Sol Feinstone

Movie Star Kisses

• Put hands to your mouth
• Through each letter a kiss, like Marilyn Monroe at the Oscars.

Opera

• Sing the letters in opera fashion

Fly Like a Bird

• Arms flapping up and down

Chicken

• Arms folded up to make wings and head moving forward and back. 

Nose

• Hold your nose and spell it

Beat It

• Beat it out on the desk

Cheer It

• Like a cheerleader (Give me an "h", etc)

Snap and Clap

• Snap the vowels
• Clap the consonants

Ketchup

• One hand open, the other closed
• Pound hands together like you would pound a difficult bottle of ketchup.

Explosion (Volcano)

• Start at a whisper.
• Get louder with each letter.
• Explode when you say the word at the end.

Marshmallow Clap

• Almost like a clap but you stop just before the hands touch for each letter.

Slow Motion

• Hold the sound of each letter for a second or two.

Ride'm Cowboy

• Straddle the back of the chair.
• Spin lasso around for each letter.
• Pretend to rope a calf and pull in at the end when you say the word.

Deep Voice

• Say the letters and word in a deep voice.

Mouse Talk

• Squeaky voice with hands curled up by face

Scream It / Whisper It

• Scream the letters and the word
• Followed by whisper the letters then the word (whisper seems to settle the group group down after being silly from the scream).

Hand Jive

• Pair children up.
• Children clap hands together for consonants and lap clap for vowels.
• Put hands in the air at the end as you say the word. 

Raise the Roof

• Push up toward the ceiling, one push for each letter.

Disco

• Pretend to be John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (If you're old enough to know what I am talking about)
• Hand starts at stomach for each letter
• Hand up for consonants
• Hand down for vowels 

Throw the Stars

• Throw one hand at a time up toward the ceiling for each letter.

Mexican Hat Dance

• Alternate feet in front.

Flapping & Nodding

• Pretend you you are a bird and flap your wings, while nodding your head for each letter. 

Stomping

• Stomp out each letter with your foot. 

Motorcycle

• Hang on to the pretend handle bars and do wheelies for each letter.

Dribble and Shoot

• Dribble the letters and shoot the word.

Yo-Yo

• Pretend to have a yo-yo in each hand.
• Each time the yo-yo goes down say a letter.
• Do a loop-the-loop for when you say the word at the end.
• You might want to add some sound effects to this one.

Pumping Iron

• Pretend to be lifting weights, one rep for each letter.  You must strain to get each letter up.
• Pretend to mount the barbell on the stand and sound exhausted as you say the word at the end.

Imaginary Chalkboard 

• Children pretend a chalkboard is in front of them.
• Write each letter on the chalkboard.  Make the letters large.
• When your finished with each word you can pretend to erase it.
• Note:  If teacher is leading from the front of the room he/she will have to form letters backwards.

Apple Picking

• Pretend to pick an apple from the tree and put it in the basket.
• Pretend to pick up the basket when you saw the word at the end.

Robot

• Use a robotic voice, with arms moving back and forth ("Danger! Danger! Will Robinson" style)

Tigger Bounce

• Just do what Tiggers do best - bounce.  Bounce up and down for each letter. 

Alligator Clap

• Hold arms straight out with our fingers curled to
  make the teeth 
• Open and close arms, clapping our hands together for each letter 

Blast Off

• Start crouched at floor 
• As you say each letter get a little higher
• Jump into the air at the end as you say the word

Frog Jumps

• Start standing up.
• As you say each letter crouch down a little farther.
• Jump into the air at the end as you say the word.

Back Tracer

• Trace the letter on the back of the person in front of you.
• This is best done in a circle. Then everyone has a back to trace on.
• Note: This is also a common strategy in teaching dyslexic children- so they can feel the letter.

Pat It

• Pat heads for tall letters
• Pat tummies for short letters
• Pat knees for letters that extend below the baseline

Box It

• Pretend to be a boxer
• One punch for each letter

Be the Letter

• Sort of like doing the YMCA song. 

Hula

• Hands on hips.
• Swivel for each letter.
• Hands in the air at the end when you say the word.

Jumping Jacks

• One letter for each movement

Toe Touches

• One letter for each toe touch.

Batter Up

• Getting into a batting position
• Take a swing for each letter

Push-ups

• One push-up for each letter. 

Frisbee

• Throw each letter out Frisbee style  

At the Mound

• Pretend to be a pitcher at the mound and pitch out each letter.
• Pretend to watch the last pitch get hit as you say the word at the end.

Lumber Jack

• Pretend to swing an ax for each letter.
• Pretend the tree is falling down at the end and say the word the way a lumberjack would saw TIM-BER!

Surfin' & Spellin'

• Start out by getting on a surf board, 
• Sing:  "Let's go spellin' now, everybody's
  learning how, come and spell it with me!"  
• Then while we're surfing we say the
  letters of the word!  

The Swim

• Swim the letters.
• Hold your nose and go down at the end when you say the word.

Songs for 3 Letter Words

• This Old Man
• Jingle Bells
• Are You Sleeping? (C-A-N can)
• Three Blind Mice

Songs for 4 Letter Words

• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Skip to My Lou
• YMCA
• Are You Sleeping?

Songs for 5 Letter Words

• Skip to My Lou
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• You Are My Sunshine
• BINGO ("There was a class that learned to spell; And this is what they
  sang-o")

Songs for 6 Letter Words

• This Old Man
• Jingle Bells
• Happy Birthday
• Michael Row Your Boat Ashore
• The Farmer in the Dell
• Skip to My Lou

Songs for 7 Letter Words

• She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes
• My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
• Twinkle, Twinkle
• Willoughby Wallaby Woo

Songs for 8 Letter Words

• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

Songs for 9 Letter Words

• I'm A Little Teapot