Spring Break Literacy Activities

The Alabama Reading Initiative is excited to share literacy activities with families. Take a look at these exciting literacy activities to keep your child engaged during Spring Break!

Phonological Awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words. The first two activities include phonological awareness practice.

Parents...let's have some fun while in the sun...try these activities with your child:

Rhyme time:

“I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What’s the animal?” Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? (dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes:

While you’re out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, “What rhymes with me?... tree or "What rhymes with far?"... car. Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes (“What rhymes with tree stump?” ...teerump.) but that’s great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families:

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your word family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the “kids” in the -at family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home/reading-101-guide-parents/your-kindergartener/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness

Phonics is instruction in the relationship between letters (graphemes) and the sounds (phonemes) they represent. It is an essential component of effective reading instruction and is necessary for decoding (reading) new words. Students need practice in reading text, spelling, and writing in order to consolidate their learning for long term use.

Vocabulary is defined as knowledge of, and memory for oral word meanings. We can further define vocabulary as either receptive vocabulary (words whose meanings one can recognize when reading or listening to others speak) or expressive vocabulary (the words we use when speaking or writing). Extensive research has revealed that vocabulary is the biggest factor in understanding text once a person has learned to read the printed word. Activities that focus on vocabulary acquisition through understanding the various layers of words increase the likelihood that students will learn new words deeply. Vocabulary knowledge is important to a student’s ability to read and comprehend what is read.

It's not shiny or digital, but hopscotch is a classic fun game for kids that helps to release some of that springtime energy. Here are two variations of “letter-sound” hopscotch that can build your child's phonics skills and help them jump right into reading.

What You Need:

Piece of sidewalk chalk or paper and masking tape

Small rock

Perhaps a friend or sibling or two!

What You Do:

1. “Letter Sound” Hopscotch Game: Find a nice blank section of pavement—on a playground, sidewalk, or driveway—and use your chalk to draw twelve large square boxes with letter sounds in a hopscotch formation (check out the photo for an example). If you do not have chalk, you can write the letters on paper and tape to the sidewalk or driveway. Kids start by hopping on one foot at a time and saying the name of the letter and the sound for the letter that they land on. But when they land on the squares that go two across, they must do both squares - saying the name of each letter and each sound. Once they've got the hang of it, they are ready to play with the rock; they'll throw it onto successive boxes, hop around it while saying the letters and sounds, and then trying to pick it up without losing their balance.

2. "Letter Sound Blending" Hopscotch Game: Find a nice blank section of pavement—on a playground, sidewalk, or driveway—and use your chalk to draw twelve large square boxes with two, three, or four letter words in each box of the hopscotch formation. If you do not have chalk, you can write the words on paper and tape the paper to the sidewalk or driveway. Kids start by hopping on one foot at a time, and saying the sound for the letters that they land on, blending the sounds together, and reading the word. But when they land on the squares that go two across, they must do both squares - saying the sounds, blending the sounds together and reading both words. Once they've got the hang of it, they are ready to play with the rock; they'll throw it onto successive boxes, hopping around it while saying the sounds, blending the sounds, reading the word, and then trying to pick it up without losing their balance.

Vocabulary grows as we are exposed to and use new words. A rich vocabulary not only helps students communicate verbally, it also helps them in their writing. A robust and expansive vocabulary is developed across various environments, including home. The words you use with your child and the words your child uses can impact their academic achievement. A Word Wiser is a quick and easy vocabulary builder you and your child can do together. (A Word Wiser.pdf) Each day choose a word from the word list and complete each box. After completing the box, be sure to discuss the word with your child and add it to your regular word use. Bonus: Tally how many times you or your child uses the word correctly during a week and at the end of the week, the one with the most uses gets to choose dinner (or some other fun, inexpensive treat)!

We have provided an example of the activity below.

Example

Word: Splendid

Comprehension: Read your favorite book outside while you enjoy the beautiful spring weather. After reading the book, complete this fun flower graphic organizer. Record the main idea in the center of the flower and add a detail on each flower petal. The flower graphic organizer flower can be accessed here: MI Flower.pdf If you don't have a book to read at home, we have included a video of the book, The Thing About Spring, by Daniel Kirk.

We have provided an example below:

The Three Little Pigs

Main Idea- Protection- Take time to do things well.

Detail 1- The first pig's house was made of straw.

Detail 2- The second pig's house was made of sticks.

Detail 3- The third pig's house was made of bricks.

Detail 4- The wolf blew down the houses made of straw and sticks.

Detail 5- The brick house was well built and could not be destroyed.

https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/pals26/cresource/q2/p05/

https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/paragraph-shrinking

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with appropriate speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluency is "reading as we talk". To understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression. Check out the fluency bingo activity below.

Activity: Spring High-Frequency Word Bingo

Objective: Reinforce high-frequency word recognition and fluency.

Materials Needed:

1. Bingo cards

2. High-Frequency Words

3. Bingo markers (coins, buttons, or small objects to cover words).

Instructions:

1. Create Bingo cards with a 4x4 grid and write high-frequency words from your list in each square.

2. Prepare enough Bingo cards for each participant (parent and child).

3. Call out the high-frequency words one by one, and have your child mark the words on their Bingo card with a marker when they hear them.

4. Encourage your child to read the marked words aloud as they go along.

5. Continue calling out words until your child gets four words in a row marked horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on their card.

6. Once your child shouts "Bingo!" after achieving a row, congratulate them.

7. Read all the words on their Bingo card, emphasizing correct pronunciation and fluency.

8. You can continue to play multiple rounds with different Bingo cards or switch roles, allowing your child to call out the words while you mark your card.

This activity makes learning high-frequency words fun and interactive, helping your child improve their fluency while enjoying a game during spring break. It's an engaging way to reinforce these essential words in a relaxed and enjoyable setting.

A journal doesn’t have to be a diary. It can also be a book where your child writes about ideas or answers questions, like “If you could do anything next summer, what would you choose?” A journal jar is a place to keep all those ideas and questions. Wash and decorate a wide-mouthed jar, like one that used to contain peanut butter. Then, write or print out journal prompts on slips of paper. Ask your child to pull out one prompt each day and write about it in her journal.

Spring has sprung and it is important to keep children thinking and writing when they are feeling extra refreshed! Here are some fun writing activities to try. Before writing, get the creative juices flowing by having a conversation with your child to brainstorm ideas!

• What are some things you can do in the springtime that you cannot do during winter?
• Make a list of every sign of spring that comes to mind. Consider how spring looks, sounds, feels, and smells as you make your list.
• Pretend that you can go anywhere in the world for spring break. Where would you go and what would you do there?
• Many people enjoy April Fools’ Day. Write about a time when you played a joke on someone or when someone played a joke on you.
• Pretend that “Spring Fever” is a real illness. Make a list of symptoms that people with Spring Fever would have. Then create a treatment plan.
• Write about the perfect spring day. Include details about the weather, where you would go, and what you would do.

Getting outside to enjoy the lovely spring weather not only improves our mood, it can also be a great time to work on improving handwriting skills! Use any or all of these ideas to strengthen fine motor skills and practice writing in a fun setting!

Scan the QR code to access additional literacy resources.

It's Spring! (smore.com) (2023)

Check out ARI's spring break newsletter from last year. There are excellent activities in this edition.

Resources - Alabama Partnership for Children

The APC has compiled resources surrounding a FOCUS (Focus On Children Under Six) topic for all organizations that request the information for distribution in local communities. It is our hope that the FOCUS resources will provide more attention to birth-to-five topics statewide.

https://alabamafamilycentral.org/

The Alabama Family Central is a single platform for families to access services and programs. Its purpose is to help families easily navigate and find links to support their needs. State agency partners include Departments of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, Early Childhood Education, Education, Human Resources, Medicaid, Mental Health, Public Health, Rehabilitation Services/Early Intervention, with support from the Office of Information Technology.

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The information included in this document is done from the perspective of improving LITERACY instruction for students and is only intended to outline support that directly relates to literacy instruction. Please use any resource links with discretion, as their position statements are their own and not necessarily representative of ARI and the ALSDE. Usage of any materials should be with adherence to rules and regulations of the Alabama State Department of Education.