In this blog post: Are you a Kindergarten, first grade, or second grade teacher looking for the best literacy centers for back to school? Grab this set of differentiated Back to School Science of Reading centers your students will love!
The sun is finally out in Michigan and we’re counting down the last few weeks of summer. The last thing anyone wants to think about is what literacy centers to prep for back to school!
Thankfully, I’ve already taken care of that for you with this set of free Science of Reading aligned literacy centers.
In a rush? Download the centers here, or keep reading to find out more about each activity. You’ll be able to find a list of similar free Science of Reading literacy centers at the end of this blog post.
Do you love free stuff?
Science of Reading Back to School Centers
Grab a set of 4 Science of Reading aligned Back to School themed centers. Each center covers a wide range of skills to make differentiation easy.
Science of Reading Literacy Centers
I cover this in every blog post, BUT it’s important that you know: You do NOT need to throw out all of your old centers for new ‘Science of Reading centers.’
As you make the switch to SOR aligned practices, you might start seeing the “Science of Reading” label everywhere and feel overwhelmed. It might feel easier to throw it all out and start again.. but I promise you, you don’t need to do that.
The truth is, most of the literacy centers you’ve used in the past will probably still work today. Just make sure that they review skills you’ve already taught and you’re good to go.
SO WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THESE SOR ALIGNED LITERACY CENTERS?
You might be saying, “Natalie, you just said we don’t need specific Science of Reading literacy centers, so why would I need these?”
The reason I call my literacy centers Science of Reading aligned is because they are already differentiated for you and they follow the same scope and sequence as my Science of Reading Guided Curriculum.
Every single center includes options for 9 skills including:
- Alphabet letter ID
- Alphabet letter sounds
- CVC words
- Digraphs
- Beginning blends
- CVCe words
- Ending blends
- R-controlled vowels
- Vowel teams
That means, if you don’t already have centers that you use and love (or you just want to toss these in too), you can rest easy because they:
- Are controlled and only ask students to use previously taught phonics skills.
- Follow an effective scope and sequence that aligns to what you’re teaching.
- Are differentiated so students can complete the same center but with different skills.
If you use my Science of Reading Literacy Centers, these follow the same scope and sequence so you can easily mix them in no matter where students are.
Science of Reading Centers for Back to School
These Science of Reading aligned centers for back to school follow the same sequence as my Science of Reading Literacy Centers Bundle. That means that you can plus them in to the current pack you are using.
Here is a closer look at the 4 free spring back to school literacy centers included in this free download.
Back to School Clip Cards
Is there any literacy centers more iconic than clip cards? These are one of the easiest literacy centers to prep, but they’re hands on and engaging for students.
For these back to school clip cards, students will clip the letter or word that matches the picture.
They’re practicing both phonics skills and fine motor skills – win win!
Look Alike Words Search and Find Mats
If you have students who rush through decoding words and often make mistakes, look alike words are the key. Look alike words only change one letter, so students really have to look closely and think about the word.
These Look Alike Word Search and Find Mats give students two similar words. Students must find and cover the words with the corresponding color.
Spin and Cover Mats
One of my favorite no prep Science of Reading literacy centers for back to school are these Spin and Cover mats. All you have to do is add spinners and manipulatives, but students feel like it’s the most amazing thing ever!
For these literacy center mats, students will spin a picture. Then, they will cover the matching word on their mat.
You can also turn these mats into a partner game by giving each player their own color counters. Players will take turns spinning and covering a word.
If that word is completely covered, the player loses their turn. The player with the most spots covered in the end wins.
Stretch and Build Strips
Need a fun activity to use with magnetic letters? Then you’re going to love these Stretch and Build Strips. Students will say the word, tap the sounds, and then match the magnetic letter that spells the sound to each box.
Of course, if you don’t want to use magnetic letters, you can also have students write the words with a dry erase marker.
For the alphabet center, students will sort and match magnetic letters.
Grab the FREE Back to School Centers:
Reading to add these free Science of Reading centers for back to school to your teacher tool kit? Grab them below:
Do you love free stuff?
Science of Reading Back to School Centers
Grab a set of 4 Science of Reading aligned Back to School themed centers. Each center covers a wide range of skills to make differentiation easy.
TIP: Make sure that you use a personal email address to send those centers to. School districts often block our freebie emails because they contain outside downloads.
Want more Science of Reading aligned literacy centers that you can use anytime of the year? Grab the SOR centers bundle for over 80% off right now and get over 200+ centers ready to print and go!
Looking for more FREE thematic Science of Reading literacy centers? Check these out:
- Apple themed Science of Reading literacy centers
- Winter themed Science of Reading literacy centers
- Dental health themed Science of reading literacy centers
- Spring themed Science of Reading Literacy Centers
Ready to learn more about the Science of Reading? Check out these blog posts:
