Rainbow Words - Children write words with a black crayon or marker in the middle of the page and then trace around the word with different colors of crayons.
*Hint! Write a “giant” word in the middle of a large sheet of newsprint. Tape it to a wall and encourage all of the children to trace around it.
Shaving Cream - Squirt shaving cream (non-menthol) on each child’s desk. After they explore with it they can practice writing words.
Highlighters - Give children highlighters and a newspaper or junk mail and encourage them to highlight words that they can read.
Word Collage - Let children cut out words they can read from magazines, newspapers, or advertisements and glue them on a paper plate or sheet of paper to make a collage.
Sandpaper - Cut letters out of sandpaper and glue them on poster board to make words. Children trace over the letters with their fingers as they blend the sounds.
Scratch and Sniff - Write words with school glue. Sprinkle unsweetened Jell-o or drink mix on top. Shake off the excess. Dry. Lick your finger as you trace over the letters. Note! Children will need to make individual “scratch and sniff” words – they cannot share these! *Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on a colored plastic plate. Children can lick their fingers and write words. Sweet!
Sandbox Words - Write words on construction paper and place them in the bottom of the sandbox. Cover with sand. Children scrape away the sand and try to read the word.
*You could also put the words in the bottom of a tub and cover with sand.
Rub Overs - Write words on heavy paper with glue. Dry. Children place a sheet of paper on top of the glue word and rub with the side of a crayon.
Lotty Dotty - Write words by making dots with a water-based marker. Put a drop of glue on top of each dot. Dry. The marker will bleed into the glue to create a textured word. Children trace over the dots as they read the word.
Hint! Let children make rubbings of lotty dotty words. Can they connect the dots and write the word?
Disappearing Words - Give children a cup of water and a piece of sponge. Children write words with the sponge on a chalkboard. Can they remember the word as it dries and disappears?
*They can also write words with a paintbrush on the sidewalk.
Wikki Stix - Children can trace over words using wikki stix. They can even do rubbings of wikki stix words.
Unifix Cubes - You can purchase Unifix cubes with letters on them or create your own using dot stickers. Children put the cubes together to practice spelling high frequency words.
Glove Fingers - You will need three pairs of inexpensive gloves for this activity. Cut the fingers off the gloves and write letters of the alphabet on the fingers with a permanent marker. (Make extra fingers of “e,” “l,” “s,” and “t.”) Children place the glove letters on their fingers to make words.
Magnetic Letters - Children can reproduce words with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet, overhead projector, or a white board.
Letter Beads - Let children string alphabet beads on a pipe cleaner to make words.