Preschool is when the whole of your learning life is ahead of you – from math to science to arts and history.
Classroom
20 Literacy Preschool Activities
Preschool is when the whole of your learning life is ahead of you – from math to science to arts and history.
Teaching students the joy, and functionality, of literacy skills using preschool activities is an excellent place to start. We’ve rounded up some of the best literacy activities for preschoolers to give them the best possible start, building the foundations for a lifetime of reading.
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20 Literacy Preschool Activities
Here are 20 literacy preschool activities you might like to consider for your young ones:
- Alphabet Targets: In this game, children are asked to identify individual letters lined up on a bar or pool noodle. When you call out a letter, they can use a ball to knock the correct letter over – or use their hands if they prefer. This game is a great compromise between destruction and literacy for preschoolers who enjoy the chaos of knocking everything over.
- Letter Dig: This game combines letter recognition with archaeology, encouraging your budding paleontologists to uncover flour or sand-covered letters with a brush carefully. Once a letter is uncovered, it should be carefully matched to a provided worksheet. This way, children can see how many letters are left and what they should look for.
- Dot-to-Dot Letters: Getting preschoolers familiar with the form and connection of letters is easy with dot-to-dot letters. Students must use a simple dot page to uncover individual letters, all of which can be joined however they like. Whether freeform or with a specific letter required, this game can be tonnes of fun. Hands-on as We Grow has an excellent example to draw inspiration from.
- Archery Letters: This game is a good choice if you have a few of those bows and foam arrows or even the odd Nerf gun handy. Letters are taped to a wall, and as each letter is shouted out, the preschoolers must fire at the corresponding letter on the wall. Coordination and comprehension all in one – how’s that for multitasking?
- Salt Writing: Salt, sugar, or even sand works well for this game, where students need to write individual letters, numbers, or even words in the material. You could use chopsticks, feathers, or pencils to create the letters, providing a sensory experience recommended by the experts at Teach Preschool for writing made fun.
- Sensory Letter Bins: Sensory bins are a staple in many preschool classrooms, but you can add an extra twist to the classic formula in various ways. Firstly, fill a sensory bin with items all beginning with the same letter and see if your students can figure it out. Alternatively, fill a bin with those comfortably squishy foam letters, and watch students enjoy figuring out words more tactilely.
- Alphabet Rock: In this game, you spend a little time outside with your preschoolers collecting a total of 52 rocks – one for every part of the upper and lowercase alphabet. Students can then paint a letter on each rock and decorate the underside with corresponding drawings beginning with that letter. Palaeolithic scrabble is the goal, encouraging students to make words with prompts from the drawings for each letter.
- Ping Pong Family Words: This game teaches preschoolers some of the simplest word families, using golf tees and ping pong balls to interchange letters and make different words. Cat to sat, for example, is a good example of word families at work in this simple game.
- Croc Surprise: This game needs a little prep, but it’s more than worth the outcome. Transform a simple class bin into a crocodile face and fill it with letters and direction cards. The croc is passed along while singing an on-theme song. Whoever the song ends on must pull out a card and either follow the direction or identify the letter. Making Learning Fun has all the resources you need to add this fun game to your lesson plan.
- Book-in-a-bottle: This addition to storytime gives preschoolers something relevant to focus on if they feel restless. Filled with relevant colors or glitters connected to the story, these bottles have a calming effect and help children to concentrate on the teacher’s voice for longer.
- Giant Wordsearch: In this fun game, you and your preschoolers create giant spelling tiles using foam pads. To make words, all the tiles are laid out on the floor. Students must step from one to the other to make the final word. Naming each letter as they step on it. Starting with your classes’ names is an excellent place to begin this activity.
- Edible Letters: Nothing motivates preschoolers quite as much as cookies. In this game, each student will be given a baked cookie with a specific letter. They decorate the cookie using sprinkles, chocolate chips, or icing. Messy play, but one that your preschoolers will love given a chance.
- Dream Shopping List: For preschoolers that have begun to master the art of writing, creating a dream shopping list is a fantastic start. Ask students to add one item for every letter of the alphabet to their list, and they can even illustrate it with pictures if they wish. The focus shouldn’t be on spelling and finding a word for every letter to add to their cart.
- Water Writing: Water writing is a fantastic, temporary way for students to play around with their fine motor skills while practicing literacy. Fill a pot or bucket with water and bring your students outside on a sunny day. Ask them to write letters or words using a large paintbrush and the water bucket on the playground floor or an outside fence or wall, and watch each letter fade as it evaporates.
- Play Café: In this imaginary game, preschoolers are invited to create their café. This means making menus, signs, and other forms of writing for their fellow students to read from. This activity is best in small groups, though you could extend it by asking each child in your class to create a menu for their dream café, restaurant, or fast food place.
- Alphabet Building Blocks: This game is a no-brainer for kids who love Legos. Write letters on larger building blocks – No Time For Flash Cards suggests Duplo – and then ask your class to create an alphabet tower out of every letter. Alternatively, ask them to create towers with their name and other simple words and see what they produce.
- Stamp Letters Fun: Stamps are another fantastic way to help preschoolers learn more about letters, putting them together into words. Provide washable ink pads, offer a whole host of alphabet stamps, and watch your preschoolers enjoy themselves.
- Magnet Mania: There’s a reason why alphabet magnets are such a classic. Create individual boards that spell out several short words, ‘dog’ or ‘fish,’ and ask your class to make new words from the letters they have been provided. For an hour of fun, this no-mess game is an excellent fit. Encourage students to swap letters if they want new words to make for an additional layer of enjoyment.
- Letter Noises: For this rowdy game, students are encouraged to make a noise that starts with the letter they choose from a bag. For example, a preschooler that pulls out a B may say BANG! One that picks an O might say Oink, Oink! The list is endless, and there’s plenty of fun in bringing a lively sound into the classroom.
- Reading Together: One thing that shouldn’t be overlooked in preschool learning activities is simply sitting down and reading. Having a little one-on-one time with preschoolers to get them to enjoy reading is a fantastic way to kick-start a future love of books – not to mention reading will improve their organically understanding of letters and words over time.
What literacy techniques do you utilize with your preschool students?
