A Study of Lines

Learning to distinguish between and write letters, numbers, and shapes includes building an understanding of their form and appearance. Have you ever noticed that letters and numbers are made up of only straight and curved lines? Some have only straight lines, some have curved, and some have both kinds. It seems like common sense, but learning to see and manipulate the lines that make up a symbol is part of the process of recognizing those symbols and learning to write them.

During the first month of preschool, we did a variety of activities to explore lines and we will continue to notice and work with them throughout the school year.

Here are some of the ways we have studied lines so far:

• Bending and straightening pipe cleaners to make different kinds of lines

• Playing with straight and curved train tracks and trains

• Sorting straight and curved lines

• Moving in a line together around the classroom or outside (marching, jumping, tip-toeing, walking)

• Drawing different kinds of lines using a variety of writing tools (markers, crayons, sidewalk chalk)

• Finding lines in everyday objects

• Building and creating with lines

• Sorting letters with only straight lines and only curved lines

• Reading books with lines