Multi-sensory activities for School Children

🌟 Activity Set 1: "Sound & Picture Match"

This activity introduces the connection between sounds, letters, and words using familiar objects.

• Learning Goal: To recognize initial sounds and match them to letters and words.

• Activity Description (Word-Picture Bingo):

  1. Create bingo cards with pictures of common English words (e.g., sun, cat, bag, pen) and objects relevant to a Kathmandu child (e.g., kite, topi, bus).

  2. Instead of calling out words, you will say the starting sound of each word (e.g., "/k/" for kite, "/t/" for topi).

  3. Children listen and cover the picture on their card that starts with that sound with a token.

  4. The first to complete a row shouts "Bingo!".

• Materials Needed: Picture bingo cards, tokens (buttons, pebbles), and a list of words with their starting sounds.

✋ Activity Set 2: "Build-a-Word" (Tactile Spelling)

This set focuses on feeling and forming letters to develop muscle memory for spelling .

• Learning Goal: To physically form letters and build simple 2-3 letter words.

• Activity Description (Texture Words) :

  1. Create textured letter cards by writing large letters on cardboard and having children decorate them with dried lentils, rice, or sand.

  2. Once a set of letters (like a, t, c, p, b, o, x) is ready, children can trace the textured letters with their fingers while saying the sound.

  3. Next, ask them to use the cards to build simple words you say aloud, like "at," "cat," "box," "pot.".

• Materials Needed: Cardboard, glue, and small textured items (lentils, sand, rice). Alternatively, use playdough or pipe cleaners to form letters .

🎭 Activity Set 3: "Act It Out & Spell"

This set combines vocabulary, sentence structure, and spelling in a fun, physical game.

• Learning Goal: To connect actions with words and practice spelling within a simple sentence.

• Activity Description (Spelling Charades):

  1. Prepare cards with simple action words children can act out (e.g., run, jump, eat, play). Include the Nepali translation to support understanding.

  2. A child picks a card and acts out the word without speaking, while the others guess the English action word.

  3. Once guessed correctly, everyone works together to spell the word out loud (e.g., "J-U-M-P").

  4. As an extension, help the children use the word in a simple sentence related to their action (e.g., "He can jump high!").

• Materials Needed: Cards with action words in English and Nepali.

💡 Tips for Parents & Teachers

• Keep it Positive: Praise effort over perfection. The goal is to build confidence and a positive feeling about English .

• Use Multimodal Glosses: This effective technique means presenting a new word with a picture, a sound, and a definition or gesture all at once . For example, for "kite," show a picture, say the word, mimic flying a kite, and say "It flies in the sky during Dashain."

• Keep Sessions Short: 15-20 minutes is plenty for this age group. It's better to have a short, fun activity than a long, frustrating one .

• Incorporate Technology: Apps like "Kids Spelling game Learn words" can be a colorful supplement. It offers modes to learn, practice, and match words with pictures .