This is a great letter recognition game. It can be used with children as young as 4, who are just learning their letters, but can be adapted to include phonics and be used with children as old as 8.
Activity Setup: Put the rods and connectors in the middle of the floor and sit in a circle around them. Give each player a piece of paper and pencil or dry erase board and marker.
Activity Guidelines: Explain that we are going to play a game of build and write. The player that is “up”, creates a letter using the rods and connectors. As soon as the other players know what letter it is, they can shout it out. (The first person to guess, goes next) Once the letter is revealed, everyone gets a chance to build the letter themselves. Remind them that they are not obligated to build the letter the same way! Encourage them to find new ways to build the same letter (using shorter rods, using a short and a log rod, etc). Enrich handwriting skills by having them write the letter on paper or on a board as well. You could also use handwriting worksheets or wipe-off letters.
Step 1: Player 1 creates a letter.
Aleya made a letter “E”
Step 2: Players guess the letter.
Step 3: Players create the letter with their own rods and connectors.
Step 4: Players write the letters on their papers or boards.
Step 5: Player 2 builds the next letter.
Variations:
1: For younger children, write all the letters in block form (as they would look with the rods and connectors) on small strips of paper and allow them to pick them from a cup.
2: For older children, include digraphs such as “sh’ or “ch” and instead of guessing the letter, have them guess the sound.
Expansions:
1. Have the other players try to build the opposite case of the letter the original player built. For example, if Aleya builds an uppercase E, the players try to build a lowercase e. How can you overcome the need for bend rods?
2. Build words out of the letters you have built.
