What's Inside?
- Alphabet Tales
- Display Alphabet for classroom wall
- Alphabet Teaching Cards with mini-lessons on the back of each card
- Alphamats, 24-pack with dry erase backs for practicing writing
- Writing the Visual, Kinesthetic, and Auditory Alphabet Book
How Does It Work?
Very young children learning the alphabet absorb and recall with ease when their bodies mimic the shape of each letter as they speak it sounds aloud. Body movements can be as simple as hand motions. For example, for letter A, hold up both hands with fingers touching at the top to make the point of the A and thumbs touching below to make the horizontal line of the A.
Body movements can be as involved as whole-body letter made with two or more children! For the letter A, have two children lie on the floor, with heads touching, and one arm extended to the center, the other held by their side on the outside of the A. Or you could have two children make the outside of the letter and another child make the horizontal bridge.
Several years ago, a first grader had a really hard time remembering how to form an M. He always confused it with a W. We established that the M looks like MMmmmountains, and to this visual reference we added a motion of hands together and down, while elbows arch high up like mountain peaks. Whenever he came to that troublesome letter, if he did his mirroring motion, he made the correct sound.
It's true that some children don't seem to rely much on movement that mimics the concept that is being taught; other kids, however, seem to be unable to learn without mirroring their learning with their bodies. For these children, any time we spend thinking up accompanying movements to learning is so with the time investment.