1st Grade Reading Activities Categories

Reading experts have identified 5 different skills or areas that make up the ability to read. These areas are:

  • Comprehension – the ability to understand and gain meaning from what has been read
  • Phonics – an understanding that there is a relationship between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language
  • Phonemic Awareness – the ability to hear, identify, and play with individual sounds – or phonemes – in spoken words.
  • Vocabulary – the knowledge of words students must have to communicate effectively
  • Fluency – the capacity to read text accurately and quickly

Here are home learning ideas for you to try in each of these areas of reading! Click on the area of interest and discover activities for you to do at home!

Comprehension – the ability to understand and gain meaning from what has been read

Activities to develop reading comprehension:

  • Read to and with your child every day! Take turns reading. You read a sentence, a paragraph or a page and then have your child read. Stop and talk about what is being read. Ask questions that relate to your child’s experiences such as, “What do you think you would do?” “Has something like that ever happened to you?” “What will happen next?” “Can a frog really become a prince?
  • Read a longer book and continue reading it from one night to the next. Before you begin reading the next night – have your child retell what happened the previous night. Read both fantasy and reality based books.
  • Talk about the ‘who’ the story in about (the characters); ‘where’ the story takes place (the setting); and ‘what’ is happening in the story (the plot). Read your child’s favorite book over and over. Have them tell you or a family member the story in their own words.
  • While reading a story have them guess what will happen in the story- how will the story end, or what will happen to the people. At the end of the book talk about how their guess was the same or different from the story. Ask if what happened in the story is real or if it is make believe.
  • Read stories about people who live in different countries or who live in a different part of the country or world. Talk about what things are the same and what might be different from their life. Talk about how different cultures and people from different countries celebrate holidays – or maybe some holidays we celebrate, that are not celebrated there.
  • When reading predictable books, ask your child what he thinks will happen. See if he points out picture clues, if he mentions specific words or phrases, or if he connects to story to something that happens in real life. These are important skills for a beginning reader to learn.
  • Have your child tell you a story. Then ask him questions, explaining that you need to understand better.
  • When he is able, ask him to help you in the kitchen. He might set the table or decorate a batch of cookies. A first-grader may enjoy helping you follow a simple recipe. Talk about what you’re fixing, what you’re cooking with, what he likes to eat, and more.
  • Take your child to new places and introduce him to new experiences. Talk about the new, interesting, and unusual things that you see and do.
  • Tell stories aloud while in the car or during other routine situations throughout the day.
  • At a later time and in a different setting ask your child to repeat a familiar story in his or her own words.
  • Have your child use his/her imagination to make up and tell you stories. Ask questions that will encourage him to expand the stories you are reading such as “Why didn’t the dog just run away?” “Where did the boy live?” or “What kind of eyes did the monster have?”

Phonemic Awareness – the ability to hear, identify, and play with individual sounds – or phonemes – in spoken words.

Activities to Develop Phonemic Awareness

  • While you are reading, point out examples of patterns of sounds or words. Have your child repeat this pattern at the right place in the story. That can be “her/his” part of the story to read. (“I don’t like green eggs and ham! I don’t like them Sam I am.”)
  • Play a rhyming game: say a word like ‘rat’ and see how many other words you can say that rhyme with rat (even words that are not real words are ok). Words like: cat, pat, mat, bat, sat, dat, lat….
  • Play rhyming games and sing rhyming songs with your child. Many songs and games include clapping, bouncing and tossing balls and playing in groups.
  • Listen for rhymes in songs that you know or hear on the radio or at family or other gatherings. Sing the songs with your child.
  • Around the home, point to objects and say their names, for example, clock. Then ask your child to say as many words as she can that rhyme with the name. Other easily rhymed words are ball, bed, rug, sink and toy. Let your child use some silly or nonsense words as well: toy-joy, boy, woy, loy, hoy, noy.
  • Say three words such as go, dog and frog, and ask your child which words sound the same-rhyme
  • If a computer is available, encourage your child to use it to play rhyming games.
  • When reading to your child have child repeat the beginning sounds of words.
  • Say your child’s name, then have him say words that begin with the same sound; for example: David-day, doll, dish; Jess-juice, jam, jar.
  • Help your child to make up and silly lines with lots of words that start with the same sound such as “Sister saw six silly snakes.”
  • Say two names for an animal, and tell your child to choose the name that begins with the same sound as the animal’s name. Ask, for example, should a horse’s name be Hank or Joseph? Should a pig be Mattie or Patty? Should a zebra be Zap or Cap?
  • When driving, play an alphabet game. Compete to find words on signs that begin with the letter ‘a’ through to the letter ‘z’.

