What Literacy Skills should I Teach in March?

March is FINALLY here!!!!   This is my favorite time of the year.  The weather starts to give us a glimpse of spring with the days getting longer and a few warm days here and there.  It's also crunch time for teachers.  This is the time of the year I work hard to close the gap with my students.  There are always many students who are reading at or above grade level (C/D for Wisconsin) and many that are close.  However, I have found that students with spring and summer birthdays are now really picking up speed.

When I plan centers in March I think of spring themes like weather, baby animals, farm, frogs, puddles, flowers etc.  School has become so academic that I make sure that centers are colorful and fun!  Below are pictures of the math and literacy skills that I find are crucial in the spring.   I don't believe that any kindergartner has mastered any skill, so I do a lot of repetition using different themes and strategies.  Here is a glimpse of a three areas of literacy that I feel help students identify words quicker and use sound strategies more efficiently. Click on any of the pictures to see the products and forever freebies!

All of the vowels have been introduced.  From March until the end of the year CVC words are a big part of our literacy centers.  I use 1-2 CVC centers a week.  I love it when they start to hear the u and o!

For students that need practice stretching out the word and isolating each sound click on the "Stretchy the Snake" picture below for a great "Forever Freebie."  This activity is perfect for small group and/or intervention.

Sight words are also a go-to each week.  I mix the district expected words with Dolch words to make sure students are gaining a nice variety.  

I love to have students read and build words.  Writing the words adds another element to remembering and storing sight words in multiple areas of the brain.  Students are also are engaged by the spring time photos.  I love it when activities not only work on a skill set, but tie in important seasonal vocabulary.

Mixing up the sight words helps students think about the letters in the sight words and the order of the letters.  

I also like to include a movement seek-and-find sight word activity.  Students love talking about the pictures and the words.

This sight word "Forever Freebie" is perfect for homework or finish early centers.  Students look at 6 sight words at a time.

Some of the boys and girls are ready for more of a challenge.  Most of the kids can identify the "ch," "th" and "sh" sounds.  I love to through a digraph/blend activity into centers every other week.  I try to do this on days when I may have a parent volunteer or an extra set of hands to help.  They are starting to understand the concept, but are not yet confident!