Emergency School Closings:    How to Keep Children Busy    and LEARNING!

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Kindergarten Children's Literacy Activities

• LETTER FIND: Give your child a flyer, brochure,or page from an old magazine. Circle a letter on the page with something bold like a bright crayon or marker. Show the letter to your child and ask him/her to identify the letter. Ask your child what sound the letter makes. If your child makes an incorrect sound, have him/her look directly at your mouth when you make the sound and then have your child try again. Next, give the crayon or marker you used to your child. Have your child find all the other matching letters on the page.
  Note: this activity is not only great to do in the event school is closed, but it also is a great way to keep your child busy in a waiting room!
  
  
• NURSERY RHYME: Sit next to your child. Read "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to your child. Explain that some words in the poem end with the same sound, so they rhyme. Show how you can change some words but they will still rhyme. For example, instead of saying "up above the world so high," say, "up above the world you fly." Instead of saying, "How I wonder where you are," say, "how I wonder why you're far." Have your child tell you what changed in the nursery rhyme. Even though the words changed, do they still rhyme? Now change some words to ones that do not rhyme. For example, instead of saying, "like a diamond in the sky," say, "like a diamond in the sea." Instead of saying, "Twinkle, twinkle little star," say "Twinkle, twinkle, little light." Your child may have a more difficult time with changes that have the same beginning sound as the original word. Help your child practice listening to the end of the word to identify a rhyme. Repeat the process with other nursery rhymes, such as "Humpty Dumpty." You can change "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall" to "Humpty Dumpty sat on a ball." On the recording sheet, let your child's teacher know which pairs your child was able to identify as rhyming or not rhyming correctly.
  Click here for a great site for nursery rhymes called Musical Nursery Rhymes. It provides both the words and instrumental music for the traditional rhymes.
  
  
• RHYME TIME: Go through a newspaper, magazine, catalogue, or grocery store ad. Find pictures of at least four things that rhyme and a picture os something that does not rhyme with the pictures. Cut out the pictures. With your child, decide which things rhyme. If your child says that something rhymes and it doesn't slowly say the sounds at the end of the word for both words. Once you agree on what items rhyme, paste or tape the four items onto a piece of paper and have your child write his or her name on the top of the paper. Print "I found these things that rhyme" on the paper for your child and read the title together. Have your child take the paper to the classroom teacher when school resumes.
  
  
• READ ALOUD: At every grade level, reading a story aloud to your child helps build all literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and text structures. Even though you are reading for your child, your child is still involved. It is your child's responsibility during a read aloud to be engaged in the story, to think about any questions you might ask, and to ask questions. Read some stories that are easy for your child to understand, and read some stories that are a little challenging for your child. Help your child notice how pictures help the reader understand what is happening. Read books by various authors. Discuss with your child why he or she likes certain authors more than others.
  Note: you can help your child build his or her ability to pay attention for longer periods of time by reading aloud every day. Begin by reading a book that takes about five minutes to read. Each week, have your child choose a book on certain days, and then you choose a book on another day. When you choose a book, choose one that will take about two minutes longer to read than the books read from the week before. Keep expanding the time it takes to read a book until you get to books that take about fifteen minutes to read.
  
  

Kindergarten Children's Website Activities

• ABCya! Upper and Lower Case Letter Match: With this online game, students color t-shirst labeled with lower-case letters to match t-shirts labeled with upper-case letters. http://www.abcya.com/alphabet_match_K1_1.htm.
  
  
• READING A-Z: Worksheets can be printed for specific topics happening in your child's class. (Note: this site includes worksheets for math, literacy, science,fine motor, and basic skill review as well). Be careful to only do one or two worksheets a day with your child. You want this time to be fun and interactive. http://www.tlsbooks.com/kindergartenworksheets.htm.
  
  
• SCHOOL-HOME LINKS: from the US Department of Education. This site provides 100 different home activities for kindergarten students to do with their parents. Choose activities based on what your child is currently learning in class. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/tablek.htm.
  
  

First Grade Children's Literacy Activities

• WHAT'S FOR DINNER?: work on how to sound out words by isolating and then blending sounds. Plan out what your family will be having for dinner that evening. Have your child help make up a menu for that evening's meal. Fold a piece of paper in half. Have your child decorate the front of the menu and print that this is your family name's menu for (day of the week). Have your child open up the menu. Say each item that will be served that evening. Then say each item slowly, stretching each sound out. Have your child write the word according to the sound he/she hears. Do not worry about exact, proper spelling. Instead, make sure that your child hears each sound and the letter he/she uses for the sound is correct. Help your child isolate each sound to write the word. For example, if you are haveing juice with dinner, say, "Jjjjjjuuuuuuusssssss." Ask your child what the first sound is in the word. Remember, if your child writes, "jus" for "juice," he/she has identified all the sounds and did a good job. After your child writes a list of each food item to be served, have him/her draw an icon for the item. The menu can then be passed around the table that evening. Bring each menu into school to show your teacher.
  
  
• PLOT AND PICTURE: help sequence a story and develop an internal picture of story events. Take a piece of paper and fold it into thirds. Explain to your child that you are going to read a book out loud to him/her. Talk about how every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When you read the story, you want your child to pay attention to how the story starts, what happens in the middle, and how the story ends. After reading the story aloud, have your child draw a picture of what happens in the beginning on the first section of the paper, what happens in the middle on the middle section of the paper, and what happens in the end on the last section of the paper. Talk about how the drawings match what happened in the story. Help your child label each picture to explain what is happening. Your child can then bring this simple story map to his/her teacher when school resumes.
  
