Florida Center for Reading Research
Recognizing Letters
Boost letter recognition with an activity that challenges young scholars to match a plastic letter to one printed on a card.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonics: Letter Recognition, Hungry Letter Mouse
Scholars take turns writing and identifying letters on a whiteboard. Learner one writes a letter; learner two finds it on the alphabet strip. If they are correct, Mr. Mouse gets to eat that letter, and if they are incorrect, Mr. Mouse...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Syllables, Syllable Graph
Scholars make a pictograph based on the number of syllables in each picture card. They choose a card, say the name of the object on the card, break the word into syllables, count the syllables, then glue the picture onto the number chart...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Sound it-Bag it
Scholars sort picture cards based on the initial phoneme they hear as they say the name of each image. They pick a card, say its name, then place it in one of five bags based on how its initial phoneme matches the initial phoneme...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Isolating, Phoneme Quest
In this phonics activity, little learners glue picture cards under the initial, medial, and final phonemes represented by the lead sound cards. An image of a shark broken into three parts represents the initial phoneme /sh/, the medial...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Manipulating, Phoneme Swap
Reading readiness can be a fun skill to foster. Scholars manipulate phonemes to change one word into another. They pick picture cards, say the object's name on the card, then change the final phoneme to create a new word. They then find...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Manipulating, Word Change
Once your scholars know their letter sounds and recognize them in words, have them try making new words by manipulating phonemes. Pupils are given a word change picture board and a stack of word pictures. They pick a card and place it...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonics: Letter-Sound Correspondence, Letter Sound Match
Scholars match initial, medial, and final phonemes to individual graphemes. They pick a card, say its name, then find the letter that makes that sound. If the card is a monkey, the learner finds the letter m, matching the grapheme to the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Meaning: Know or No
Activate the prior knowledge of young scholars as they expand their vocabulary with this language arts activity. Given a deck of cards containing new vocabulary words, learners sort them into four categories, from Don't know the meaning...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Affix Concentration
Ask your class to concentrate their energy on affixes! Pupils match various affixes to their meanings in a memory-style game until all the cards have been gathered.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Text Analysis, Persuade, Inform, and Entertain Sort
Why do authors write? Practice determining the author's purpose with a categorizing activity. Learners sort twelve short passages into three categories: persuade, inform, and entertain.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Advanced Phonics: Syllable Patterns, Syllable Game
A game designed to support advanced phonics instruction challenges scholars to read and break a word into syllables. If the player is correct, they move their game piece forward on the board. Whoever gets to the end first wins!
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Words, Quick Sort
Peers work together to boost fluency by timing each other as they read and sort multisyllabic words. Record sheets keep track of participants' progress.
Curated OER
How Advertisers Persuade
This plan centers around the article "How Advertisers Persuade," although it is not included in the instructional activity itself. Get your class thinking about advertising, appeals, and techniques that companies use to get their...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Words, Pass the Word
Learners time each other as they read as many high-frequency words as possible in one minute. Peers record progress.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Expository Text Structure, Text Feature Find
Scholars explore an expository text to answer questions about its structure.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Analysis, Analogy Basketball
Give grammar instruction a boost with a basketball-themed game all about analogies! Working in pairs, learners quiz each other's analogy knowledge testing how many they can complete and earn the most points.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Letter-Sound Correspondence, Make a Match
A memory activity engages young learners in letter-sound correspondence. Pairs take turns examining two sets of cards lying face down. They flip one image card and one letter card, then name the initial sound. If the sounds match, pupils...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Words, Speedy Rime Words
Learners time each other as they read as many rime words as possible.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Rooting for Meaning!
Scholars work with root and meaning cards to build vocabulary skills. Playing with a partner, learners read a root, locate its meaning, and cover it with a counter. The first player to cover their board wins.
Curated OER
Studio Art Lessons Based on Latin American Arts
Study three of the basic principles of design: l) designs should create a rhythmic pattern made up of related shapes, 2) colors should be repeated so as to not force the eye to remain with a single part of the composition, and 3) a...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Words, Fast Words
Taking turns, pre-readers time each other as they read high-frequency words.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Words, Word Climb
Just like climbing a mountain, little learners read to reach the top. They take turns picking high-frequency word cards, reading them, then matching them to the words on their mountain worksheet. They race to reach the top of the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Getting to the Root of It
Young readers learn how to get at the root of new vocabulary with this fun language arts activity. When working in pairs, children begin by matching unknown vocabulary words to their Greek or Latin roots. When all the vocabulary cards...