3 Fun & Easy Activities To Improve Your Child's Literacy Skills

 

In our last blog, we mentioned methods to improve your child’s/student’s reading fluency. Having a hands-on approach can be beneficial, especially for kinesthetic learners. Here are some easy activities to improve your child’s literacy skills using some simple materials found at home. 


Gather bottle caps and have them washed and dried. Once this is complete, you can use a marker to write different letters of the alphabet on each cap. These bottle caps can then be used for a variety of educational activities, all of which may vary based on your child’s level and progress. 


  1. Letter Identification 

For students who need to work on letter identification, say the name of a letter and have them find the corresponding bottle cap. This helps them to practice their letter identification skills while engaging in an enjoyable and hands-on activity. 


  1. Letter Sounds 

Students whose aim is to improve their identification of letter sounds would benefit greatly from an activity where you make the sound and have them find the matching bottle cap. This activity encourages them to focus on the sound they hear, recognize the letter that is associated with that sound and be able to identify the letter written on a bottle cap. Studies have found that students are more inclined to learn and remember the material when they’ve had enjoyable experiences while learning that concept. 


  1. Cap Words 

Simple 2 and 3-letter word activities can be done with students who have already grasped the previous skills and are able to hear words and identify the individual sounds that make up those words. Say a word and have the child find the bottle caps and spell the word. For example, if you say ‘bat’, they’ll need to find ‘b’, ‘a’ and ‘t’. You may need to say the word a few times for students who are now grasping the concept, however as they practise, they’ll become more familiar with being able to hear a word and identify the sounds within that word. 


According to research, having fun while learning provides unique cognitive capabilities, connects incentive and enjoyment to learning, as well as strengthens and broadens memory systems.


While these are only a few activities that you can begin with, they can positively impact your child’s reading journey as they have fun while learning and do so in a way that encourages and motivates them to learn. 


Our Individual Reading Assistance Programme assists struggling readers to build skills in: 

  • Sight words 

  • High-frequency words 

  • Sounds recognition 

  • Letter and word recognition

  • Phonics and phonemic awareness 


Our Reading Assistance program is designed to teach the foundational skills of reading to children with significant academic challenges, empowering them to achieve grade-level proficiency. Our dedicated tutors help struggling readers understand the basic mechanics of reading and help them develop critical reading skills that will help them develop a lifelong love of reading. 



 

Chrystal Murray 

Reading Interventionist 

Caribbean Academy for Reading Intervention and Development 

1-868-474-9819


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