1st Grade Language Arts Skills

Reading | Writing | Elements of Language
Page last edited 4/10/2009
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1. Classroom Reading Key Vocabulary Building Program - a reading vocabulary improvement program that has identified the specific reading words students need to master for each grade
2. What's the Word? - a reading and vocabulary game from FunBrain - Select Alphabet (Easy), Animals, Fruit, Tools, Machines, or Shapes to begin the game.
3. Kitty wants a Box - Read story online; helps understand spatial concepts.

1. Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes - an alphabetical index to a very large number of familiar texts to use for recitations.
2. Rebus Rhymes: Mother Goose and others - (from Enchanted Learning) - more familiar texts to use for recitations
3. Stories Online - online reading resource links - uses Guided Reading levels as an indicator
4. Story Time - Five stories; Cinderella, Firebird, Arabian Nights, Rumplestiltskin, and Ranik the Elephant. There is an online version, or (if you download and install Microsoft Reader) you can hear the story read to your students.

1. Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales - Andersen is recognized as a master of the use of informal language in his fairy tales. Choose chronological list to see stories to use with your class.

1. Can You Follow Directions? - Tina will give you directions. Click on the pictures in the correct order.
2. Copy Cat Jack is like the Simon game. The game starts off with one color and adds a new color when you repeat the order correctly. How good is your memory?
3. Listen and Follow Directions - (spatial concepts activity) This would make a good whole class activity and then a center activity.

1. Explore the parts of a book - Click on each of the pictures on this page to learn more about that part of the book. Then go to Who Am I to see how much you know!
2. Make Your Own Book - (a ThinkQuest site) There are many fabulous books that you can make all by yourself. Let your imagination run wild with some simple, step-by-step instructions, with illustrations, to show you how to make some very creative and very fun books!
3. Make Your Own Book - (from Enchanted Learning) This activity teaches the student the structure of book and helps them organize their thoughts and writing.
4. Using the Parts of a Book - a worksheet from Teach-nology
5. Using an Index for Information - a worksheet from Teach-nology
6. Using a Table of Contents - a worksheet from Teach-nology

1. The Literacy Center - A great site for pre-K to first grade. Activities with colors, numbers, letters, shapes and words. Site translated in Spanish, Dutch, French and English. Also has a typing component in the Keyboard Section.
2. Tale of Peter Rabbit – Click on Word Order and then drag the groups of words to make a sentence. Each of the 15 sentences have three parts.

1. Punctuation - Find the correct punctuation mark to end the sentence.
2. Punctuation - End the sentence with the correct punctuation.

1. Beginning and ending sounds, plus digraphs - concentration style games
2. Beginning Phonics - Listen to the beginning sound that you select and find the pictures that start with that letter.
3. Dosity - Dositey.com is an educational web site serving the students, teachers, and parents of the K-12 community. There are three levels of phonics interactive activities.
   1. Level One shows a picture and the student will pick the correct word.
   2. Level Two prompts the student to add the beginning sound to the word to go along with the picture.
   3. Level Three requires the student to type the word that goes with the picture with a word bar above with the spellings.
4. First Sounds - from Little Animals Activity Centre - Digby Mole's Word games (choose level 1, 2, or 3)
5. Learn to Read - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] Easy to read stories that focus on a particular vowel sound along with quizzes on the same vowel. Long and short vowels included.15 separate stories and quizzes.
6. Match beginning sound - type the beginning sound of each picture.
7. Missing Word - Listen to the sentence being said. Click on the missing word.
8. Paw Park: Sassy Seals - Match beginning sounds - (from Game Goo - Learning That Sticks!)
9. Sound it out - Click on the word that the cat says aloud. (warning-British accent may confuse some students)
10. Target Tests and Target Lessons that Teach Phonics - print these and use as posters
11. Which Bird is Correct? - pick the bird that is saying the written word and drag the parrot over to the word.
12. Word Families - create new words from word endings

1. Beginning and ending sounds, plus digraphs - concentration style games
2. Blending words together- Blender says word and student must choose the beginning sounds and ending sounds separately to be blended together. This site is from BBC and makes it a bit difficult for some children to understand the words.
3. Phonemic Segments - Deletion and Substitution - Pumpkin Patch - Click on the object that matches the new phoneme without the beginning letter sound. Excellent practice for students that have a hard time hearing individual phonemic parts!
4. End Sounds - from Little Animals Activity Centre - Digby Mole's Word games (choose level 1, 2, or 3)
5. Use the Wordmaker from Read-Write-Think - select an ending sound then make words with that ending sound

