This activity uses gross motor skills to engage children in separating a sentence into its individual words. This teaches them that words, in a particular order, convey meaning—an important pre-reading skill.
Learning Area(s): Reading and Writing; Physical Development
MATERIALS
- Chalk (if outside) or masking tape and paper (if indoors)
LET'S PLAY
For an outdoor game, chalk can be used to draw a simple hopscotch pattern with numbers on the sidewalk. If indoors, write the numbers on sheets of paper and secure them to the floor with masking tape. Make the pattern below:
Then ask your child to take a turn by saying, “Can you jump one space for each word I say?” If he is unsure, repeat the sentence and put up one finger for each word that is spoken. Here are some sample sentences, but you can make up your own!
“Birds fly.”
“You like trucks.”
“We drink juice.”
“Dad comes home soon.”
“Our dog is black.”
TIPS
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Start with shorter sentences and gradually work up to longer sentences with bigger words. You can add more numbers to the hopscotch when making longer sentences.
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If using paper indoors, be sure that it is taped down so it will not slip.