Early Literacy Practice Pages

Do you have students who need help with some early literacy skills? Or students who have mastered most of the skills, but have some difficulty following directions, so they often answer questions wrong, even though they understand the concept?

I do! I do!

I needed a way for them to practice general readiness, phonemic awareness, phonics, and structural analysis skills, so they would feel more confident when taking tests and learn to analyze directions so they didn't get questions wrong because they weren't paying attention to the key words in the questions.

So, I came up with these early literacy practice pages.

I've been using them in small groups and they are really helping students to think about what the questions are asking and to look at each answer choice carefully. Many of them contain answer choices that are similar and look correct.

Here are all the skills included...

Most of the skills contain 2 different activity sheets, and there are some that contain more. Blends has 3 different sheets, mixed review has 4, and word families has 5 different sheets.

Here is an example of one of the sheets. See how some of the wrong answers look like they could be right, if you don't pay close attention to the question?

  

This one is all about rhyming. I came up with quite a few different ways to test the children's understanding of rhyming.

When I complete a sheet with an individual or small group, we go very slowly. I help the children read the questions and identify the pictures with them. These sheets were not created for children to complete independently. So many teachable moments would be missed!

Once an answer has been chosen, we discuss why it is the right (or wrong) answer. It is very interesting, and very telling, to hear the children explain why they chose an answer. It is during this conversation that children usually figure out if they chose the wrong answer. I tell them that they fell for my trickery and to be super careful not to let that happen. They love the challenge!

Answer keys are included for teachers to refer to. I highly suggest using it because it will tell you what each picture depicts, just in case you can't figure it out on your own.

If you are looking for a great way to help students who have difficulty with a few or many early literacy skills, or students who don't read or listen to directions very well, then you may want to check these out. You can find them by clicking here or on the image below.

Kindergarten Literacy Stations

My favorite time of the school day is when the children are learning independently or in groups, during station time. This is the time of year when all my hard work pays off and the children know how to function without me. It's my time to be the "guide on the side." While I am conducting small groups, I trust that my students are working, while having fun, and staying engaged and on task. It's a tall order, I know, but they are expected to do it. And, they do.

During this time, when they are working and learning without me, it is very important that their activities are engaging. They need activities that are interactive, where they can manipulate cards, cut, glue, write, color, etc. Working on a boring worksheet will not hold their attention for long.

When I'm creating activities, I always keep this in mind. I like knowing there is some kind of recording sheet for me to look at. Not all the time, of course, but a lot of the time.

Here are some of my favorite literacy activities to use during station time. 

Each activity has cards to manipulate and five activity sheets. The children put together puzzles, or sort and match cards. Then, they show what they've learned, by filling out the recording sheet. The recording sheets and the cards correlate with each other, to extend learning. Since there are five activity sheets for each skill, you can use these activities many times throughout the school year, to review previously learned skills.

Here are the skills covered...

Beginning Sounds:

Students assemble the puzzles by matching the 
pictures to their beginning sounds.

Then, they cut out and glue each letter under the picture

 that begins with that letter sound.

Middle Sounds:

Students sort the picture/word cards according to their 
middle sound. This activity can be done on the table, carpet, 
or in a pocket chart.

Then, the children cut out the vowels and glue a 

vowel in each box to make words that name the pictures.

Ending Sounds:
Students assemble the puzzles by 
matching the pictures to their ending sounds.

Then, they cut out and glue on the letter that 

makes the ending sound for each word. They write the words 

and color in the pictures.

CVC Words:
Students match the CVC words to their pictures. They can do 
this on the table, carpet, or in a pocket chart.

They, they cut out the CVC words, glue them next to the correct 

pictures, write the words on the lines, and color in the pictures.

Rhyming
Students match the rhyming cookies and milk glasses.

Then, they cut out and glue the milk glasses next to the words they

 rhyme with. They write another rhyming word on the line.

Syllables:
Students sort the picture/word cards according to the number 
of syllables they have. This can be done on the table, on the carpet,
or in a pocket chart.

Then, they say each word, color in the number of syllables, 

trace the words, and color in the pictures.

These activities help to teach some of the MOST important kindergarten literacy skills. They are also great for first and second graders, who need to review foundational skills. The activities can be completed independently or collaboratively. I prefer to see my students working together. 

You can find all these activities by clicking here or on the image below. Once the cards are prepped, they are ready to use all year long! Enjoy!