Summer is the perfect time for families to embark on exciting road trips and create lasting memories. It’s also an excellent opportunity to engage children in literacy activities while on the go. By incorporating literacy into your summer road trips, you can transform long hours in the car into fun and educational experiences. 

Incorporating Orton-Gillingham activities into a road trip can be a fantastic way to promote literacy instruction while keeping children engaged and learning. Here are some ideas for Orton-Gillingham activities that can be adapted for a road trip:

Sound and Letter Recognition

• Play “I Spy” using specific sounds or letters instead of colors or objects. For example, “I spy with my little eye something that starts with the /b/ sound.”
• Challenge your child to find road signs or billboards with specific letters or sounds while driving. Encourage them to say the letter or sound out loud when they spot it.

Phonemic Awareness

• Play rhyming games by taking turns coming up with words that rhyme. For example, “cat, hat, bat, sat.”
• Create a “Sound Scavenger Hunt” where your child listens for specific sounds on the road. They can mark down each time they hear a word with that particular sound.

Syllable Segmentation

• Choose a longer word from a road sign or a passing truck and challenge your child to break it down into syllables. For example, “motorcycle” becomes “mo-tor-cy-cle.”
• Play a clapping or tapping game where your child claps or taps out the syllables of different words they see on road signs or billboards.

Sight Word Practice

• Before the trip, create flashcards with sight words commonly used in early literacy. Review these sight words during breaks or rest stops.
• Play a memory game using sight words. Lay the flashcards face down and take turns flipping them over, trying to find matching pairs of sight words.

Decoding and Encoding

• Bring along a small whiteboard and dry-erase markers. Encourage your child to practice decoding words by sounding them out and writing them on the whiteboard.
• Choose a word and ask your child to change one letter to make a new word. For example, starting with “cat,” they can change it to “bat” or “mat.” This activity promotes both decoding and encoding skills.

Before you embark on your journey, check out our Parent Resources page for more information on how to nurture your child’s literacy skills. There you will find informational videos, additional activities to keep your child engaged, and various resources if you suspect your child might be a struggling reader.

Incorporating literacy into summer road trips adds an extra layer of enjoyment and enrichment for children. The above activities will help you make the most of your family’s journey while nurturing your child’s literacy skills. Embrace the adventure of traveling and learning together, and watch your child’s love for reading and learning grow. So remember, have fun, and enjoy the learning adventure on the road.

Not driving? Don’t worry! The activities above can be adapted for families traveling by plane, cruise, or even at a family barbecue!