Day 3: Visual Activities for Teaching Reading

Today, I’m sharing visual activities for teaching reading as a part of my 5 Days of Multi-Sensory Teaching for Reading series.

In today’s post, we’re going to focus in on visual activities you can do with your reader. This post many contain affiliate links.  Please read my full disclosure policy.

30+ Visual Activities for Teaching Reading

1. Label your house– use the labels to help them with reading and writing, we use our labels A LOT {I think I’m actually going to be adding Spanish labels under each label next year as well}

2. DVDs- some of our favorites are LeapFrog, books related to movies {like Charlotte’s Web},

3. Youtube- here’s a link to some of our favorite ABC youtube links

4. TV Shows- we mainly stick with PBS and love Sesame Street, Word World and SuperWhy.  Older kids {through 2nd grade} may enjoy Between the Lions, Word Girl, and Electric Company.  All these shows teach reading/phonics concepts.

5. Reading apps- you can visit my app Pinterest board to find some.

6. Display and use a word wall

7. Use a spelling dictionary {I’ve got two linked of mine linked here.}

8. Jot down and pre-teach words before reading that you know may be tricky for your child to read

9. Play classic games such as dominoes {No Time for Flashcards}, Go Fish, or Memory Match

10. Start with Word Families– word families are a great way to help kids SEE the shared pattern between words

11. Word Study– If you’ve followed me long enough, you know I’m head over heels in love with word study.  Kids can SEE the relationship between words and their patterns {you can find more word study/phonics activities on my Pinterest board}

12. Sight Words You Can See– what a great sight word program for kids that are visual

13. Sight Word Racing Game

14. Word-Wac-Woe {like Tic-Tac-Toe}

15. DIY Sight Word Mosaics

16. Ready-Made Color by Sight Word- I have one for lessons 15-31 of Reading the Alphabet.

17. Secret Sight Word Game– great for those sight words that are visually similar and confusing for kids

18.  Sight word puzzles- You can find sight word puzzles- BOB Book Set 2 Printables, and Reading the Alphabet

19. Making Words

20. Flip a Word {like the ones from my Set 1 BOB Book printables}, Roll a Word, Slide a Word {I Can Teach My Child}; just make it visual! 🙂

21. Rainbow Write words

22. Take a “picture walk” through the book by simply going through a book talking about the pictures before reading; great for supporting comprehension and predicting

23. Use pictures to create stories or make predictions, which is similar to a picture walk, but can be done with a single picture from a magazine or painting.

24. Encourage learning about environmental print for those younger kids {Pre-K Pages}

25.  Point out letters and words in real life situations- Point out the T in Target or help your child figure out the meaning of a word from its context when watching a show on TV

26. Use Big books- We have a good collection of big books.  My prekinders especially love to look through them.

27. Give them visual aids, like this list of question words posted in my homeschool room or a chart to help them read directions {free printable}

28. Use graphic organizers to help with comprehension and retelling

29. Use anchor charts {My Comprehension Pinterest board is full of these!}

30. Make sure they can see the pictures when reading a book

31. Read poetry together, help them make mental images in their heads

32. Have them create a comic strip as they listen along to the book being read aloud {Comprehension Instructional Activities, The Struggling Reader}

33. Teach concepts about books {front, back, etc.}

34. Teach them concepts about print {try this list from A to Z}

35. Concept of print/word- help them rebuild sentences from a text, pointing to the text as they read

What other visual activities have you used to teach your child to read?  I’d love to hear them!

~Becky