Sensory Reading Fun!

I hope you all are enjoying your spring break as much as I am. We actually had some sunshine today and are rumored to have liberal doses of this long unheard of pleasure for the next several days! Before trotting off to enjoy the rest of my break, I thought I would quickly share a couple of fun literacy activities that also address the sensory needs of young learners.

Have you seen the large chenille stems that have become popular in the party sections of stores like Walmart and Dollar Tree? Kids of all ages (myself included) are fascinated by these large, furry bendables. In class, students each get one stem to form a letter. Then we work cooperatively to put the separate letters together to see how many words we can make. Working this way also saves a lot of time if each kid is making only one letter instead of every letter needed for a given word. 

Another activity I like to do with these stems is to have each child make two letters and then pick up the letter that stands for the sound she hears at the beginning (or middle or end) of a word. Not only addresses the sensory needs of students, but also their kinesthetic needs during a simple phoneme isolation activity.

Another item I love to use comes this time from the craft section of the store. Plastic canvas! I cut it into strips long and wide enough for students to trace their sight words across the canvas with their finger. Again, plastic canvas is also a great medium for phoneme isolation activities as well. I don't leave it accessible all the time, but bring it out for "special" times once or twice a week so it doesn't lose its allure. Plastic canvas is available in a rainbow of hues for a relatively cheap price considering you get a good 8-10 strips out of each sheet. 

Now, go enjoy the rest of your spring break and have a happy Easter! ;-)