Learning the alphabet is one of the first phonics skills you will teach your preschoolers. This is a lengthy process as it includes so many different aspects. Preschoolers need to learn to visually discriminate between letters, recognize uppercase and lowercase, learn how to write letters, and memorize all of the letter sounds. Below are some of my favorite alphabet activities for preschoolers, in the form of no-prep worksheets and printables.

Alphabet Knowledge Activities for Preschoolers

Letter discrimination is a huge part of learning the alphabet. This “I Spy” worksheet is great because it helps children practice letter recognition and also helps with visual discrimination between uppercase and lowercase letters.

Grab the full Alphabet Curriculum Here!

They must identify the uppercase letters in the first half and color them in, and then work on the lowercase letter on the bottom half.

Alphabet Books

Alphabet Writing Activities for Preschoolers

We also need to give our pre k students ample practice with letter formation. By sprinkling alphabet writing activities into their work, they can begin to develop fluency with not only letter identification but also letter formation.

Here are some printable alphabet activities for preschoolers that we love!

“Looks Like, Sounds Like” allows preschoolers to recognize the letter, trace the letter of the alphabet, and hear the letter sound.

Alphabet Review Activities for Preschoolers

A definite class favorite is our color-by-the-code worksheets. I personally like these alphabet printables because they work on reviewing more than one letter at a time.

Alphabet Activities for Letter Sounds

Alphabet Activities for preschoolers must also include letter-sound printables! Take a look at some of my favorite letter-sound worksheets for preschoolers.

Working with images is a great way for children to make the connection between the word and sound they hear at the beginning.

All of these alphabet activity printables for preschoolers shown in this post are from the Alphabet Curriculum: Letter of the Week. You can see more about this curriculum here!

Looking for more alphabet activities for preschoolers (printables and hands-on)?

• Swat the Fly Letter Recognition Game
• Build that House Letter Game

• Splat that Letter Book
• RTI Letter Identification Pack
• Alphabet Dough Mats

• Digital Uppercase Letter Match
• Digital Lowercase Letter Match
• Digital Beginning Sounds

The post Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers: Printables Edition appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

When I first started teaching rhyming words in kindergarten I was shocked at how difficult students found it. So I gathered the best resources that included a mix of worksheets, centers, holiday themes, and more, and used them to help my children master rhyming words. Keep reading to see my top rhyming word products for kindergarten.

Rhyming Words for Kindergarten: Hands-On Centers

Peanut Butter Jelly Rhyme Time: Match the peanut butter side of the sandwich with the jelly side by finding the rhyming words. Once complete say “yum!”

Sweet Treats Rhyming Center: Build a cupcake by placing the rhyming picture of frosting on the correct base

Rhyming Puzzles: Build a three-piece puzzle by finding all of the rhyming images

Rhyming Word Worksheets for Kindergarten

Rhyming Worksheets: No-prep worksheets to help students become familiar and build mastery with rhyming words.

Digital Resources for Kindergarten to Teach Rhyming

Digital Circus Themed Rhyming Activity: Look at the image under the circus entrance and find the word that matches. Click and drag the yellow box over your answer.

Digital Google Slides Rhyming Activity: Look at the image and word on the slide. Click and drag all of the rhyming words into the box.

Digital Rhyming Boom Cards: Do you prefer Boom Cards over Google Slides? Then check out this digital rhyming resource for kindergarten.

I love incorporating themed activities into my phonics lessons. It’s an immediate way to engage students. Here are some of my favorite holiday and seasonal rhyming activities for kindergarten.

Frankenstein Rhyme Time: Match the Frankenstein heads by finding the rhyming images

St Patrick’s Day Rhyme Time: Match the rhyming shamrocks

Christmas Rhyming Freebie: This Is a great winter activity that you can grab for free!

More Phonics Ideas:

• Teaching One-to-One Correspondence: The first step to building readers is to help them understand the importance of one-to-one correspondence.
• Are you looking to teach CVC words? Check out The Ultimate Guide to CVC Words to get started.
• Improve your guided reading groups with these 5 simple steps!

