With just over a month left of school, we’re starting to plan for summer! I always look forward to this season because my students end up with so many fun stories to share. Summer gives them the time to play with friends, read whatever books they like, and make up their own creative projects. With that in mind, here are a few favorites from this school year that are enough fun to last through the summer.
Favorite App
For kindergarteners who like a little screen time, Duolingo ABC is my top recommendation. It makes phonics practice engaging and fun, and it incorporates important foundational skills like phonological awareness and letter formation. Also, it’s free! Download and try it out for yourself.
Favorite Game
When I was growing up, my best friend and I would play Uno for hours and hours. The Vowel Busters card game follows similar rules but also involves reading words and listening to their vowel sounds. Sometimes I adjust the deck of cards to only include familiar phonics patterns for younger students. Either way, there are plenty of cards for a friendly competition.
Favorite Book Series
This is a tough category to fill because of all the great options, but this year’s favorite has to be the Dragon series by Dav Pilkey. This series is perfect for readers who are ready to try chapter books. The amount of text on each page is limited, and the words tend to follow first- and second-grade phonics patterns. To top it off, the main character is a lovable mix of goofy and sweet. Thank you to Dragon for lots of laughter in my office this school year!
Overall Kid Favorite
This Mad Libs workbook contains phonics practice paired with fill-in-the-blank stories. Kids fill in blanks using a word bank to make a silly story that still makes enough sense to read, ending up with sentences like “Six little fish sit in the grass.” My students found this activity hilarious, and I could reward them for their other work with a fun activity that was still educational. Win-win.
Overall Teacher Favorite
The way that word ladders incorporate reading, spelling, and vocabulary in a puzzle format makes this activity my personal favorite. I found that it requires a little adult guidance (i.e. reading clues, brainstorming solutions) but still encourages word analysis and problem-solving in a fun way. Think crossword puzzles, just more approachable.
Diving Deeper
I’m always in search of more fun practice activities, so let me know if you have any recommendations. I am happy to say that my virtual instruction platform (Lexercise) has added a letter formation activity to their practice games. If you’re looking for literacy support, we have plenty of online instruction and practice ready to be customized for our students. Feel free to reach out!
Developing Readers 