1st Grade Reading Activities
First grade is a year of firsts: your child's first full day of school, the first time she'll write a small story herself, and the first time she'll read a complete book cover to cover. We've got dozens of wacky reading and math activities, cool science experiments, and indoor and outdoor games to keep the learning fun.
Leprechaun Treasure Hunt!
This hunt for leprechaun gold is so much fun, kids won't even realize they're working their reading muscles at the same time.
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: ...
Make a Story in a Bag
Ask a first grader to tell a story, and often the result will be hilarious because it's all mixed up. As fun as it is to listen to the tomato that went to sleep, ate dinner, and then put on his pajamas and went for a swim, teaching kids that stories have an order is important. Want to give your ...
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!
Make a Nonsense Book!
Helping your child learn to read doesn’t only have to mean using books from the library or from the store. You can make a book of your own—a nonsense book!
Practice Reading over a Cup of Tea!
You will personalize "bags of tea" with jumbles of words that can be reconfigured to form a simple sentence. Make acquainting your child with sentence structure and improving her reading skills an entertaining challenge!
Take the Boredom Out of the Back Seat!
Thinking about taking a road trip? Here are some simple ways to pass the time that you and your child can do together.
Make an "I Feel" Meter
Help your first grader communicate his feelings with this "feeling meter" poster to hang on his bedroom door. Kids can practice reading and expressing what they feel, and hopefully further the harmony in your household!
Writer's Blocks: Play Sight Word Jenga
Help your first-grader improve his reading skills with this new twist on a classic game--let your first-grader create his own wooden word blocks and play sight word Jenga!
