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Locomotion Letters

Jean Feldman, Ph.D.

Excerpted from Dr. Jean Feldman's Ready Set Read!

Skills:

Phonemic awareness
Practicing letter sounds
Using action words

Materials Needed:

None!

Directions:

Have the children stand and act out the motions below as you name different letters of the alphabet. Say the letter and demonstrate as you emphasize the sound that each letter makes.
Sing the letters and actions to the tune of "Frère Jacques" as you make the motions: "a is for act, b is for bounce, c is for cut, d is for dive," etc.

A Act (extend arms in dramatic fashion)
B Bounce (pretend to bounce ball)
C Cut (pretend to cut with fingers)
D Dive (hold arms in diving position)
E Eat (pretend to feed self)
F Fly (flap arms as if flying)
G Gallop (gallop in place)
H Hop (hop on one foot)
I Itch (scratch self)
J Jump (jump up and down)
K Kiss (kiss in the air and hug self)
L Leap (leap in the air)
M March (march in place)
N Nod (nod head)
O Open (open eyes wide)
P Push (extend arms and push)
Q Quiet (put finger on lip)
R Roll (roll hands)
S Sit (sit down)
T Tickle (wiggle fingers)
U Understand (scratch head)
V Vibrate (jiggle all over)
W Walk (walk in place)
X X-ray (pretend to x-ray hand)
Y Yawn (pretend to yawn)
Z Zoom (brush hands swiftly across each other)

Adaptations:

Hold up letter cards as you introduce sounds and motions.
Let the children think of their own words to dramatize for each sound. How many different things can they think of for each letter?

HINT! Children learn through moving, so associating sounds with verbs and movements might be more meaningful than using objects (nouns).

Excerpted from Dr. Jean Feldman's Ready Set Read!