For a long time, I struggled to pick effective literacy centers for the beginning of kindergarten. My goal is to promote active play, high engagement, and independence from the start of kindergarten. These 10 literacy centers are ideas to get you started if you’re not sure what type of centers kindergarteners are ready for at the beginning of the year. These are my suggestions based on what has worked for me in the past. Of course, find what works best for you and your students. 😊
1. Simple Word Puzzles
These are Melissa and Doug word puzzles that I found in my closet at school. You can find many puzzles similar to this at the local Dollar Store or secondhand store. These games are great because students can generally figure out the center and complete them independently without teacher intervention. I love how engaging puzzles are for young learners and how they promote active play.
2. Letter Puzzles
Similar to the simple word puzzles above, these letter puzzles are a fun way to reinforce letter identification and letter sounds. Students are able to complete this center without the teacher’s help and can work on building their stamina by working independently.
3. Alphabetical Order Train
I LOVE this game and pull it out every year! For this literacy center, students build an alphabet train by putting the letters in alphabetical order. Again, students can do this game independently and are highly engaged in the play-based center. I wish I knew where this was from, but similar puzzles can be found at local stores.
4. Alphabet Order Caterpillar
This literacy center requires students to build a caterpillar by putting letters in alphabetical order. It is a fun and engaging game that students can work on either independently or in pairs.
5. Letter Wheel
This is another fun and low-maintenance game. If you do not have a letter wheel like this one, you can always make one with a paper plate! Teachers are known to be resourceful 😉 You will also need clothespins. While this game has printed letters glued onto the clothespins, you can always write the letters directly on the clothespins.
6. Letter Tracing Books
I love this game from Playdough to Plato! Students will trace the letter “roads” with a car. I put each of the letter roads in a small photo album from the dollar store. The letter roads can be found here.
7. Playdough Letter Mats
This literacy game is definitely a favorite for my kindergarteners at the beginning of the year. They love making letters with playdough. It is a fun and easy game with minimal preparation. Students are engaged in the activity and can work together.
8. Alphabet Legos
HOW COOL ARE THESE!!! I love pulling out alphabet legos as a literacy center for the beginning of the year. You can use these Legos for so many activities. The easiest way I use them is for an alphabetical order game, where students create a long tower by putting the letters in order. I also have students build a letter pyramid. You can differentiate this center for your reading students and have them build CVC words with the letters.
9. Letter Sorts
For these letter sorting mats, I use a cookie sheet and magnetic letter tray. If you don’t have access to a cookie sheet, it is just as effective to use paper plates and have students sort letters that way. Again, low stress/no stress is how we roll. We want to increase student engagement and independence. Build that independence early in the year and you won’t regret it😊
10. Letter Locks
This game is a student favorite. It is from Lakeshore Learning Materials, and students match the key to the lock in order to unlock it. I love that my students not only practice letters and letter sounds but also fine motor skills.
I hope this helps you get started this school year!! It can be tricky to come up with engaging literacy centers for kindergarteners. I would love to read in the comments if you have any ideas that work for you and your students. Happy teaching!
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