Earth Day Find and Cover the Letter Mats
Try these fun Earth Day Find and Cover the Letter Mats for practice with letter recognition and beginning letter sounds this April. Plus, they are great for fine motor skills.
Earth Day Find and Cover the Letter Mats
This letter sounds activity is the perfect way for kids to work on alphabet skills this spring. Add it to your Earth Day plans for fun, hands-on practice.
There are two different mats to choose from – one for lowercase letters and one for uppercase letters. Students flip over a beginning sound picture card from the pile, locate the corresponding letter on the mat, and then cover it with a manipulative.
This activity is a simple way to help students practice their letter recognition skills while learning letter sounds and letter sound isolation.
Add this phonics activity to your literacy centers or small groups, or even have students play with partners or independently. The possibilities are endless! You will see students saying the words out loud, locating letters, and covering them on their alphabet mats.
Quick, Low Prep Alphabet Activity
Anything with minimal prep is just what teachers need! All you have to do is print the mats and slide them into a page protector or laminate them for durability. This makes it easy for kids to use repeatedly, and they can even write on them with a dry-erase marker.
If you already have the beginning sound picture cards prepped from another theme of this activity, then you are all set. If not, you will need to laminate and cut those apart.
Another option is to use your own beginning sound pictures from puzzles, magnets, etc.
The engaging theme will keep them engaged and excited about learning letters!
How to Set Up the Find and Cover Letter Mats
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Supplies Needed:
- Earth Day Find and Cover Mats
- Small manipulatives (examples include counting chips, mini erasers, buttons or dry erase markers)
- Write and wipe pockets (optional)
- Binder ring for picture cards (optional)
Kids love using those mini erasers you can find in the “Dollar Spot” at Target! They always have super cute seasonal options that are great for math and literacy centers.
** Just ensure you don’t use small pieces with students who still put things in their mouths.
Instructions:
- Print the mats and picture cards.
- Slide the mats into write and wipe pockets OR laminate them.
- Cut the picture cards, store them in a baggie, or place them on a binder ring.
- Gather manipulatives such as mini erasers, counters, etc.
- Store the entire activity in a colorful tray or large zipper baggie.
Using the Earth Day Find and Cover Letter Recognition Activity
Students can use this independently or with a partner by following some simple steps. Stack the picture cards upside down in a pile. Students will draw a card (or take turns drawing a card) and look at the picture. Then, they will determine the letter sound the image starts with.
Next, they will find the corresponding letter on the Earth mat and cover it with a mini eraser, a counter, or another manipulative. Kids keep playing until all of their spaces are covered on the mats.
Differentiating This Spring Alphabet Activity
This Earth Day find and cover the letter activity is very easy to differentiate to meet the needs of your students.
Have students that need some extra letter identification practice? Try using letter magnets or letter beads to cover the mats. Using these to cover the letters gives them extra exposure to what the letter looks like and its sound.
Another option is to place the letter magnets or letter manipulatives to the side and have students draw one at a time. Then, they find the corresponding letter on the mat and cover it with their counter or eraser. You can even use this method to work on uppercase to lowercase letter matching.
Since there are two mats, you can choose whether students use the lowercase or uppercase mats for practice.
I hope you and your students love this fun letter-learning activity! It is sure to add lots of fun and learning to your plans this April.
Click the button below to grab your free copy of the Earth Day Find and Cover the Letter Alphabet Activity.