1. Animal Muddle - Listen to Foxy Dancer's animal rhyme at The Little Animals Activity Centre. When students have finished they can print the entire rhyme.
2. Concentration Game - match the words that rhyme
3. Concentration-style matching game from Quia - 8 pairs of rhyming words to match
4. Memory Cards - Here's a memory card game with a twist - match pairs of rhyming words.
5. Rhymes - from Little Animals Activity Centre - Digby Mole's Word games (choose level 1, 2, or 3)
6. Rhyming Practice - several match games
7. Rhyme Time - match the word with the image it rhymes with
8. Rhyming Words - Many choices to select from. Click on the word that rhymes with the picture - Audio help is given.
9. Wizards and Pigs: Episode I Poetry Pickle - students identify rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration

1. Blending words together- Blender says word and student must choose the beginning sounds and ending sounds separately to be blended together. This site is from BBC and makes it a bit difficult for some children to understand the words.
2. Blending words together- - Football players blend beginning sounds and ending sounds together to produce the word. See if your student can figure out the word before the two players collide!
3. Handwriting For Kids - Practice sheets for K and 1st grade writing. Sheets include single letters, letter blends, common words such as days of the week, months of the year,number words, color words and much, much more!
4. Phonics-Word Builder – Three dozen different combining sound activities are available in the following categories; abc’s, short vowels, long vowels, other vowels, beginning consonants and final consonants. Word parts are read individually, blended, and then followed by a sentence accompanied by an illustration. Ignore the registration screen that pops up, select Maybe Later to go directly to the activity.
5. Poem Pack - Ten colorful poems with animation, audio and activities - featuring Daisy the snail, the toad and the goat, and friends. Read it, Hear it, search for sounds, and find words concentrating on vowel blends.
6. See 'N Spell - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] Students click and drag letters into the box to spell the words that correspond to the pictures. A very good activity with many skills such as plurals, long vowels, short vowels, blends and digraphs.

1. Reference Skills: Syllabication - printables from EdHelper
2. Syllable Quiz - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] Identify the number of syllables in ten words
3. Syllable Quiz 2 - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] identify where two syllable words should be divided
4. Syllable Quiz 3 - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] identify where two or three syllable words should be divided
5. Syllable Rules for Students: Black line masters - Posters of simplified spelling rules to enlarge for classroom display or reduce to give to students.
6. Syllabication Rules - print these as large flash cards

1. Phonemic Segments - Deletion and Substitution - Lanolin's Greenhouse - Click on the object that matches the new word with beginning letter replacement.

1. Contraction Practice - Interactive contraction practice. [click on a red dot]
2. Contractions - Treasure Trove - Find the correct contraction to fit with the treasure chest.
3. Contractions - type the contraction beside the two words.

1. Drag and Drop - Read the CVC word, then drag the picture that matches the word in the box.

1. Free Phonics Worksheets -free phonics worksheets to assist in learning phonics rules for reading from Rock 'N Learn
2. Practice with Initial Consonant Blends - matching exercise with initial consonant blends
3. Two Letter Ending Consonant Blends - multiple-choice exercise
4. Study Dog - Samples of the Study Dog program; Alaphabet trace, rhymes, vowel blends and spelling.