Vocabulary – the knowledge of words students must have to communicate effectively

Activities to Develop Vocabulary and Oral Language Vocabulary

  • Around the home, point to objects and say their names, for example, clock. Then ask your child to say as many words as she can that rhyme with the name. Other easily rhymed words are ball, bed, rug, sink and toy. Let your child use some silly or nonsense words as well: toy-joy, boy, woy, loy, hoy, noy.
  • Read stories about people who live in different countries or who live in a different part of the country or world. Talk about what things are the same and what might be different from their life. Talk about how different cultures and people from different countries celebrate holidays – or maybe some holidays we celebrate, that are not celebrated there.
  • Look at books that have different kinds of information. Talk about how your child will not be able to find their friend’s phone number on the calendar or what is a dictionary used for. Talk about and look up new words. Go to the library and check out books on a topic of interest.
  • Whatever you do together, talk about it with your child. When you eat meals, take walks, go to the store, visit the library, or visit a relative, talk about it. These and other activities give the two of you a chance to ask and answer questions such as, Which flowers are red? Which are yellow?” “What else do you see in the garden?” Challenge your child by asking questions that need more than a “yes” or “no” answer.
  • Have your child tell you a story. Then ask him questions, explaining that you need to understand better.
  • When he is able, ask him to help you in the kitchen. He might set the table or decorate a batch of cookies. A first-grader may enjoy helping you follow a simple recipe. Talk about what you’re fixing, what you’re cooking with, what he likes to eat, and more.
  • Ask yourself if the TV is on too much. If so, turn it off and talk! Limit the time that you let your child watch TV. Too much television cuts into important activities in a child’s life, such as reading, playing with friends, and talking with family members.
  • Teach your child the meaning of new words. Discuss new words. For example, “This big house is called a palace. Who do you think lives in a palace?”
  • Help your child to follow directions. Use short, clear sentences to tell him what you want him to do.
  • Have your child use his/her imagination to make up and tell you stories. Ask questions that will encourage him to expand the stories you are reading such as “Why didn’t the dog just run away?” “Where did the boy live?” or “What kind of eyes did the monster have?”
  • Have a conversation about recent family photographs. Ask your child to describe each picture and what happened before, during, and after the picture.
  • Tell personal family experiences and happenings in a story form. Pass on family history and ask your child to repeat the stories to another family member such as Grandma.
  • Think out loud abut when you were little. Make a story out of something that happened, such as a family trip, a birthday party, or when you lost your first tooth.
  • Have your child tell you stories about what he did that day and on special days, such as holidays, birthdays, and family vacations.

Fluency – the capacity to read text accurately and quickly

Activities to Develop Fluency

  • Have your child practice reading sentences with feeling. (excitement, sadness, worry, fears etc.). Show how different kinds of print such as bold or italic or the end punctuation.
  • Read books that have lines that are used over and over such as, The Cat in the Hat or There’s a Wocket in My Pocket.
  • Pick a story that has repeated phrases, such as this example from “The Three Little Pigs”:

Wolf Voice: Little pig, little pig, let me come in.

Little Pig: Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!

Wolf Voice: Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!

Your child will learn the repeated phrase and have fun joining in with you each time it shows up in the story. Pretty soon he will join in before you tell him.

  • Look for educational videos, DVD’s, CD’s and TV shows that feature letter-learning activities for young children. Watch such programs with your child and join in with her on the rhymes and songs.

