Get Reading On a Reading Treasure Hunt!
Do your kids like to move?  Do they love the idea of finding a treasure? Do they need practice reading?  Well, this literacy activity checks all these boxes.
We’re going on a treasure hunt, but not just any treasure hunt. Â It’s a treasure hunt that sneaks in a little reading practice. Â So grab a list of sight words or vocabulary words that your child needs to practice and get ready to play.
Getting Ready
Make a treasure hunt crown
Let’s go on a treasure hunt.  First, let’s make a festive treasure hunt crown to wear. To make your crown:
1. Measure your child’s head with a tape measure.
2. Cut a piece of colored duct tape a little longer than your measurement.
3. Place the tape sticky side up on the table.
4. Attach feathers, paper strips, or pipe cleaners to the sticky side of the tape.
5. Attach another piece of duct tape on top leaving a small amount of sticky side visible on one end.
6. Bring the two ends together to form a crown.
7. Place on the player’s head and get ready to play.
Prepare your treasure hunt cards
This activity can be modified to suit each child’s reading ability. The printable clue cards are blank so you can easily write letters, sight words, spelling words, vocabulary words, or sentence “clues” on each one. We chose to use sight words for our game.
Just print the free download below, cut apart and add your words or sentences.
Prepare your treasure
Now it’s time to hide your clues. For each clue card you will also need a ‘letter gem’ to hide. Your literacy letter gems can be painted rocks, plastic gems found at a hobby store or colorful paper shapes.  On each gem write one of the following letters- t,r,e,a, and t. Hide the gems around the hunting space. Place a clue card with each gem.
Ready to Play
Give your child the first clue card. Have them read the letter, word, or sentence on the card.  If read correctly, tell the child where the first gem can be found.
Players should bring each gem back to the starting point and place each gem in the order found. When the kids have found all five letters, they will be able to read the secret word (treat) and claim their yummy surprise. We chose some chocolate coins.
Alternatives
The great thing about this activity is how easily ir can be adapted to fit your needs;
- Use words your child needs to practice reading. Â If your child is struggling with blends, use those words. Â If your child needs to work on identifying and giving the meaning of vocabulary words, use those instead.
- If you want the activity to last longer, choose a longer, secret treasure word such as chocolate.
Most of all have fun while building literacy skills!
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