1. Beginning Consonant Digraphs - select the correct digraph
2. Chicken Stacker: try to stack five hens by clicking on words with the featured vowel in them
   1. short a | short e | short i | short o | short u
3. Consonant Blends - find the blend that matches the picture
4. CVC Maker - create words and sound them out.
5. Drag and Spell - Drag a vowel sound into the slot to spell the word correctly. Use the slow/fast slider to increase the challenge. Drag the vowels to finish the words before your time runs out.
6. Ending consonant practice - for all letters [click on a red dot]
7. Ending Digraphs - select the correct digraph ending
8. Long and Short Vowel Match - match words by the vowel sounds that are the same
9. Long Vowels - Show what you know about the different long vowel sounds.
10. Long Vowel Sounds e, u - Identify the long vowel sounds in each word.
11. Long Vowel Sounds a, i, o - Identify the long vowel sounds in each word.
12. Long Vowel Words - Find the short and long vowel words that match the pictures.
13. Magic Pencil - [sound files to download] see, and hear, an animation of the following vowel phonemes; ow, oy, ar, deep u, air, or, aw, ir, ear, and schwa.
14. Paw Park: Sassy Seals - Match beginning sounds - (from Game Goo - Learning That Sticks!)
15. Poem Pack - Ten colorful, animated poems with voice over and activities. Each poem deals with a different long vowel sound. .
16. Print and Do - Make your own Scrapbook of words and collect a different page each week! Slither your way round Jake the snake or try your luck at Domino sounds and Silly sentences.
17. Sandcastle Quiz - Build a sandcastle and get to know the common spelling patterns for the following vowels; ow/ou, oy/oi, ar/a/al, oo/u, air/are/ear, or/ore/oar/war, aw/au/augh/al, ir/ur/er, ear/eer/ere, or all phonemes.
18. Stories to read - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] Beginning books per vowel sound for reading out-loud practice.
19. Short Vowels at Kids Lab [click on a red dot]
    1. Short A | Short E | Short I | Short O | Short U
20. Short Vowel Practice - select correct spelling of word
21. Short Vowel Words - Find the short vowel words that match the pictures.
22. Short or Long Vowel Words - Find the words that match the pictures.
23. Snap It - How well do you know your long vowel sounds? Your chance to beat the clock and collect the snaps. When you see a pair click Snap! But don't get Snap happy - if you get it wrong, you lose a point
24. Vowel Practice - print worksheets to practice the following vowel phonemes; ow, oy, ar, deep u, air, or, aw, ir, ear, and schwa
    1. More Vowel Practice - activity sheets to print for your students to practice following vowel phonemes; ow, oy, ar, deep u, air, or, aw, ir, ear, and all phonemes.!
25. Vowel Digraphs - select correct digraph to match picture
26. Word Families - select the word family to practice and select the correct beginning consonant to match the pictures
27. Write a Postcard - Help Salty Sam with his vowels. In the first sentence, click on the focus phonemes. When you have got them all right, the next sentence appears but this time there are gaps in the words. Drag the vowel phoneme with the correct spelling into the gap in the word.

1. 4 Blocks Literacy Framework - Provides templates, lesson ideas and plans which would assist in the implementation of 4 Blocks. Be sure to check out the Word Wall Grade Level Lists.
2. Word Wall Activities - A word wall is a systematically organized collection of words displayed in large letters on a wall or other large display place in the classroom. It is a tool to use, not just display. Word walls are designed to promote group learning and be shared by a classroom of children. Check here for ideas on how to use your word wall interactively.

1. The Pig Waller - Listen to the word and find the writen word.

1. Internet Picture Dictionary - browse by letter or category
2. Little Explorers - English Picture Dictionary

1. ED or ING - choose correct word
2. S or ES - choose correct spelling
3. Suffix lesson - learn what a suffix is and how to use it
4. Suffix Practice - [click on a red dot]

1. State Abbreviations - a worksheet

1. And Then... - Look at each picture, and then underline the sentence that tells what will probably happen next. (K-2)
2. End the Story - Cut out the pictures on the bottom of the page. Decide which picture goes with each story. Paste the pictures on the page. Color the pictures. (K-2)
3. Follow the Clues - a graphic organizer to help your students make predictions about a story (K-2 and 3-5 activities included)
4. Little Blue and Little Yellow - this lesson plan is designed to be used with the first of Leo Lionni’s picture books. Practice at predicting is one of the activities included. (K-2)
5. Story Board - a graphic organizer to help your students make predictions about a story (K-2 and 3-5 activities included)
6. Use Predictions to Help Kids Think Deeply about Books - Predicting involves more than trying to figure out what happens next. As kids find evidence to form hunches, they also ask questions, recall facts, reread, skim, infer, draw conclusions, and, ultimately, comprehend the text more fully. (K-2) Charting Predictions
7. What Will Happen Next? - Look at each picture. Draw what you think will happen next (K-2)

1. Picture Sentence Worksheets - (Scroll past the membership information) Look at the picture. Circle the sentence that tells about the picture

1. Kinds of Concept Maps - examples of four major categories of concept maps
2. Graphic Organizers - from Enchanted Learning
3. Graphic Organizers from Education Place
4. Index of Graphic Organizers - from Inspiration
5. Instructions on how to use Excel to create a graphic organizer
6. Tips on Making Your Own Concept Maps
7. Interactive Venn Diagram - good for whole class activity.

1. Can You Follow Directions? - Tina will give you directions. Click on the pictures in the correct order.
2. Copy Cat Jack is like the Simon game. The game starts off with one color and adds a new color when you repeat the order correctly. How good is your memory?
3. Follow directions - Lesson and activity

1. Tell Your Own Neighborhood Story - Click on three pictures and then make your own story. What would happen first, next, and last?
2. Sequence of Events - [this link opens on a new page] arrange events in chronological order. (Author - Lois Davis)
3. Stories to Retell - Read stories online, then retell

1. Tale of Peter Rabbit – Click on What’s Going On and then answer questions about each picture.

1. Crossword Puzzles for Young Children - [this page opens in a new window - close that window to return to this list] Each week a new puzzle with Dolch words. Clues and hints included. Excellent first start for children learning to work crossword puzzles!
2. What's the Word - Build vocabulary by matching words with pictures.

