Description

Recognizing letters and learning their formation is one of the first exposures to literacy that a child has. Without a strong understanding of the Alphabet, a student’s ability to read could be greatly impacted. That knowledge of the Alphabet is commonly considered one of the best predictors of later achievement in reading. So, giving our students various materials and ways to manipulate letters is imperative.

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But teaching letter recognition and formation doesn’t have to be boring. By offering various tools and objects to create meaningful instruction, students will remain focused and engaged on learning. Geoboard mats are just one item amongst many that you’ll find in my independent alphabet work stations. My students love using their spatial skills to make these letters. It’s great for them to have a choice to use materials that they really enjoy, and I like that they are working independently, building spatial awareness, fine motor skills, letter recognition and formation.

Included in this set:
•26 Colored Easy Geoboard Capital Letter Alphabet Mats
•26 Black and White Easy Geoboard Capital Letter Alphabet Mats
•26 Colored Difficult Geoboard Capital Letter Alphabet Mats
•26 Black and White Difficult Geoboard Capital Letter Alphabet Mats

Teacher instructions: There are two levels of difficulty from which to choose. Select the option you would like to use and print these in color or in black and white and then laminate to extend the life of this activity. Students will use rubber bands and geoboards to make the letter. They will then count how many rubber bands they used to create the letter (the color doesn’t matter) and record that number. Finally, they will trace and then write the letter on their own using a dry erase marker.

Tips: For students who have mastered very few letters so far, only place those letters and the letters you are currently working on in this center. Too many letters can be overwhelming. As they master more letters, you can increase the number of mats included and use these to reinforce letter/sound identification and formation. This is an easy way to differentiate their learning.