This lesson is excerpted from Read, Write, & Spell. Click here to download the PDF.
Make this project for more fun letter practice. Build it with construction paper on a bulletin board or wall or, as described in the variation, on a real tree branch. Either way, it gives your child something special to look forward to each day—adding a new leaf to the tree. If he is very familiar with the letters, he may prefer to do the project all at once. For young children, it’s nice to focus on one letter at a time.
What You Need:
Construction paper, plain paper, scissors, tape, basket or box, envelope, colored marker
To Prepare:
Cut brown construction paper to make a tree with branches. Tape it on a bulletin board or wall.
Cut large yellow, orange, brown, red, and green leaf shapes. Place the paper leaves into a basket or box.
Write the letters of the alphabet on small slips of paper and place them in an envelope or small box.
Activity:
Invite your child to choose a leaf.
Ask him to close his eyes and choose a letter from the envelope or small box. Have him open his eyes and say the letter’s sound. Say it with him if he needs help.
With a colored marker, write the letter on the leaf. Encourage him to say its sound again.
Invite him to tape the Letter Leaf on the Letter Tree.
Together, point to and say the sounds of all the Letter Leaves on the tree.
Variation:
Make the Letter Tree using a real tree branch instead of paper. You will need a branch, thread, a hole punch, and something to keep the branch upright, such as a chunk of clay or a container full of pebbles. Secure the branch in the clay or pebbles, then proceed with the Activity directions, with this change: punch a hole in the top of each paper leaf and tie it to the branch with thread.