Phonics – an understanding that there is a relationship between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language

Activities to Develop Phonic

  • When your child does not know a new word make sure you give him/her a chance to figure it out. Assist him/her by talking about what word would make sense in the sentence/story. Point out clues in the illustrations or other sentences. Say the first letter and say all the sounds slowly or find ‘parts’ of the word he or she may know or ‘chunks of the word such as ‘to-day’.
  • Play simple word games such as scrabble or hangman and practice the sounds of letters as you play. Use a simple word like ‘hop’ and take turns thinking of words that sound like ‘hop’. Make word on the refrigerator with letter magnets. Make a sting of rhyming words.
  • Give your child two or three words and have them place them in the correct order alphabetically. (horse, fruit, zebra – which word would be first, second…)
  • When driving, play an alphabet game. Compete to find words on signs that begin with the letter ‘a’ through to the letter ‘z’.
  • When reading to your child have child repeat the beginning sounds of words.
  • While you are reading, point out examples of patterns of sounds or words. Have your child repeat this pattern at the right place in the story. That can be “her/his” part of the story to read. (“I don’t like green eggs and ham! I don’t like them Sam I am.”)
  • Use the alphabet daily! Look at and point out letters in newspaper, magazines, and/or books. Have your child point out certain letters in a word or ask about the letters in a common sign such as Wal-Mart or McDonalds.
  • Celebrate with a “letter of the week” – for example – this week we are celebrating the letter “f”. You can eat foods that begin with the letter “f” (French fries, fruit); talk about parts of the body (foot, face); things in the house (furniture, footstool).
  • Play a rhyming game: say a word like ‘rat’ and see how many other words you can say that rhyme with rat (even words that are not real words are ok). Words like: cat, pat, mat, bat, sat, dat, lat….
  • Play rhyming games and sing rhyming songs with your child. Many songs and games include clapping, bouncing and tossing balls and playing in groups.
  • Play with words. Have fun with tongue twisters such as “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” and nonsense rhymes as well as more modern nonsense rhymes.
  • Point out words and letters everywhere you can. Read street signs, traffic signs, billboards, and store signs.
  • Put magnetic letters on your refrigerator or other smooth safe metal surfaces. Ask your child to write short messages. Write messages to your child.
  • Play games using the alphabet. Ask your child to find letters in books, magazines, newspapers and other print.

Print Concepts and Writing

  • While reading point out the names of the author and the illustrator. Talk about what an author and illustrator do. Read books by the same author and ask how each book is similar or different from the others. Have your child write and illustrate/their own story. Have your child tell a story with his/her own words as you write and let the child read the story back to you or another family member.
  • Point out different parts of a book or different print styles. If your child needs help with a word, show him/her how to use a dictionary or how an encyclopedia can be used to find information. Practice finding interesting information together.
  • Model reading and add books to your child’s library when possible.
  • Use your finger when reading and follow the words of the story. This will show that several letters together make a word and that reading goes from left to right across the page and top to bottom down the page.
  • Have your child make a sign for her room or other special place and decorate the sign by pasting stickers or drawing on it.
  • Help your child arrange her books in some order-her favorite books, books about animals, holiday books. Use whatever method will help her most easily find the book she’s looking for.
  • If you go on a trip, write a trip journal with your child to make a new family story. Take photographs of special events. Writing down special events and pasting photographs of the events in the journal will tie the family story to a written history. You can also include everyday trips, such as going to the grocery store or park.
  • Hang a family message board in the kitchen. Offer to write notes there for your child. Be sure that she finds notes left there for her.
  • Help your child write notes or e-mails to relatives and friends to thank them for gifts or to share her thoughts. Encourage the relatives and friends to answer your child.
  • Turn your child’s writing into books. Paste her drawings and writings on pieces of construction paper. For each book, make a cover out of heavier paper or cardboard, then add special art, a title, and her name as author. Punch holes in the pages and cover and bind the book together with yarn and ribbon.
  • Draw letters and name the sound of letters as drawing. (Draw letters and write words in the sand, shaving cream, salt or other interesting mediums.)
  • Cut words out of sandpaper and glue to a card. Place the sandpaper letter under other paper and color over the paper until the shape of the words appears.

Motivation

  • Check out books from the library and read them with an, “I can’t wait to read that book with you” excitement.