  
• READ ALOUD: At every grade level, reading a story aloud to your child helps build all literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and text structures. Even though you are reading for your child, your child is still involved. It is your child's responsibility during a read aloud to be engaged in the story, to think about any questions you might ask, and to ask questions. Read some stories that are easy for your child to understand, and read some stories that are a little challenging for your child. Help your child notice how pictures help the reader understand what is happening. Read books by various authors. Discuss with your child why he or she likes certain authors more than others.
  Note: By first grade, your child should be able to listen to a story that takes at least ten to fifteen minutes to read aloud. If your child cannot listen for that time span, don't force him or her to sit there. You want the time spent reading together to be fun and stress-free. Instead, go to the local library with your child. Have your child help you pick out a book about a particular topic or theme that is of particular interest. But what do you do if your child chooses a book about a favorite movie or television show? Enjoy it together! If choosing this type of book helps your child sit through the entire story, then start with a book about a movie and slowly introduce other children's literature.
  
  
• WE'RE ALL ALIKE, BUT WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT, TOO: help identify how characters in a story are the same and how they are different. Have your child choose a favorite book for you to read together. Explain that after you read the book this time, you will be talking about how the two main characters are the same and how they are different. After you read the book, take a piece of paper and fold it into thirds. At the top of the first section, write the first character's name. At the top of the middle section, write "Same." At the top of the last section, write the name of the other character. Talk about how the two characters are the same. Write a bulleted list of how they are the same in the middle section. Then move on to talk about how the characters are different. Make bulleted lists under each character's name to show how they are different from each other.
  
  

First Grade Children's Website Activities

• STARFALL READING. There are several stories for you and your child to read. They are based on word families and rhymes, so they will help build phonics skills while your child practices reading.
  
  
• BOOK ADVENTURE. This site provides lists of great books to read by grade level and interest. Once the book is read, your child can register for free (you do not have to give any identifiable information!). Then your child can tak a quiz on the book he/she read and print out the quiz results.
• HARCOURT TROPHIES ACTIVITIES.This site sponsored by the Kyrene School District provides links to several different websites. The websites are based on what is taught in the Trophies Reading Program. However, no matter what program your school is using, these links will be helpful. Students will be able to practice specific phonics skills, including vowel sounds and digraphs; comprehension, including sequencing a story; and language, including types of sentences.
  
  
• SEUSSVILLE PLAYGROUND. This site based on Dr. Seuss provides great games, stories, and other fun activities that will keep your child interested in reading!
  
  
• SCHOOL-HOME LINKS: from the US Department of Education. This site provides 100 different home activities for first grade students to do with their parents. Choose activities based on what your child is currently learning in class. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/table1.html.
  
  

Second Grade Children's Literacy Activities

• LET'S BRAINSTORM: Brainstorming helps children think quickly, build organizational skills, and build writing skills. Provide your child with a piece of paper and a pencil. Now prompt your child to make various lists, such as:
  • favorite animals
  • types of cars
  • words that end with the same suffix (you choose a suffix, such as "-ed," "-ing," "-tion," "-al")
  • compound words
  • types of sports equipment
  • different words for "said"
  • words that begin with same prefix (you choose a prefix, such as "pre-," "un-," "mis-")
  • different words for "walk"
  
  
  
• HANGMAN: This old favorite is a game that children still enjoy today. Instead of the word being arbitrary, however, change up the game! Write a sentence on a piece of paper, but leave out one crucial word. In the place of that word, draw a line for each letter. For example, if my child likes Harry Potter, I might write, "Some people think that Harry Potter is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, but he is really a wizard." The missing word is "magician." Have your child guess a letter that may be in the word. If the letter is there, fill it in in every space that it appears. If it is not in the word, write the letter off to the side and begin to build your hangman.
  Note: it is important that you begin the game using missing words that you know your child can read. As you repeat the game, you can try to stretch your child's reading by choosing more difficult words. However, make sure any word that you choose is one that your child knows.
  
  
• WHAT'S IN THE NEWS?: Newspapers often have children's sections in them at least once a week. These sections are easier to read, and your second grade child may be able to read certain stories. Find a story in the paper that you think your child can read. Cut the story apart by paragraphs. Have your child read the paragraphs and then put them back in the correct order. Read the story together to make sure this order of the paragraphs makes sense.
  
  
• READ ALOUD: At every grade level, reading a story aloud to your child helps build all literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and text structures. Even though you are reading for your child, your child is still involved. It is your child's responsibility during a read aloud to be engaged in the story, to think about any questions you might ask, and to ask questions. Read some stories that are easy for your child to understand, and read some stories that are a little challenging for your child. Help your child notice how pictures help the reader understand what is happening. Read books by various authors. Discuss with your child why he or she likes certain authors more than others.
  Note: by second grade, your child should be able to listen to a story that takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to read aloud. If your child cannot pay attention to a story for this amount of time, work slowly to build up your child's ability to listen. Don't get yourself and your child frustrated by forcing the child to sit still longer than he or she is able. Instead, build on the time you sit together and read.
  
  

Second Grade Children's Website Activities

Easy Literacy Home

BCC Course Information and Support

Quotable Quotes for Writing Inspiration

Power Points for Reading and Writing Instruction

Amistad Grant Lesson Plans and Information

Help With Reading Comprehension

Writing Scholarship Essays