Word Reading Activities for the Young Child

Games with the Montessori Pink Level Word Cards and Objects

Apr 29, 2009

After the young child is introduced to the basics of reading, fun activities involving word cards and corresponding objects are designed to encourage further reading.

In Montessori schools, formal reading instruction in the early years starts off with 2- or 3-letter words that the child can easily decode, using previously acquired knowledge of letters and their corresponding sounds. These are called the pink level words.

The first reading exercise requires the child to read word cards and match them to tiny objects the child has played with. The activity introduces the child to the following reading skills:

Reading Requires Practice

The early reading process is somewhat tedious but practice is necessary to develop reading fluency. The pink level word cards and their corresponding objects are highly versatile. They can and should be used in many different ways to encourage young readers to want to continue on with their reading practice.

Guess the Pink Level Object

The child first plays with the miniatures (for example, a toy hen or pan), names and discusses them as he or she did so in the first reading exercise. The teacher then writes on a slip of paper the name of one of the items, taking great pains not to allow the child to see what is written. Appeal to his or her sense of curiosity by asking the child instead to guess the word on the paper. After a guess is made, pass the slip to the child. The child reads the slip to see if he or she has guessed correctly. Continue on with the activity to see how many guesses the child can get right.

Mystery Bag of Pink Level Objects

For children who like to explore through touch, the mystery bag is an excellent tool. Use miniatures again. As in the previous activity, ensure that the child knows the names of the items before you place them into the bag. (Instead of the bag, you can also bury the items in a small bucket of, for example, rice grains.) The child reads the pink level word card (eg. fox), puts his or her hand into the bag, has a stereognostic search for the required item and draws it out from the bag.

The pink level word cards and corresponding miniatures can also be used in this variation of the "I Spy" game. Again, familiarise the children first with the objects. Distribute the pink level word cards to the group. The child reads the card to identify the item that is to be spied upon. Next, the child is asked to give clues on the spied item. For example, if the child has the dog word card, the child may say I spy an animal that can bark. The rest of the group guesses the item. This activity is suitable for children who enjoy talking and being in groups.

This is recommended for children who enjoy movement. The child reads a word card and searches for the item listed. The child continues to read the rest of the cards until all the objects are located. You may time the child to see how long this takes.

You can have another set of items and word cards to see if the child can improve on his or her previous time taken. This can also be a group activity. See how many items each child can find.

The hunt may be thematic, such as the "m" hunt. All the words read begin with m and the child has to hunt for the mat, mug, mop and map. The words may all end with m and the child sets off to look for the jam, ham and gum.The child may also read rhyming pink word cards and go on a search for a rat, mat, bat, hat and cat.

The Pink Level Word Nature Hunt

If your children enjoy outdoor activities, take your early literacy activity outdoors!. Have a group of children go on a nature walk. Each child is given a pink level word card indicating the object that the child has to find in the walk, for example, a bug, bud, sap, web, nut and even mud.

In short, young children need to read in fun and meaningful situations, and the creative use of the pink level word cards and objects gives fledgling readers reason to work on his or her reading skills.

The copyright of the article Word Reading Activities for the Young Child in Lesson Plans & Materials is owned by Carolyn Marie Choo. Permission to republish Word Reading Activities for the Young Child in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.