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ARLENE ALDA ACTIVITY IDEAS
Do you want to extend the use of 1-2-3
and ABC? Are you looking for
activities that will help build
students' perception skills? Alda
shares some suggestions with Education
World readers:
Ask children to draw objects that look
like numbers or letters. For example,
a snake can look like an S or elbow
macaroni can form a C.
How many letters and numbers can
children identify in their homes, on
the playground, or in the classroom?
Have children race to see who can find
the most.
How many letters and numbers can
children find in the branches of an
old tree?
Have children work in pairs to create
numbers or letters with their bodies
on the floor. Others can guess which
shape they've made.
Use large plastic or paper numbers or
letters to play a camouflage game.
Hide numbers and letters by matching
their shapes and colors with objects
in a room. Have children find the
numbers and letters in counting and
alphabetical order.
Children can collect objects on a
nature walk. Ask children to paste the
objects (sticks, leaves, eggs,
feathers, etc.) on paper or poster
board to make number and letter art.
Suggest that children use numbers and
letters as a starting point for
drawing pictures. An S can be the
beginning of a racetrack, an F can
become a flag, and an M can be the
inspiration for a mountain range.
To help students think about looking
for numbers and letters where they
might not ordinarily see them, Alda
suggests asking these simple
questions:
Which numbers look the same upside
down as they do right side up?
(Answers: 1 and 8.)
Which number written backward becomes
a letter?
(Answer: 3 becomes E)
Which letter becomes a number when you
turn it sideways?
(M becomes 3)
Which number becomes a letter when you
turn it upside down?
(7 becomes L)
Which number becomes a higher number
when you turn it upside down?
(6 becomes 9)
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