Have fun sounding out letters!
Practicing letter sounds can be tricky for some children; help them practice in a fun way with this literacy game. Children will be able to practice letter recognition and letter sounds quickly and easily, and they’ll love creating the base of the bear out of the paper bag too - a great moment to practice fine motor skills!
🤞Pro Tip: Laminate the fish letters using a hot/cold laminate machine or clear packing tape for an easy hack. This way they’ll last multiple uses.
✂️ Cut It Out! Kids will benefit from fine motor practice by cutting out the fish. It may take them longer than an adult but it’s a great way to develop those tiny muscles.
🕒 Playing Solo? Set up a sand/egg timer and have the child race against the clock to identify each letter and feed it to the bear!
Materials
For this activity you will need:
Free fish letter printable
Scissors
Brown paper bag
Brown construction paper
Black and brown crayon/marker/pencil crayon
Glue stick
Learning Outcomes
Domain
Language
Skills
Phonological Awareness
Indicators:
Identifying specific letter sounds and syllables
Instructions
Step 1:
Start by making your bear. First, stand your paper bag upright and cut out a circle for the bear’s mouth on one side of the paper bag about halfway up.
Step 2:
Next, take your brown construction paper and draw 2 capital Ds on it for the shape of your bear’s ears. Cut them out and draw a smaller capital D in the middle of both ears and color them in.
Step 3:
Next, glue the ears to the top of the bag poking out and to the side.
Step 4:
Draw your bear’s face: eyes, nose, whiskers, and an outline of the mouth.
Step 5:
Cut out all of the fish from the printable and have your child identify each letter and make the sound of each letter.
Step 6:
Once they’re comfortable with all the letters, encourage your child to feed the bear the fish- but before they put each fish in the bear’s mouth they have to state the sound each letter makes.
Step 7:
Make it a race by timing them or make two bears for a one on one race with another friend!
⬆️ For older preschoolers: Step it up a notch by having the children think of a food item for each letter for the bear to eat. You may be surprised at what creative foods children will come up with!
⬇️ For younger toddlers: Letter sounds may be tricky at first. Start by having younger children state the letter before feeding it to the bear. Then, eventually they can work up to letter sounds.
Playful Questions
Do you notice any letters that sound similar?
Do you notice any letter sounds that sound like their name?
Can you think of a food that starts with the letter “Y” that the bear might like to eat?
How many fish has the bear eaten so far?
