CHALKBOARDS

Purposes
To give the child practice in writing.

Control of Error
The sandpaper letters and numerals.

Age
4 1/2 years onwards

Materials
For Preparatory Work:
– Small tray, large enough to make a sandpaper letter.
– Enough sand in the tray to cover the bottom.

For Chalkboard Work:
– Set of green chalkboards 32cm x 50cm each.

1. The first board is blank on one side and ruled to guide the placement of letters on the other side.
2. The second board has one side ruled in squares and the other ruled in horizontal lines.

– Tray with chalk in a holder, an eraser, a dust cloth, and a hand cloth.
– Sandpaper letters and numerals.

Notes

• This work is done parallel to work with the Sorting Letters.

Preparatory Exercice
Invite one child to come and work with you.
You and the child choose one sandpaper letter and bring it to the table.
Then go and get the tray of sand and place it to the right of the sandpaper letter.
Trace the sandpaper letter. Repeat two to three times.
Then tell the child that you are going to trace the letter in the tray.
Move the tablet over to the left.
Slide the tray in front of you and trace the same letter as the sandpaper letter into the sand.
Show the child that you have made the same letter.
Show the child how to “make it disappear” by gently shaking the tray from side to side but keeping the tray on the table.
Have the child trace the sandpaper letter and then make the letter in the sand.
The child can continue making the letter in the sand.
Once he is comfortable tracing the letter in the sand, he can then work with the stylus.

Once he is comfortable with using the stylus and writes a few of the letters in the sand, he is ready to begin with the Chalkboard work.

Presentation 1: Blank Board

Material
– Blank board and chalk tray
– Sandpaper letters

Presentation

1. Invite one child to come and work with you.
2. Tell him that you will be using something to help us to write.
3. Introduce the child to the chalkboard and have him carry it to the table.
4. Then have him bring the box with the eraser, etc. and place it in the middle of the chalkboard.
5. Then have the child choose a sandpaper letter.
6. Then have the child sit to your left.
7. Take out all of the material and place it above the chalkboard.
8. Then place the tray also above the chalkboard.
9. Trace the sandpaper letter a few times.
10. Use the chalk and write the sandpaper letter multiple times on the board in a straight, horizontal line.
11. Erase the letters written in an up to down, left to right manner.
12. Use the dust cloth (hold as in Practical Life) and wipe board.
13. Replace it.
14. Take the terry cloth and clean your hands. Replace it.
15. Move everything over so the child can write the same sandpaper letter.
16. Suggest to the child that they may keep writing this letter.
17. If the child seems very comfortable writing this letter, you may show them another letter. If not, wait for a future time.
18. Once done, show the child how to put away the material.
19. If the clothes are dirty, you will need to change them.
20. Encourage the child to continue practicing from time to time.

Exercise

This game is to be done in a group. The directress would have the children sit in a circle around a mat. She would then hand out the material (for example one cube of the Pink Tower to each child). The children hold the cube behind their backs and feel them. The directress would then ask for the largest cube to be placed on the mat. By feeling their cube, the children are being asked to feel for the recognition of the sizes of the cubes. Continue asking for certain cubes working your way from the biggest cube to the smallest cube, until all the cubes have been placed on the mat.

Personal Note
Encourage the child to make the letters smaller as his skills improve.

Presentation 2: Sqare Board

Material
– Chalkboard with squares and chalk tray
– Sandpaper letters

Presentation

1. Following the same procedure, show the child how to write a single letter or numeral in a square.
2. The same letter will be repeated across the row.
3. The child may choose to make the same letter over the entire board. Or she may choose to have a different letter for each row.
4. Some children will find doing the whole board too much, so the child can build up to it as they are ready.

Exercise
Child works with the board as shown.

Personal Note
Encourage the child to make the letters smaller as his skills improve.

Presentation 3: Double Guide Lines Board

Material
– Double guide line board and clalk tray
– Sandpaper letters

Presentation

1. As before
2. Show the child how to place the body of a letter between the two lines and show how the stem goes above the line and the tail goes below.
3. On the first set of lines, do a letter with only a main body. On the second line, make a letter with a stem, and on the third line, make a letter with a tail.

Exercise
The child, if ready, does not need to use the sandpaper letters.

Presentation 4: Single Line Board

Material
– Single Line Board
– Sandpaper letters

Presentation
Same as before

Note
Some children will enjoy doing this briefly. By the time they are ready to write on a single line, they will prefer writing on paper.

Exercise
Child works as shown

Personal Note
When the child is secure writing with the chalk, you can talk to the child about the letters, and ask which one is most like the sandpaper letter. This is the beginning of the child assessing and becoming aware his own writing. Sometimes it is helpful to talk about “why” one may look more like the sandpaper letter.