The post 11 Amazing Activities to Teach Rhyming Words in Kindergarten appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Are you tired of hearing “I’m done, now what?” when your students complete a task?  Establishing this one routine for fast finishers in the classroom will not only make your life sooooo much easier, but it will also maximize learning time. Keep reading because I’m about to share my favorite teacher tip with you, and it’s called “I’m Done” folders!

In this post, I’m going to explain what my system for fast finishers is, how to set it up, how to introduce it to students, keep it differentiated, and more!

What Are “I’m Done, Now What?” Folders?

I’m Done Folders are simply that, folders that contain work for students to complete when they finish an assignment. Simple right? And with these few tips, I can help you create a system that goes smoothly from the start of the year all the way until the end.

How To Set Up “I’m Done, Now What” Folders

Provide each child with a folder and a place to keep them. My students worked at tables, so they each had a seat sack on their chairs. Their I’m Done, Now What Folders were kept in those seat sacks. This ensured that once they completed a task they had easy access to their I’m Done work. It also helps to eliminate a lot of unnecessary moving around the room, since children do spend a lot of time at their tables.

I used a large incentive chart to keep track of how many packets each student completed. I write their names down the left-hand side and place stickers in each space once they complete a packet. Later on, I’ll share how to provide incentives to students to encourage them to actually work on completing their given packets.

Creating Work for Fast Finishers

Okay, so you have your folders, you’ve designated a spot for the kids to keep them, and you know how you track their work. Now let’s move on to actually creating the packets that will go inside of these I’m Done Now What? folders.

Here are my criteria:

• No-Prep Worksheets: Remember, this system is to make your life easier, not harder. Look for no-prep resources that you can just print, staple, and put inside of a folder

• No Cutting: You don’t want worksheets that require any cutting. Look for sheets that can be completed with just a pencil and/or crayons. The reason is, children will have limited time in spurts to work on these printables. With cutting activities, it is easy for children to lose pieces and waste time looking for them later on

• Repetitive Directions: Look for printables that have the same directions on each page. This will allow you to model one page for the students and then have them complete the rest independently. If you include printables that have a different set of directions on each page, children might need help as they reach each new page, which prevents them from working independently.

If you follow these suggestions, you will be able to create packets that not only allow children to work independently, but also practice key phonics and math skills

Differentiating Your I’m Done Folders

As with everything else, differentiation is important with your I’m Done Now What Folders.

Why You Should Differentiate Your No-Prep Packets

• The Pace At Which Children Work: Consider who is going to have more time to work on these packets, verse who will barely have an opportunity. Use this knowledge to determine the number of printables you include in someone’s packet. Children who are constantly completing their assignments should have larger packets. Our children who struggle to complete given assignments should have a much smaller packet. These children will not have as many opportunities to work on this, and we don’t want them to feel as if they are falling behind.
• The Skills They Need to Work On: Each student’s packet should be focused on a skill they need a little more support on, yet can still complete independently. Use your progress monitoring data to determine which skills you want each child to work on.

I use these Data Tracking Assessments and Digital Tracker to help me determine which phonics and math skills I want each child to work on.

When it comes to setting expectations for your I’m Done, Now What Folders, you want to model and remind at the start of the year. Before students begin any task, remind them that when they finish, they should take out their folders. Model the way you expect them to work on these tasks. If you continue to remind students of perfect opportunities to pull out these packets, it will eventually become a habit.

Lastly, you want to provide incentives to your students to actually encourage them to do additional work. I implemented a reward system for the completion of three I’m Done Now What packets. And since my packets were all differentiated to meet the needs of each individual, all students had a fair chance at the prizes.

I used a large incentive chart to track the completion of each packet. Each student’s name is written down the left side, and the number of packets along the top.

With each completed packet, they get a sticker next to their name. Once they complete three packets, they get to pick a prize from the prize box.

Here’s a quick video where I explain all about I’m Done Folders:

If you implement this classroom management plan in your room, I am confident that you will not regret it!

You can grab a full year of Kindergarten I’m Done Phonics Worksheets here!

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