Hi everyone!
After giving you a few ICT-related ideas for original games and activities, I wanted to also include an "analog" one, or one that's old school and doesn't require any tech! For today, I bring you: Bottle Cap Spelling!
This is a fun and engaging activity that helps developing readers of ESL polish their spelling skills. It works on many different concepts: letter name (alphabet) knowledge, phonics with letter sounds and general vocabulary recognition and recall! If you work side by side with the children in small groups, you can also ask them to read the word aloud to work on their pronunciation. In general, it's a winner of an activity. Here's how to carry it out in the classroom:
You need to get a set of vocabulary cards with images on them. These would ideally be words that we've previously seen in class and that the kids are working on, not brand new words. Next, you get bottle caps with letters written on them. If this is too much time/effort to make, you can always find beads or small tokens with letters on them in a shop for purchase. In any case, you have to have a lot of individual tokens, each with a letter on them, so that the kids can manipulate them. This is a multi-sensory activity because we're working on our language skills but through the manipulation of physical objects.
Each child has to turn over a vocab card, recall the word and then get tokens to spell that word. Then you get them to either read each letter name (C-R-A-B) or pronounce each phoneme (/c/-/r/-/a/-/b/) and then say the word, "crab". To further reinforce the learning, you can get them to copy down the word using a pencil and paper.
I originally started using this activity for the last year of Infants but I think it's also a really fun and valuable activity to use in 1st and even 2nd of Primary! What do you think? Let me know your opinions!
Love this idea Anneka! Specially the manipulating process as it really helps children to build up their literacy skills but also their phonics knowledge! This activity is just perfect to follow during my Phonics lessons in 1st grade, specially with the water bottle lids as National Recycling Week is coming up and I needed some inspo! I also think this could totally work in any other grades as you could introduce longer words!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for checking out my blog and my activities. I had originally thought this idea would only be good for younger learners but I see your point; why can't I try it in the higher grades? I think it would work! Thanks!
DeleteHi Anneka!
ReplyDeleteAfter reviewing your blog, and verifying that it is a perfect blog, I am left with this entry that I found very interesting. I find it a very fun and different way to teach children while they learn. I had never seen an activity like this, and it caught my attention! I will certainly take it into account when I become a teacher to do it to my students. Thank you Anekka for your great ideas and contributions, but above all thank you for your wonderful blog!
Hi Anneke!
ReplyDeleteI love this activity for the younger children - it's always good to have ideas like this up your sleeve for when internet connections don't work as we want them to. I've also found that sometimes children really prefer activities like this as sadly they are more and more used to the interactive games whereas they do activities like this less and less. But really, that manipulation and play is something they really need. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Anneka,
ReplyDeleteI love your manipulative approach as I believe it is essential to promote meaningful learning in childhood. But I'm thinking about ways to make it work online too. Have you considered using platforms like Wordwall?
This could make the activity online classes. And it allows us to enrich ourselves from ICT.
Hi Anneka,
ReplyDeleteI really like this activity as you don´t need Internet connection. Sometimes is good just move on from the technology to the manual and real materials too. Such as recyclable resources: lids, buttons, toilet paper, yogurts, etc.
I will use this activity with my young learners for sure. Thanks for the idea!
Hi, Anneka!
ReplyDeleteI really like this kind of activities. Thanks for sharing us.
They really are a very entertaining type of activities. We can even offer, as a class activity, that each student, or in groups, make the necessary material: Collect the caps, make the letters, cut them out and paste them on each cap, make the cards, etc. I'll give your proposal some thought and, I'll surely carry it out in one of my classes. Thanks again!
Hi Anneka,
ReplyDeleteI´m really interested in manipulative activities for kids (as a teacher, and as a mother of a three year old girl), so thanks for bringing this one up. I think children love them, not just the youngest, children just love to play, and I believe it is a good way to significative learning. With younger kids, do you use this for practicing with the "Jolly Phonics" method?
With older kids, 7 or 8 year olds, we can play "Hangman" with this type of material, and teach them at the same time how we can give a "second life" to so many things we use at home.
Nice idea Anneka!
Hi, Irene! Thanks for your comment and your interest in my blog and activities! In the current school I'm working at, I don't use this because "there's no time". I have, however, used this activity in the past in schools where I did have more pedagogic flexibility and the phonics curriculum was used more and taken more seriously. Kids really like it and I can see the benefits that it has on their skills, not only in English but also for general alphabetic principle and literacy skills. Try it out sometime!
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