10 More Learning Activities with Vocabulary Flashcards for Pre-K, Kindergarten & First Grade
- funprek
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- Oct 30, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 1, 2023
There are so many ways flashcards can help in developing skills necessary for the “big school”, that turn learning into a hands-on game. I love creating these adorable thematic flashcards and enjoy them in play with my own child. Used for years, they become a great resource in our home, and by own experience, we highly recommend you to give it a try!
In the previous article 10 Learning Activities with Flashcards I shared our favorites for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten students while here you will find advanced-level activities and some free printables to go on with learning:
1. Copy Work
Set up a Writing Center for your kid or classroom using thematic flashcards as word lists or story prompts. It’s a great opportunity to practice one-to-one correspondence, spelling, letter names and sounds, and writing.
For this activity I have prepared a free template that you can download (and laminate for durability) and use with your kiddos.
Get a flashcard and place it on the mat.
Read the Word - ask your child to read the word on the card first and then name each sound of the word.
Make the Word - use letter manipulatives, like plastic or magnetic letters, or wooden puzzle pieces. Choosing the right letters, the student is encouraged to name them, as they are in the alphabet.
Write the Word - with a dry erase marker, the child will copy the word in writing.
2. Spelling Practice / Challenge
There are a few options to work on this skill. Similar to the beginning sound activity from the previous article, the youngest students will receive a picture flashcard with the word covered. They are supposed to pronounce the word and write it (or build the word with letter manipulatives), and consult the card to check the result.
Another idea brings spelling to a competition. Played in a group of students, this game may be associated with the Spelling Bee Contest, where kids randomly get their picture card without a label word (by the way, each FunPreK vocabulary set includes both versions: picture-word and picture only) and write the word on the board. Taking turns, the one misspelling will leave the circle thus bringing to the only winner.
Spelling drill (or review) for a single learner will have a time limit to track the progress. The child gets a picture card without a word, pronounces it, spells it and then says the word again. Spelling more words within the same time frame will indicate the improvement. Start with 3-letter CVC words and move on to more challenging cards.
Students in English as Second Language (ESL) class may enjoy this spelling activity to practice their spelling along with vocabulary knowledge. They see a flashcard with a picture, say a word in their native language (optional), translate it in English and then spell or write the word.
3. Counting Syllables
One more important skill to learn in Pre-K and Kindergarten, counting syllables, is easily mastered with colorful and engaging flashcards. It’s a fun game, to clap hands while pronouncing each syllable of the word.
Having the cards laminated and a dry erase marker at hand, the child may write the number of the syllables on the card, as well as to “cut” a word by parts with vertical lines for visual demonstration. It is a wonderful idea for independent work or a review task.
4. Guess Who?
Select a category, for example, animals. Suggest a card (flipped face down) and letter manipulatives in random order to assemble the word. For emergent readers, short CVC words (like dog or cow) will do best, while older kids are able to tackle more of the challenge (5 and more letters). The child will guess the word and make it with the letter. Check the answer by consulting the card. If the task is too complicated, a few descriptive hints about the subject could be suggested (like, it eats grass and produces milk).
This game will sparkle imagination in a Pirate Role Play environment, with a flashcard in a treasure chest and letters all around the place to hunt.
5. Compare and Make Your Choice
Get any 2 flashcards, same or different categories. Discuss with your child, what they have in common and how they are different. As an example, a rabbit and a car: they are both of the same color; a rabbit moves slower, and it is smaller by size, etc. The points of comparison may be absolutely crazy, but this is the fun side of the activity.
To make it more challenging for the class, a teacher may set up a minimum number of sentences to describe similarities/differences. Perfect for early finishers, an icebreaker activity, or a home assignment.
Going further, let’s think essay writing. Involve your kid or class into weighted decision process. Having two words from the different categories, ask the question: “What would you choose?”. The possible answer may be: “If I had to choose, I would have a rabbit instead of a car as all my life I was dreaming of a fluffy pet”.
6. Word Search
For this activity you will need flashcards with or without labels (depending on the target level) and a word search board (feel free to download a sample board with animal vocabulary or a word search template for creating your own – both for free).
So, the child gets a pile of cards to work with, picks one and searches the word on the board (vertically or horizontally). As the word is found, it is colored with a crayon. Preferably to use different colors for each of the words, but, again, it’s up to you.
7. Facts Writing
“What do you know about…?”
Make your child or children select any random card and tell or write (depending on the age and skills) as many facts about the object as they can think of. Younger kids may require a little help in form of questions-and-answer.
This flashcard fact writing activity can be a great idea for a group of students as well as for a foreign language class, independent work, writing centers or a homework assignment.
8. Fancy Crossword Game
Taking turns, one of the students randomly gets a card from a pile, and writes the word on the mat, each letter in its own box. Next kid draws a card and finds the way to write it in using at least one letter of the previous player. If it’s not possible, he or she keeps the card. The one wins who gets less cards when the pile is done.
You may create your own Fancy Crossword Mat or download one for free here.
9. Writing a Story
Start out by drawing any random card from a pile. This will be the acting person for your story. Let your child describe their hero in details: appearance, personality, emotions, likes and habits.
While in the previous article, the Storytelling Activity suggested to choose multiple cards and build a story in sequence of their appearance, for this activity we need only one flashcard to develop a strong character with whom the kid can identify.
Having the character set up, think together of the settings, plot, problem and solution, and let the story begin! Where applicable, set up a minimum number of sentences in the story or a problem for the character to resolve. For a group of students this activity is great for independent project (each child has their card), writing assignment (at home or in the class) or a creative group discussion.
10. Math vs Reading
Building, graphing, writing, spelling, comparing…How about combining Math and Reading?
One of the important early math skills, learning to compare, turns into a fun game involving fine motor and letter name practice. Get 2 flashcards and some stacking pieces: counting cubes, LEGO blocks or even dices to add a hands-on engaging touch to the activity.
Let your child read the word first. The next step will be naming each letter while building a tower (a block for each letter). As a result, there will be 2 towers, one for each card. The higher the tower, the more letters the word contains. This is a practical way to teach kids the concept of comparison.
Another idea for math and reading with flashcards involves graphing. A workbook page may work fine for this purpose, or you can download a free template that I’ve created for you. The student gets 2 cards to compare the length of the words. He or she writes the first word in, and then, spelling it while coloring a box for each letter sound. The same will happen with the second card. As a result, there will be 2 lines with colored boxes, one longer, or both of the same size.
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