Fun Reading Activities for 1st Graders

I’m always looking for fun reading activities for 1st graders. And since kids love to practice skills in game formats, I tend to make a lot of them.

My favorite literacy games are ones that are easy to grab and play. In fact, I love games that are simply one page. A giant collection of these not-so-fancy games can be kept in notebooks or folders. Then, when kids want to play, they can pick a game, a die, two game pieces and get going.

Anything, and I mean almost anything, can stand in as a game piece. In the photo above, we’re using soft spiky balls (I don’t know what else to call them). But we’ve also used bingo chips, pom poms, dried beans, and the “ones” from our base ten blocks. I mean really, even two torn pieces of paper would work.

SHORT AND SWEET

And easy-peasy. THESE GAMES don’t have a ton of spaces to land on and the directions are so easy, the kids are able to play independently after a quick demonstration. And that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

I’ve kept the design simple on purpose because more rules = more problems. And nobody needs a huge helping of 6-year-old drama when you’re in the middle of testing.

The design makes for a fairly quick game, meaning the kids have the opportunity to play a few different times (or a few different games). I love all the practice they’re getting. And they love having multiple chances to win.

LITERACY CENTERS & FAMILY GAME NIGHT

Many teachers add these phonics games to their literacy centers, but I love these ideas too:

morning bell work
small group work
remedial instruction
“Fun Fridays”

And my personal favorite… send them home so children can play with someone in their family. You can either print them and send them home with kids or send them home digitally for parents to print out when they’re ready to play.

GAMEMAKERS IN TRAINING

I like making fun reading activities for 1st graders, but I also love seeing what they can come up with as fellow game designers. Once your students play enough games, you may start hearing some of them say things like:

“This game should have…”
“I would add a new rule…”
“What if we did this instead…”

This is when you know they’re ready to take on the challenge of game-making themselves. Playing a game does require thinking, but designing fun phonics games takes this thought to a whole other level. And many of your students will be up for it!