1. Locate Information in a Books - Learn about the table of contents

1. Animals - Match pictures to correct sentence.
2. Grade One Books Online - Children can read to one another from books that are especially designed to match exactly with Grade 1 Reading Vocabulary Lists.
3. Playground Fun - Match pictures to the correct sentence.
4. Stories Onlinel - Read stories online, then identify characters, events and settings.
5. Tale of Peter Rabbit – Click on What’s Going On and then answer questions about each picture.

1. Rumplestilskin - Online story (no audio) with teacher resources to print, sequencing activities, and illustrations of stories.
2. Cinderella - Online story (no audio) with teacher resources to print, sequencing activities, and illustrations of stories.

1. Real or Make Believe - from Tina's world at Game Goo

1. Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes - an alphabetical index to a very large number of familiar texts to use for recitations.
2. Rebus Rhymes: Mother Goose and others - (from Enchanted Learning) - more familiar texts to use for recitations.

1. I Can Wash Dishes - The pictures on this sheet are supposed to tell a story but are in the wrong order.
2. Monkey Business: Rain Forest Run Around - Click on the words to put them in correct order. (from Game Goo - Learning That Sticks!)
3. Sequence of Events - [this link opens on a new page] arrange events in chronological order. (Author - Lois Davis)
4. Sequence the Story - (drag the pictures in the correct order) Students can have the story read to them if necessary.
5. Sequencing - Choose from a long list of sequencing activities at Quia
6. Sequencing Worksheet - Read each sentence. Use the numbers 1, 2, and 3 to show the sequence.
7. Tale of Peter Rabbit – Click on Picture Order and then put the pictures in order to tell the story. (three pictures are presented at a time)
8. Three Stories from the Little Animals Activity Centre - The stories are read to students, and choices must be made during the story. Give your students the opportunity to retell these stories.
   1. The Missing Pencil -
   2. The Butterfly Trail -
   3. The Wishing Tree -

1. I Will Not Take a Bath - Listen to the story that is read aloud. Determine problem and solution.
2. Pet Story - Which pet should she select? Listen to the story that is read aloud.
3. The Yellow Gorilla - Why did the gorilla turn yellow? How did he solve his problem?

1. Tell Your Own Neighborhood Story - Click on three pictures and then make your own story.
   What would happen first, next, and last? (This does not involve drawing their own pictures.)

1. Kinds of Concept Maps - examples of four major categories of concept maps
2. Graphic Organizers - from Enchanted Learning
3. Graphic Organizers from Education Place
4. Index of Graphic Organizers - from Inspiration
5. Instructions on how to use Excel to create a graphic organizer
6. Tips on Making Your Own Concept Maps

1. Make Your Own Story - choose a story, select pictures and then type five sentences
2. Scrambled Sentences - Use in Internet Explorer only. Click and drag the words/pictures into the box to form a complete sentence
3. Scrambled Stories - students select one of six stories, select from a list of words, and then see the story that they scrambled
   1. Scrambled Stories Teacher's Guide - suggestions on how to use the stories in grades K-6

1. Build a Sentence - Drag scrambled words to create a sentence.
2. Scrambled Sentences - Drag the words in the correct order to create a sentence.
3. Can you make sense of a sentence? - drag the words into the correct sentence order.
4. Scrambled Sentences - Click on the words in order to make a sentence.

1. Tale of Peter Rabbit - Click on Picture Order and then put the pictures in order to tell the story. (three pictures are presented at a time)
2. Tell Your Own Neighborhood Story - Click on three pictures and then make your own story. What would happen first, next, and last?

1. Capitalization - [advanced] type the correct capital letter of the words in a sentence

1. Make Your Own Book - There are many fabulous books that you can make all by yourself. Let your imagination run wild with some simple, step-by-step instructions, with illustrations, to show you how to make some very creative and very fun books!

1. Tell Your Own Neighborhood Story - Click on three pictures and then make your own story.
   What would happen first, next, and last?

1. Tell Your Own Neighborhood Story - Click on three pictures and then make your own story.
   What would happen first, next, and last?
2. I Can Wash Dishes - The pictures on this sheet are supposed to tell a story but are in the wrong order.

1. Rebus Rhymes: Mother Goose and others - (from Enchanted Learning) - more familiar texts to use for recitations. Use these as samples for your students.

