1st Grade Writing Activities
Browse through our first grade writing activities. We have many 1st grade writing activities to keep your first grader learning on the fly, all year long. From spelling games to writing practice, you'll find our collection of first grade writing activities below.
The Build-a-Word Card Game: Better than Go Fish!
Compound words may look hard at first, but things get easier if kids can spot two smaller words that they already know. Want to add a little "holy moly!" to something that can feel ho hum? This card game will help you practice making compound words-- and have some fun while you're at it!
Dictionary Treasure Hunt
In first grade, vocabulary moves to center stage. But when a kid gets stumped--and we all feel that way sometimes, even as adults--it's time to turn to a lifetime resource: the dictionary. Want a fun way to help your child start making friends with this reference tool? Try this treasure hunt!
Write a Mixed Up Story!
Want to help your child recognize the recipe for a successful sentence? Here's a fun activity to get your child thinking about how sentences work. Plus, he'll create a truly crazy story!
String Story Necklaces
Tell your kid you're going to spend the afternoon working on comprehension and you're sure to get a yawn. This activity delivers the goods with a fun art project that will also teach kids to look for a story's beginning, middle, and end.
Play Nursery Rhyme Madlibs!
By the end of kindergarten, most kids can recite classic nursery rhymes like Jack and Jill, or London Bridge. They're fun, easy, and comfortably familiar. Here's a silly game to draw on that knowledge while introducing a concept that will be a big part of first grade reading and writing: ...
Write a How-To Book for Dad
Forget the trip to the mall, or the ride to the hardware store. This Father's Day, give dad something he'll really appreciate, a book about him, written by his favorite author ... his son or daughter!
Play Post-It Bingo!
New readers need to develop a "bank" of words that they can read by sight. If flashcards start to seem a little tedious, consider this fresh way to practice sight words to perfection...Bingo!
Play Traveling ABC's! A Spelling Game
When it comes to spelling, using a hands-on activity can help children remember each word better than just reading the word on a page. Want to give your kid some spelling practice, without making her groan? Take her spelling list on the road!
Play Contraction Concentration!
A contraction is an abbreviated form of two words. It contains an apostrophe which indicates that there are missing letters. Help your child figure out contractions and their original two words by playing this simple game.
Play with Characters...and Writing!
Who are the people young readers meet in their books? How do authors help us know what these characters are like? This reading and writing activity will help your first grader build important comprehension skills that she'll need in second and third grade, too.
