Chalkboard Series

Literacy and Templaytes® Shapes
Phonemic awareness is a crucial skill in developing strong reading and language abilities. It refers to the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds, known as phonemes, in spoken words. Just as children learn to recognize shapes as building blocks of visual perception, developing phonemic awareness helps them recognize the foundational units of spoken language. Just as shapes can be combined and rearranged to create various objects and structures, phonemes can be combined and manipulated to form words and sentences. By honing their phonemic awareness skills, children learn to segment and blend sounds, which is vital for phonics instruction and reading fluency. The metaphorical connection between shapes and phonemic awareness highlights the importance of this skill in mastering the art of reading.

The chalkboard side allows for random mark-making, drawing or writing letters or numbers. Use the rectangles as literacy titles and teach rhyming words. For example, align 3 tiles and write the letters A and T on the 2nd and 3rd. Teach the sounds letters make by adding a S, C, F or B in the front: SAT, CAT, FAT and BAT. This is referred to as phonics and phonemic awareness. Write numbers on the tiles and have the child count and put them in the correct order. Chalk not included.

Strengthen fine motor skills by having children trace around the shapes to assist in drawing a picture, making their own DIY coloring book! Trace the shapes on construction paper, cut them out then paste them onto paper. A triangle pasted above a square is a house!

Practice collaborative play while following the rules of symmetry. Start with a long rectangle in the center and take turns adding a piece first on the left, then a matching shape is placed on the right. Symmetry, like the wings on a butterfly.