Letters on the Road
Here's What To Do
While on a long drive or bus ride, ask your child to identify uppercase and lowercase letters on road and traffic signs throughout your journey. (Or, take a walk around your neighborhood or a trip to a store, and play the same game).
Before you leave, write an alphabet list on a piece of paper. Write both upper and lowercase letters (Aa, Bb, Cc, etc.)
Give your child the list so they can circle or cross off the letters as they see them. Encourage your child to say the letters out loud so you can check if they've found the right ones.
Celebrate each letter you find! If your child finds all 26 letters, do a super celebration!
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Smile and say, “let’s play a road trip game to find letters of the alphabet”
Engage:
- "Okay I'm noticing some letters on the sign over there... what letters do you see?"
- "Great job finding a C, make sure you check it off your list!"
Encourage:
- Help your child notice differences between similar letters. Like: "Oops! That is an uppercase B, not an E. B's have closed loops, and E's are just straight lines."
- Give hints like: "There's a stop sign. I think you still need the letter at the beginning of 'stop.' What letter is that?"
Reflect:
- Was your child able to find most letters? Are there still some letters they're working on learning?
Not quite ready?
Focus on uppercase letters only, and/or have your child hunt for letters you think they may already know.
Ready for more?
Play the game only with lowercase letters.
As your child masters this skill...
They will be able to identify more and more letters in uppercase and lowercase versions.