Step-by-Step Guide to Teaching Reading and Writing with Sandpaper Letters

Montessori Activity Aim

1. To prepare the child remotely for reading by recognizing the symbols and their sounds.
2. To help the child prepare for writing and reading.
3. To make the child aware of the articulation of sounds using visual, muscular, tactile, and auditory senses.
4. To enable the child to take the movement patterns of letter shapes with their writing fingers.
5. To help the child gain muscular memory and retain the movement pattern by running their fingers on the letters.
6. To support the child in recognizing symbols and associating them with sounds as a precursor to reading.

Material Description:

Sandpaper letters are cut out of sandpaper and pasted onto plaques of wood. The size of the plaque depends on the size of the letter. Each cut-out letter is pasted on the right side of the plaque, leaving clear space on the left.

• Vowels are mounted on a blue background.
• Consonants are mounted on a pink background to distinguish between the two.
• Sixteen green boards are used to represent double sandpaper letters (phonograms) covering "key" sounds not represented by single letters.

Sandpaper Letters Activity Description

The child is introduced to sandpaper letters after developing a light touch through work with tactile materials and acoustic exercises that help them recognize sounds.

1. Preparation:

• Sensitize the child’s fingertips before working with the sandpaper letters.
• Take the child to the display area where sandpaper letters are arranged.

2. Choosing Letters: Select three letters that are distinct in both sound and shape.

3. Three-Period Lesson:

• First Period:
  • Introduce one letter at a time.
  • Demonstrate how to feel the letter by tracing its shape.
  • Provide the sound of the letter.
  • Encourage the child to think of words containing the same sound while also offering examples yourself.
  • Draw attention to the direction in which the letter is traced.
• Second Period:
  • Give commands involving the letters, focusing on tracing and repeating the movement pattern while saying the sound.
  • Examples of commands:
    • "Trace 'a'."
    • "Keep 'i' here."
    • "Trace 'r'."
    • "Show me 'a'."
  • Ensure the letters are brought back in order at the end of the exercise.
• Third Period:
• Encourage the child to identify each letter and say its sound independently.
• Inform the child that they can explore these letters and sounds anytime they wish.

4. Interactive Games for Reinforcement: Offer group activities to enrich the learning experience and reinforce the sound-letter association.

 

Suggested At-Home Activities

• Ask the child to trace the sounds in a tray of sand, salt, or rice.
• Encourage using different textures such as clay, paints, blocks, beads, collages, strings, or pompoms to form the sounds.

Object Collection Game:

• Create a card for each sound.
• Ask the child to walk around and collect objects starting with that sound. Repeat this for other sounds as long as the child remains interested

Oral Game with Last Sound:

• Say a word, and have the child identify the last sound and give another word starting with that sound. For example:
  • Bat → Tap → Peacock → King → Goat.

Air and Tactile Tracing:

• Trace the letter in the air while saying its sound.
• Trace the letter on the child’s back or palm and have them identify or retrieve the corresponding letter.

Conclusion:
Sandpaper letters provide a multi-sensory approach to learning that integrates tactile, visual, and auditory inputs. By engaging in guided activities and interactive games, the child develops a strong foundation for reading and writing. This hands-on experience not only fosters understanding but also builds confidence, ensuring the child is well-prepared for future literacy milestones.