When most children are initially introduced to the alphabet, they see each letter as a picture. The letter “T” might look like one stick balancing on top of the other. An “O” might look like a ring. Yet soon a child’s perception begins to change, and the concept of letters transfers from the right hemisphere of the brain to the left–the auditory-linguistic hemisphere. That’s when a “T” becomes an actual symbol that can be associated with a sound.
Children with learning disabilities often have great difficulty with this transition in thinking. They are simply “stuck” in the spatial intelligence frame of reference, and can’t make the switch from picture to symbol. They are often given the diagnosis of dyslexia, or just deemed “slow” learners.
There are many fun, creative ways that you can help your child who is struggling with letters and help him or her cross this intellectual hurdle.
A Pictorial Alphabet
It’s certainly not a new concept, but it has many benefits for children who are spatially- oriented. For younger children, you can make pictures out of the letters of the alphabet, and tell a story about each one. This can be a fun activity. Create a binder or booklet, and write a very large letter of the alphabet on each page. Create a picture from each letter. You might start by choosing the letters of your child’s name, or his initials. Tell a story about the characters. Now have your child redraw the letter symbols, and retell the story.
Illustrating Words
An educator by the name of Barbara Cordoni noticed that one of her sixth-graders was floundering in nearly every subject but math. Special tutoring didn’t help. Finally, she realized that this boy did one thing well: he loved drawing. So she gave him his vocabulary words and had him create pictures out of the words. He drew lamp lights around the word “street,” for example. He put wheels on the word “bike.” He began drawing pictures out of any words that troubled him. Suddenly this child’s grades jumped. Words which had previously been groups of boring symbols now took on a new importance, and he began to read fluently.
Kinesthetic Alphabet
Some children learn best through movement, touch, and hands-on experiences. By getting these kids to make an alphabet with body movements, letters can be learned more readily. At home, you might display a picture of a letter, and have the child recreate the shape with his body. Or try getting your child to jump, stand up, and sit down while she spells. Play a frog game where the child must leap to each new letter. Create letters out of jelly beans, licorice, or jiggly jell-o. Use play-dough or sand to form simple words, and let your child feel the different textures.
Musical Alphabet
It’s amazing how quickly a child can learn something when it’s put to music. As a child I learned the preamble to the Constitution of the United States from a School House Rock jingle. To this day I could still recite the preamble because I remember that little tune. And we know that the “ABC” song is sung in every home all over the country. But with a little creativity, you can help a child learn his address, spelling list, science terms, or other tough words with a little jingly tune or a funky rhythm. Try clapping, stomping, snapping, tapping, or replacing the words to familiar tunes with funnier ones. “Old McDonald Had an OCEAN, O-C-E-A-N.”
Rather than try repeatedly to write the same boring symbols and hope your child will eventually “get it,” use creative ways to teach words. You just might tap into an unexplored area of your child’s genius.
Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow.
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