direction), have them figure out what letter it is. After they can recognize the shaper well, hand the letter to them upside down or backwards. Then do the same with simple words or sight words. Hand them the letters all at once, (while eyes are closed) have them figure out how to lay the letters in the right direction (not upside down or backwards) then open their eyes and move the letters ion the right order to make the words., when they can do that, have them figure out the words while their eyes are closed still.
Some kids with dyslexia often see words in jumbled order or letters backwards, upside down. It helps when they can recognize letters and words no matter what direction or jumbled order they are in. It helps the brain learn how to process the information.
7. Games like Scrabble and Boggle are good. But with your own rules or none at all. For Scrabble, get a list of words, set aside all the letters that go to those words, have your child spell the words out on the Scrabble board and find the best way to organize the words to get the most points. For Boggle, you may want to spend the first few times arranging the cubes to make sure there are some easy words there. Show the words to your child and have them write the words down. My middle son likes to arrange the tiles to make words and have me fond the words. Then we make silly sentences with his words. The next time have them find the simple words (you previously arranged). Eventually you will be up to playing the game by the real rules.
8. The tiles and cubes can be used without the board. get letter tiles/cubes for an ending ( __ a t ) and take turns placing different tiles in front to make new words. Make ‘cat’, rat, bat….. Then ask “Which letter gets changed if we want to make ‘bat’ into ‘bag’?” or “which part of the word gets changed; the beginning sound or the ending sound?” Don’t ask what the new letter is yet, just work on having them identify which letter (beginning, middle, end) is different. You can tell them it becomes a ‘g’, if they can’t figure it out yet.
9. HOPSCOTCH- Make a Hopscotch board (with chalk outside or colored paper inside, each sheet a different box). Write a different letter in each square. Have the child call out the letters or make the letter sound as they jump along. Use all vowels, or random letters. It’s fun to use for spelling words, too. You can change around the amount and layout of the boxes to fit what you need.
10. Throw/bounce a ball back and forth while you take turns spelling out words. Or Have the child bounce the ball to himself (against a wall or on the ground) while they spell out words.
11. Spelling words-Use Index Cards- use 2 cards for each word on the list. write the word in all lower case on card #1, write the word in ALL CAPS on card #2. Use the cards to play “Memory Match”. My son also likes to play other games. One is “Five in a Row” I put out a row of 5 cards and he picks up the words as I call them. “Make a Sentence”- Put out 2-4 cards (start with 2 and work up). Have your child think up a sentence using the cards. To put less stress on them. Both of you think up sentences for the cards. Another one we play is “Pick Up”. I layout 6 cards and say four of them (making sure they are not in order on the table) and he has to pick up the cards in the order I called them. You can start with 3, or even 2 if needed and work up to 6 or more.
12. Write/draw on each other’s backs- have a guessing game. Keep score, if you want.
13. Make a photo/word book. Make words PERSONAL. Take pictures of your child’s mom, dad, pet, car, van, etc. rite the words LARGE under each picture (one per page). Take a picture of the STOP sign on your corner…….
14. From our Occupational Therapist- Spelling. Write each letter of the word on a separate 2-3″ square of paper. Tape them out-of-order and jumbled on the wall about a foot above the ground. Have child be barefoot and ‘crab-crawl’ to point to the letters in order (pointing with their toe)
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