Literacy activity, build a puzzle with instructions

Many people need to read instructions to do a particular job, to fill out an application, to build a toy for their child, etc.

Following instructions is a different type of reading than reading a story, a novel, a biography, the newspaper, etc. It requires people to think about what they are doing and to also probably follow a certain order or procedure.

One way to help your student(s) become accustomed to this type of reading is through actually building something that has written instructions to follow.

Something that you can do with them is to have them build a wood kit. Not all kits come with written instructions, so do check it out first to see if it would be an appropriate choice for your student and their goals.


If your student isn't into metal and gears, they may enjoy working with paper. Origami can be a fun craft to get in to; this origami kit explains what to do, and also illustrates the various folding techniques.

These are just a couple of examples. Find out what type of things your student might be interested in building. Do your research and make sure the selected item includes written instructions to follow. Then let the fun of learning and reading for a designated purpose begin.

It isn't so much that they build something that they can use; it can also be a gift for someone. Also, the practice of following written instructions is a transferable skill.

Cheryl Paton

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Letter Tile Ideas for Teaching Phonics

No matter the age of your student, it's fun to intermix playing games with other literacy activities.

Bananagrams is a spelling game featuring a banana shaped zippered pouch and Scrabble type alphabet letter tiles. It is easy and convenient to carry along.

The basic game is to place letter tiles face down and participants pick a number of tiles and they take turns adding to the crossword puzzle that they are making. The instructions will give more details and various options for ways to play the game.

With the letter tiles, you can also come up with your own variations. For instance, you could have your student practice making words that start with a certain blend, or make rhyming words that have the same spelling on the end of the word.

I am sure that you can come up with other ideas as well.

Some ideas are:

1. Scramble the letters of a particular word, say the word, then have the student rearrange the letters to spell the word correctly.

2. Lay a variety of letter tiles to choose from, then start the word with a letter blend, say the word, then have the student complete the spelling of the word.

3. Lay the letter tiles out to represent various blends, i.e. bl, cl, fl, etc. Say a word and have the student select the correct spelling for the beginning blend.

4. Lay the letter tiles out to represent various blends, i.e. br, cr, dr, etc. Place letter tiles in place to spell the remainder of a word. Have the student select the correct blend and have them place the correct tiles in front of the letters that make a word.

A small set is plenty enough tiles for a couple of people to play a variety of spelling games.

5. Make a crossword puzzle. Lay various letter tiles out, and spell a word with the tiles. Have the student think of a word that includes a letter that you have already used, and they can add their tiles to the crossword puzzle. Alternating turns, keep using letters that are already in the puzzle to be part of the new word.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to use letter tiles to help reinforce learning.

If you don't already have letter tiles from an old Scrabble game, then I recommend Bananagrams; it comes with a storage bag to easily carry your letters and it's small enough to fit in a purse or backpack.


If you have other spelling ideas to use letter tiles, please share them with us below.

Cheryl Paton

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