Letter Detective
This activity reinforces letter recognition as children use detective skills to search for letters in printed materials.
Learning Area(s): Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- magnifying glass
- magazines
- newspapers
- crayon or marker
LET'S PLAY
Spread out some magazines and newspapers on a table or on the floor.
Tell your child that he is going to be a Letter Detective. His job is to find as many letters as he can using his magnifying glass.
Start with one letter. You might choose a letter in your child’s name or let your child choose which letter he would like to look for first. For example, say, “Your first detective job is to search for the letter H.” If the child is unsure of what this letter looks like, write the letter to show him. Then encourage him to use his magnifying glass to search for as many H’s as he can. Your child can mark the H’s with a crayon or marker.
If one letter is enough for now, you can play the game again at another time and your child can choose a different letter. If your child enjoys this game and wants to keep playing after finding lots of examples of the first letter, you can choose another letter together to hunt for. For example, “Now we’ll solve the mystery of the missing letter P. Can you look closely to find where the letter P’s are hiding?”
TIPS
- Some children may enjoy flipping through a whole magazine or grocery store ad, while other children may need to focus on just one page at a time, such as one page of a picture book or a cereal box.
- This activity can also be done throughout the house. Have the child search the house for different letters found on pantry items, books, games, toys, etc.
- You and your child may notice that the same letter can look slightly different depending on the font and size. Talk about these comparisons and help your child understand that they are still same letter.
- For older children who are starting to read, this activity can be done using basic sight words (e.g., the, with, for) instead of individual letters.
- Use your judgment about how many examples of the letter to ask your child to find. Some challenge is good (for example, “Do you think you can find 5 H’s?”), but if your child starts to become bored or tired of the game, ask your child if he would like to search for a different letter or end the game.
