Home-Made Reading Materials

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

Well, since I have found that my oldest is more of a tactile / hands-on learner, I decided to make different learning materials to help her be more familiar with different words and letters. So, I created some cards based on “Classified Cards” for the Montessori Method but altered my expectations of how to use the cards.

HOW TO MAKE THE CARDS:

To make the cards, I simply did a search on Yahoo and Google to see what pictures I could find (I searched under images). Thus, if I was looking for a picture of a house, I would search under images for “house.” I decided to make all of these pictures black and white so I clicked on black and white images to find what I wanted. After finding them, I copied the image and pasted it into Powerpoint onto the card size I wanted (drew boxes) and put the name of the item below. If this is too much for you, simply cut and paste the picture into a document and make a different document for the word label. Then I would print off two copies of each page on normal paper – cut them out and tape them to a large index card. I made sure to put the label exactly at the bottom of the card to ensure the labels were all starting at the same point (thus, the same size). Then, on one copy of each card I would cut off the labels.

HOW TO USE THE CARDS (FIRST METHOD):

When I printed off the cards, I made two of each card. Then, on one of the cards I would cut off the label and set it aside. Give your child a few cards that have the label and those cards that match with their separate labels. Have your child place the label that goes with the appropriate card using the card with the label attached as a way to help check their work. (This method is shown in the picture above.) I’m hoping that this will help my daughter be more familiar with the names of certain items and what those names look like written out. In the future I hope to make more cards that are actually classifications of items – such as transportation, fruits, vegetables, etc.

I figure that at some point – when she is able to read – we can adjust the use of these cards by having her match the label with the appropriate card without using another card to ensure accuracy (instead trying to see if she can remember the label name, read it and place it appropriately). I also intend to make a set of cards like these, but in the Arabic language, insha’Allah.

HOW TO USE THE CARDS (SECOND METHOD):

My daughter has been completely enthralled with learning how to write words. She is always asking me how to write a word – any word – so she can practice and write it in a notebook. So, I thought we could use these cards a second way. With this method, I will use just the cards that have the labels attached to the card. Then, using her movable alphabet, she can find the letters that she needs to make the words and then put them in order based on what she sees on the label. Perhaps later, she can also do this without the movable alphabet – instead just writing the names on slips of paper or in her notebook. I’m just hoping this will get her more actively involved in this process as I have found that most methods of learning reading and writing are not working for her – but this interests her. I also intend, insha’Allah to make these cards in Arabic so she can practice with her Arabic Movable alphabet as well.

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,
Sumayyah Umm SAA