1. Rhymes - from Little Animals Activity Centre - Digby Mole's Word games (choose level 1, 2, or 3)
2. Rhyming Words - many to select from - click on the word that rhymes with the picture

1. Irregular Plurals - Match the related words, singular to plural. [concentration style game]
2. Noun Dunk - Classify words as common nouns, proper nouns or not a noun. Score points for correct answers.
3. Plural Nouns - add s or es
4. | Advanced | Power Proofreading - Choose 2nd grade (the lowest grade available) then select; Ad for a Clubhouse Kit, TV Program Guide, Meet the Authors, Memo to the Staff, Nick's Mobile Parts, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.

1. Correct Tense - type the correct tense of the verb in the sentence
2. | Advanced | Power Proofreading - Choose 2nd grade (the lowest grade available) then select; Play-by-Play Sports, Moose on the Loose, On-the-Spot News, Mystery Hour, The Daddy Awards, Bubbles Toy Shop, Letter to Ross and Rosa, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.

1. All about adjectives - interactive show to use with whole class

1. Find the correct sentence - choose sentence with correct capitalization and punctuation
2. Lug and the Giant Storks - game, worksheet and teacher resource [Note: this activity uses only Capital letters.]
3. Special Names - Find the correct capitalization of proper nouns.

1. Contractions - Quia Quiz, match contractions.
2. Full Stop -HMS Sweet Tooth - game, worksheet and teacher resource
3. Punctuation - Find the correct punctuation mark to end the sentence.
4. Punctuation - end the sentence with the correct punctuation

1. Alien Scavenger Hunt: Letter Bugs - Use the mouse to click on letters that make up the word you hear. From Game Goo (learning that sticks)
2. Alien Scavenger Hunt: Space Trash - Use the mouse to click on letters that make up the word you hear. From Game Goo (learning that sticks)
3. Fearless Frieda - Use the keyboard to spell the words Frieda says. Three letter words on level one, four letter words on level 2. - From Game Goo (learning that sticks)
4. Fearless Frieda the Big Kahuna - Use the keyboard to spell the words Frieda says. Frieda starts with four letter words in this game. - From Game Goo (learning that sticks)
5. Look, Cover & Spell - This spelling site has 30 pre-built lists of words, but you can create your own list. Double-click any word on the list and type a word appropriate for your grade level. Your student gets to see the word, then it is covered and they must type the correct spelling.
6. Spell Check - TCAP format, select word that is spelled incorrectly.
7. Spell words - drag letters to create word.
8. Spelling - put the letters in order to create the word that is said aloud.
9. Spelling - Click on the misspelled word and then fix it. For different words and spelling activities, check here
10. SpellBound - Child sees the word spelled correctly, then letters are mixed up and child must put them in order again.

1. Sight Words - read and copy sight words
2. Dolch List Practice - [click on a red dot] online activities to practice sight words
3. Missing Letters - Find the matching sight word and type the missing letters.
4. High Frequency Words - 6 activities using sight words. Drag correct word in blank to complete the sentences.
5. Sight Words - Match the word with the picture. Many, many selections
6. Sight Words - Dolch Words, if you don't know the word, move your mouse over it and it will tell you what it is. Practice the words, then take the quiz.
7. Star Words - This activity provides practice at sight recognition and spelling of the 200 or so high frequency words

1. Alphabetize - (FunBrain) connect dots in alphabetical order to complete a drawing [all letters present]
2. Alphabetize - (FunBrain) connect dots in alphabetical order to complete a drawing [some letters missing]
3. Alphabet Game- Round One-Student drags lower case letters to uppercase letters to match. Round Two- reverse process. Round Three- Drag letters to correct alphabetical order.
4. The Book Game - Organize the out of order books. Click on the picture of the books to play. Click each book to put it in alphabetical order.
5. Haunted Alphabet - Find the hidden alphabet in a spooky setting.
6. Missing Letter - Type the letter that is missing
7. Memory Match - Match capital to small letters in the concentration game style to reveal a surprise picture. As matches are made they are reinforced on a chalkboard, writing down the matches so the student can go back and read the matches later. [concentration style game]
8. Paw Park: Alphabet Bears - bears wearing words on their shirts must be put into alphabetical order
9. Word Order - Drag the words in alphabetical order.

1. The Internet Picture Dictionary - browse by letter or category
2. Little Explorers - English Picture Dictionary

1. Build a Sentence - Drag scrambled words to create a sentence.
2. Scrambled Sentences - Drag the words in the correct order to create a sentence.
3. Can you make sense of a sentence? - drag the words into the correct sentence order.