Wikki Stix and Finger Lights

I love finding things that help young readers make sense of print… even if they’re a little bit “gadgety.” For years now, I’ve been using Wikki Stix and finger lights with kids during our small group reading instruction. The Wikki Stix are nothing more than colorful waxy strips that can be easily cut, bent, pinched, rolled, and applied to paper…

…and removed, and applied, and removed, and applied…

…without needing to be thrown out. It lasts forever.

HOW WE USE WIKKI STIX

I found our Wikki Stix in a toy store when my own children were little, but you can also GRAB A SET online and avoid trying to find them somewhere else.

We use them with children when we want to bring their attention to a certain word, word part, or print feature in text. In the picture above, for example, we were reviewing different blends and looking for them in the words we were about to read. Because they don’t fall off until we peel them off, we can leave them in the children’s books until we return to it the next day. This way, each time we open the book to reread it, we’re reminded of the work we’ve already done.

You can even use them to review parts of speech, or anything else related to vocabulary. In the picture at the top, the kids used different colors to identify and differentiate between the verbs and the adjectives in the sentence.

TINY FINGER FLASHLIGHTS

Things got even better when I discovered finger lights. (I don’t know why they were in the dairy section of my grocery store, but that’s where I found them.) I think a more reasonable place to find finger lights is HERE. Originally meant for parties, we use them with emerging readers to help them focus on the words and track one at a time while working through the whole sentence. Then we slide the light underneath the whole sentence and read it smoothly. It has really helped children who need a visual and tactile reminder to track print.

We also use them to “shine a light” on certain words in the text, like:

• sight words
• words that rhyme with certain words
• words that start with a certain sound
• certain parts of speech
• words that have a given meaning
• compound words

…and so on. This is a fun way to use the finger lights with more proficient readers. In terms of tracking print, we only use the lights with emerging readers as they’re learning to pay attention to each word on the page. Once that habit is established, we typically stop pointing altogether so we can develop fluency.

FROM FOIL SWANS TO SMALL GROUPS

Let me throw this in here… one night, during a birthday dinner at a Japanese steak house, my daughter couldn’t finish her meal. The server wrapped her leftovers in foil and she requested that it be shaped into a swan. As he was twisting the long piece of foil to be the swan’s neck, it dawned on me how sturdy, flexible, and tactile foil is. I remember thinking, “This is something kids can to use to make letters.”

That year, we had quite a few kids who were struggling to form letters correctly and, in some cases, just to identify them. We had been using pipe cleaners, but the sharp metal tip at each end was sometimes a hazard. (If you know, you know.) Switching to foil ended up being a great alternative.

You can also form letters with the Wikki Stix, but aluminum foil is one way to change it up and we like the larger, bulkier feel of it for little hands.

By adding a line to the paper, children can learn where letters sit in relation to it. It’s also a great way for kids to start to understand and correct issues like letter reversals.

With this one foil shape, we have a b, d, and p. This makes it easy to extend the learning by playing little games, like review beginning sounds. For example, ask:

• What does dog begin with?
• How about ball?
• What is the beginning letter in pizza?

Each time you ask a question, the children can place the foil on the line to show which letter your word begins with.

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