Anyone remember Cuisinaire rods? They are like unifix cubes, but with words or letters? They are great for developing readers to practice blending sounds and making words from individual letters.
The smart people who make Cuisinaire rods (ETA Hand2Mind) also make another great product: VersaTiles! VersaTiles are a hinged plastic mat that hold square tiles. One one side are numbers and on the other, a design. There are multiple books that teach students different skills in math, reading, and science, depending on the set you buy.
The kids love to play. They take turns reading the questions at the top of the page, then they scroll to the bottom and find the answer and the letter. If the answer to number 4 is G, then they place the number 4 tile on the letter G space (number side up), below the hinge.
 |
| Here is a student placing the number tile over the letter space. |
 |
| Here they are finding the correct answer together in a small group. |
 |
| Double checking their work. |
 |
| Moving on through the list of questions. |
 |
| All finished! |
 |
| Close the lid. |
 |
| Flip it upside down. |
 |
| Open it back up. |
 |
| Check the pattern against the pattern at the bottom of the page. If it’s the same, success! |
I got the Level 2 Reading/Language Arts Starter set. It comes with one VersaTile and 8 different activity books: Fun With Phonics, More Fun with Phonics, Ready! Set! Spell!, Read for Meaning, Read to Understand, Reading for Everyday, Fun with Language, and Language in Action. It meets a variety of needs and really is fun for the kids.
The great people at ETA Hand2Mind are giving away one extra set of the winner’s choice! Enter the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway