Your child will blend individual letter sounds to read words as they move their body for each sound.
Learning Area(s): Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- a flat outdoor or indoor space
- sidewalk chalk or markers
- one 8 ½” x 11” sheet of blank paper for each letter in the word list you choose
- word list (see Tips)
LET'S PLAY
Begin by choosing an inside space or an outside space. If you will do this activity inside, make sure you have at least a 6’ x 5’ space cleared of obstacles. Choose a word list from Tips. Write each letter in lowercase on a separate sheet of paper, large enough so that it fills the page.
Secure the letter cards to the floor from left to right (see the photo example) or write each letter with sidewalk chalk on the pavement if you are outside. Leave about one foot of space between each letter. Write letter combinations that make one sound, like ck in the word neck, on one piece of paper.
Position your child behind you so they can face the word with you. Explain and demonstrate the activity. “You are going to read some words today using some dance steps. You will hop into the word like this when you say the first sound (hop one time) and slide like this for all the other sounds (step to the right and slide your left foot to meet your right foot).” Look over your shoulder and say, “Try it with me. Hop one time. Slide to the right. Slide to the right.”
Place or write the letters for the first word (example: man). Position yourself just to the left of the first letter. “I’ll show you how I hop and slide to sound out and read a word, and then you’ll try it. I will keep saying each sound almost like I’m singing it until I move my right foot to the next letter. Watch! We hop in front of the first letter and start saying the sound, /mmm/.” Keep saying the sound until you take a step with your right foot under the letter a and say, “/aaa/” (as in apple). Continue making the /a/ sound as you slide your left foot to meet your right. Next, slide to the letter n. As your right foot steps in front of the n, start saying “/nnn/” and keep saying the /n/ sound until your left foot slides to meet your right foot.
Quickly go back to the beginning and do it a little faster, /mmm/…/aaa/…/nnn/. Last, point back to the first letter and sweep your hand across the word as you read it, “man!”
Then have your child try. Be sure that your child is not standing on the letters so that they can see them well. Encourage your child to say the sounds slow and smooth at first, and then more quickly as they repeat the routine. If your child is looking at you instead of the letters, remind them to look at the letters in the word.
Repeat with the next word in the list you chose. You will only need to replace one letter card at a time as you work from the first to the last word in the list.
TIPS
- You may need to model the routine several times with your child before they are ready to try it independently. You can position yourself behind your child and guide their body to slide as you say the sounds together.
- Some sounds cannot be held, like /t/ in top or /b/ in boy. When that happens, say the sound one time and slide to the next letter.
- If your child is stopping between the sounds, you can say, “Try not to stop between the sounds. I’ll do it with you.” Stand facing your child on the other side of the words and say the sounds with them as you glide across the letters together.
- If this activity is too easy for your child, try a higher-level word list.
- In the future, when your child encounters a tricky word in their reading, you can remind them of the hop and slide routine. They can try sounding out the word slowly by sliding their finger under the letters.
- Watch a letter sounds video to practice making the sounds together.
- You can create your own list of words based on reading and language work your child has recently done at school or for homework. Digraphs (two letters that make one sound) should be written on one card: ch, ck, gh, ph, sh, th, wh.
- You can choose from one of these word lists that increase in difficulty (list 1 is easiest, list 4 is more challenging):
word list word list 2 word list 3 word list 4 make these letter cards: a, f, g, i, m, n, o, v, x make these letter cards: b, e, g, i, m, p, t, w make these letter cards: a, ck, e, l, n, o, r, s, u make these letter cards: a, f, i, l, n, p, s, t, u man
van
fan
fin
fig
fogmet
wet
bet
beg
big
wig
pigneck
deck
duck
luck
lack
rack
rock
sockflat
flap
flip
slip
slap
snap
snag
snug - You can also play this game by splitting up words into parts. For example, if your child is learning comparative words like bigger and biggest, you can write each part of the word (big/ger) on a piece of paper and have your child slide to each word part before blending them together. You can do the same with compound words (for example, blue/berry).