I am always collecting and sharing word work ideas for my classroom, and if it’s no prep, then even better! Today I’m sharing a simple, inexpensive way to practice hands-on literacy with little ones.
All you need is dried pasta!
Have you ever tried using pasta in your literacy centers?
This is an old idea that I’ve been using for 20 years, and here’s what I use:
- dried spaghetti
- curved macaroni
- dried ABC pasta
With younger students, we simply build capital letters with spaghetti, identify them with partners, and copy them onto paper. Students also love making their names!
TIP: Make colorful “word mats” out of facecloths so the pasta won’t roll.
Next, we add curved macaroni to use in conjunction with the straight spaghetti to make lower case letters. The kinaesthetic nature of the task is excellent for developing fine motor control and for drawing attention to the formation of letters. There is a great deal of decision making when choosing the pieces involved in each letter.
We also use Alphabet Pasta to practice our words. I keep the pasta in plastic bins and they last for years!
Here are some of the activities we do in class:
1. Copy letters from an alphabet chart, or practice our names.
2. Use the pasta to build daily or weekly sight words.
3. Practice words that contain b, d, p and q for students having problems with reversing letters. Many times having to physically build the letter and decide which side of the “stick” the round part goes on can really help with reversals.
4. Build short “pasta sentences”, complete with punctuation, and then copy them into journals. Try ABC pasta for this if you can find some. Dried legumes (like split peas) are perfect for periods that won’t roll away.
5. Create a word on lined paper as shown above, then ask a partner to “edit” the word by pointing out formation problems, such as letter not being on the line properly. They can then “fix” the problem when they write the word themselves. Again, it draws attention to proper letter formation in a unique way, which then transfers to their writing in other tasks.
Students love working with the small pieces, and if they lose a few along the way it’s not a big deal. Best of all, there’s very little prep for the teacher to do and the pasta can be used for years. Sometimes I dye the vowels, blends or digraphs a different color, or use different shaped pasta just to keep it interesting!
To see pictures of my complete sight word program
and read about more word work ideas,
you can click HERE.
If you are looking for help teaching letter sounds and phonics?
Try some free resources! Click HERE.
You can browse my entire collection of literacy, math and clip art by downloading this clickable resource list! Just click on any topic and see an updated list of everything in that category.
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Continue exploring with any of the links below:
Phonics Word Search Full Year Bundle 
Fairy Tales STEM Literacy Bundle 
Sentence Building Bundle 
Secret Sentences Bundle 
What a super fun way to practice making words Susanna. I had never thought about it. I guess some kids actually must sample it too! Thanks for sharing!
The Write Stuff Teaching
Great idea! I don't know how I didn't know about this! A great way to talk about lines, curves and circles to make letters. Reminds me of Handwriting Without Tears.Thank you!
Oh my – how fun Susanna! I am going to try this to get my little lovable group super motivated about reading and writing. Thanks
Nicole
Mrs, Rios Teaches Second Grade
Love this, Susanna!!! It's such a fun idea 🙂
Laura
I love this! Even my seconds have trouble with b, d, q, and p. What a fun way to practice!
Sally from Elementary Matters
Very cute, Susanna! Thanks for sharing! xo
Laura Love to Teach
Such a cute idea! Thanks!
I love the way the room smells when you have all the uncooked pasta out! LOL. We use macaroni when we do the letter M but this a great multi sensory way to use the same materials! Love it!
Jennifer from Simply Kinder
What a fun idea! I love it! Especially because it really makes the kids notice the curves and straight lines in letters. I always look forward to your ideas in this blog hop cause they're always so great! 🙂
Carolyn
How fun! Thanks for sharing!
Hilary
Second Grade is Out of This World!
So great, just so great! I've pinned you! 🙂
~Fern
Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas!
Fern Smith's Pinterest Boards!
Oh my goodness, I so needed this post, I have some kiddos who need some serious fine motor skills!! Thank you!
Angela
The Daily Alphabet
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