Recommended Age: 4 and ½ years and onwards
Purpose: The article game provides the child with the opportunity to practice reading. Through the article game the child becomes aware of the definite and indefinite articles and their functions also preparing the child for later work in grammar.
Level of Parent Involvement: Medium, the adult must facilitate the initial exercise, once the child has been shown they may practice independently with the prepared slips.
Prerequisites
- The child must be able to read (you may provide assistance)
- The child must know the common puzzle words (the, a)
- The child should know all of the sand paper letters
- The child should know all or be working towards knowing all sand paper phonograms
- The child should have completed the ‘adjective game’ activity
Materials
- Objects; for example, 4 paper clips, 1 peg, 1 pen, 3 spoons (teaspoons)
- The objects should correspond to the level of reading for the child (mostly phonetic but with some phonograms) some of the objects which are repeated and others of which there are only one
- Blank strips of paper, pencil, scissors on a tray
- Prepared slips with the corresponding names of the objects (see PDF)
- A container for the objects
Preparation
- Place the objects into a small box/basket
- Print the PDF of prepared slips
- Cut and laminate the prepared slips
Steps
- Invite the child letting them now that you have a game you would like to play with them
- Go to the child’s table, bringing the materials, the child may bring the writing tray
- Sit down so that the child has full view of your dominant hand when writing (for example if you are right handed, have the child sit to your left)
- Open the box and take out each item individually, naming each object as you take them out, placing them on the table
- Ask the child to give you an object for example “give me the peg” “give me a clip”
- Check the child knows the difference between ‘a’ and ‘the’ by asking the child “how did you know I wanted that one?”
- Inform the child that when we have many to choose from we say ‘a’ but when there is only one we say ‘the’
- Write a label for the child to match for example ‘the peg’
- Invite the child to match the label with the object
- Repeat for remaining objects
- Once the child has finished matching the handwritten labels, ask the child “how did you know which ones needed ‘a’ and which ones needed ‘the?” (reinforcing the statement to the child as above being ‘a’ is used for many ‘the’ is used for one)
- Invite the child to mix up the labels and match independently
- When the child is finished show the child the prepared labels for independent work on another day
Variations
- The child may write their own labels
- Encourage the child to look for these words in any printed texts (poems, songs books etc…)
