Sorting Symbols

Notes

This work is given parallel to the work with the Chalkboards.

Presentation 1: Sorting with the Sandpaper Letters

Materials

- A large table that can hold all of the letters if you are doing the whole set.
- The box containing all of the letters.

Presentation

1. Invite one child to come and work with you.
2. Bring the box of letters to the table.
3. Take out the letter c, trace it, and ask the child to do so.
4. Discuss the different strokes that can be made: this case, it is a curved stroke.
5. Place it at the top of the table in the left corner.
6. Go through the letters one by one to find other letters that also begin with the curved stroke.
7. When one is found, place it up next to the c.
8. Place the letters that do not begin with that stroke at the back of the box.
9. On the same day or later, you can do another group of letters or all of the groups.

Exerice 1

The child works as shown.

Exerice 2

The child may write these on the chalkboard.

Presentation 2: Sorting with the Moveable Alphabet

Materials

- Moveable Alphabet
- Large Mat
- Large beige felt clothe (65cm x 65cm without lines)

Notes

After much work with the sandpaper letters, we will show the child he can do the same work with the Moveable Alphabet. (Using the middle-sized box with letters of all one color.)

Presentation

1. Invite a child to come and work with you.
2. Have the child unroll the mat.
3. Have the child bring over the Moveable Alphabet and place it on the left side of the mat.
4. Bring over the cloth and spread it out on the right side of the mat.
5. Take out the letter "c" and ask the child to find other letters that start with the same movement. (Show the child how to look from left to right, top to bottom.
6. The directress presents in the same way as in Presentation 1 but working with the Moveable Alphabet.
7. Name each letter that you will begin each group with.

Exerice 1

The child works as shown.

Exerice 2

The child may write these groups of letters on the chalkboard. (Suggest the square board)

Presentation 3: Sorting by Placement

Materials

- Large beige cloth (65cm x 65cm ruled to guide the placement of letters. The top and bottom lines are pink and the two centre lines are aquamarine (as on primary writing paper). There are three ruled sections
- Large Mat
- The Moveable Alphabet (middle-sized letters of one color)

Presentation

1. Take out the material needed.
2. Take out "a" and place it between the first two lines.
3. Ask child to find other letters that fit between the two lines completely.
4. Then take out "b" and place it at the beginning of the second line, showing the letter with a stem going up to the pink line.
5. Ask child to find all other letters with a stem going up to the pink line.
(The letter "t" can also be placed with these letters but off to the side because it does go up but does not reach the pink line.)
6. On the third line, place the letter "g" with a tail going down to the lower pink line. Ask the child to find other letters with a tail or like it.
7. Make conversational remark about the placement of letters
8. Replace letters back into box.
9. The child can continue working with these letters.

Exerice 1

The child works as in the presentation

Exerice 2

The child may write these groups on the chalkboard with the double-guided lines.

Presentation 4: Sorting by Placement in Alphabetical Order

Materials

- The Moveable Alphabet (middle-sized letters of one color)
- Large Mat
- A long beige clothe (110cm x 35cm ruled lengthwise to guide

Presentation

1. Ask the child to put out all of the letters in alphabetical order.
2. Ask child if he knows the names of the letters.
3. Sing the song and point to each letter as you say its name.
4. Ask child to name each letter in turn.
5. Pull down any letter the child doesn't know.
6. Teach those with a three Period Lesson. During the 2nd Period, be sure to put the letters back into the main alphabet.
7. When the child has been taught all the letters, he should be able to say all the letters in the alphabet.

Exerice 1

The child works with the material as shown

Exerice 2

Child can write the alphabet on the double-guided lines.

Personal Note

Later, when the child is writing on paper, he can write all these groups on ruled paper

Purposes

To heighten awareness of the shapes of letters.
To heighten the awareness of the position of letters on the line
To help the child write letters correctly. 

Control of Error

Presentation 1: Sandpaper letters
Presentation 2: Visual recognition of the likeness of the letter formation and placement
Presentation 3-4: The directress

Age

4 1/2 - 5 years

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