Letter recognition, visual perceptual and rock salt

Kids love digging in odd textures and after having left over rock salt I decided it would be fun to utilize it during therapy.   I added some colored alphabet letters (they are actually beads) to the salt.

Then I wrote a few letters that they would be looking for on the grey boxes (Handwriting Without Tears paper).

I allow the alphabet letters to be upside down or backwards in the rock salt, as being able to find them in this manner increases form constancy which is a  visual perceptual skill.  Form constancy just means that a leaner know that a letter turned sideways/different color/various size is still that letter and can pick it out. Form constancy is a skill needed for reading.

To modify this activity to make it harder, I could actually write a few letters on the grey boxes, let them look at it for a few seconds, and then turn the sheet over and have them see how many letters they can find that I had written down.  If they can put them in order then this increases the challenge.  I often may ask the child to write the letters in the extra boxes.  Asking a child to find a certain number of letters in a specified time is a great way to increase the challenge.  If I want to test letter recognition, then I could ask them to give me certain letters but not write them down. 

To modify this activity to make it easier, I could decrease the number of letters in the rock salt and decrease the letters that they are looking for.    If the child doesn't like the tactile feel of the rock salt, then they can pull out with tongs or use thin gloves to pull the letters out of the salt.