DIY UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE LETTER MATCH

I have done my fair share of uppercase and lowercase letter matches with both my children and  students. The paper and pencil method of drawing a line from the uppercase letter to the correct lowercase letter, writing the matching letter, to coloring the matching letter. How many ways have you introduced letter matching to your little ones and both of you showed zero interest after a few times?  I am sure you would like something new and engaging for your children. After all, learning should always be fun to lock in the learner's attention from beginning to end, right? I have just the thing for you. A DIY uppercase and lowercase letter match with 10 ways to use it. That’s right, 10 ways for preschool through kindergarten! That’s a win for everyone. 

You’ve probably seen this DIY before, but I went ahead and modified it in such a way that you get 10 interactive ways to use it. 
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You’ll need to give yourself at least 30 minutes of prep time, but I promise you, this will keep children engaged with continued use of this activity. 

Materials:

• 26 craft sticks
• 1 box
• Craft knife
• markers (optional)
• cardstock
• velcro
• laminator
• laminating pouches
• pictures for phonics ​​

You will need a box that can accommodate a few rows for 26 craft sticks. I would highly recommend lightly tracing lines on the box to see if you will have enough space. Once your markings look fine, begin to cut your slots. 

The plain sticks are suitable, but I like the pop of colors. You can purchase colored sticks, but if you’d like to have the kids involved, purchase plain sticks and let them color the sticks like I did. I even did some coloring myself. 

After coloring the sticks, you will need to write each letter of the alphabet on  a piece of paper, preferably cardstock, but use what you have. If you want to be a little fancy like me, typing is always an option. Then laminate the sheet and cut small squares of each letter.

Print pictures that correspond to each letter’s beginning sound. You can always cut pictures from an old magazine or a grocery store ad. ​

Here’s where it gets fancy…velcro!

Velcro is your best friend! Put velcro on all the sticks and then velcro under each slot on the box. Be sure to pay attention to which velcro piece you are using, otherwise when it is time to use, some pieces won’t stick if it doesn’t have the correct back. I chose to use the soft side on the sticks and box. And the rough side was used on the letters and pictures. ​

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your DIY. Proceed to the learning phase. 

1. Uppercase to Lowercase: Place all the lowercase letters on the box and the uppercase letters on the popsicle sticks. Have your child name each uppercase letter stick and then match it to the correct lowercase letter on the box.
2. Lowercase to Uppercase: Place the lowercase letters on the popsicle sticks and the uppercase letters on the box. Ask your child to  name each lowercase letter as she/he matches it with the correct uppercase letter on the box. 
3. Phonics 1: Ask your child to say the letter sound of each craft stick  rather than naming the letter as it is placed into the correct slot. This can be done simultaneously with matching the letters from  option 1 and 2, but I wanted to focus on one skill at a time. 
4. Phonics 2: Place the picture cards on the craft sticks and ask your child to identify the picture and say the beginning sound. After identifying the beginning sound, your child should place the picture stick with the corresponding letter on the box. 
5. Scrambled Alphabet: You can choose uppercase or lowercase to place on the box in random order. Ask your child to match other sticks to the correct letters. This will take a little more time as your child scans the box for the corresponding uppercase or lowercase letter. 
6. Alphabetical Order: Remove all the letters from the box. Give your child either uppercase or lowercase letters and ask him/her to put the letters in order from A to Z.
7. Coding: If you have an older child like I do (6 years old), I added something for her, too. I made number cards from 1 through 26 and placed each in order on the box. Then I asked her to use the craft stick letters to put in the correct slot corresponding with each letter’s number placement in the alphabet. For example, letter A is the first letter in the alphabet, so she would put letter A in slot 1. Letter Z is the twenty sixth letter, therefore she would put letter Z in slot 26. I made a key code for her to use with this.
8. Race: I have to give credit to my children for this one. Each took a handful of craft sticks and had a race to see who would finish first. I would recommend evenly splitting it with 13 craft sticks each. 
9. Shapes: This can also be done with matching shapes on the craft stick to the box. To extend it, ask your child to count the number of sides and match the shape stick to the number on the box that corresponds with the number of sides each shape has. There are a few shapes with 4 sides so I would make a few number 4 cards for this activity.
10. Colors: Match the color of the craft sticks to the correct color card on the box.

I know that seems like a lot, but with 10 different ways to use your new DIY, you won't have to search Google for ideas, and your child will be engaged, learning AND targeting fine motor skills, too. In the beginning, you can work along side with your child to model and support, but after a few rounds of play, she/he can work independently.

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