Early Literacy

Students will trace, color, and write letters on these alphabet worksheets.

Assemble and read these simple mini-books for very young readers.

Looking for cute poems to share with your class? We have lots!

Trace and print each letter of the alphabet. We have worksheets with upper and lowercase letters.

We have a page of worksheets for each consonant and vowel sound, as well as blends and digraphs.

This page will link to you hundreds of phonics worksheets for teaching consonant blends.

Practice reading and recognizing words with long and short vowel sounds.

Assemble the word wheels. Then kids can read the word family words aloud as you spin the wheels.

Learn about rhyming words with these activities.

With these cut-and-glue activities, young children can build very simple sentences.

Write basic sentences with simple, repeated beginnings. Easy writing activities for Kindergarten and first graders.

We have an entire curriculum of 30 sight word units. Each unit has a take-home list, practice worksheets, reading practice tools, and assessment sheets. We recommend doing one unit per week.

Here you'll find a list of over 150 sight words. Each word has a several worksheets. (For example, you'll find several worksheets for teaching students to read and write the word that.)

Use these flashcards, bingo games, checklists, and worksheets to help your students master all 220 Dolch sight words.

We have word wheels, games, and worksheets to help your kids master the Fry Instant Sight Words.

This page contains a collection of word families units. Includes -an words, -am words, -ear words, -ack words, -ail words, and dozens more. Each unit contains worksheets, word wheels, flashcards, and sliders.

We have simple reading comprehension passages with questions for first graders.

We have a full first grade spelling curriculum, complete with printable word lists, worksheets, and test forms.

We have hundreds of worksheets and printable activities for Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten students. Browse the entire collection.

Themes include farm worksheets, zoo animal printables, sea life activities, and apple worksheets.

Early literacy is a foundational area in elementary education, focusing on essential skills that enable young learners to become confident readers and writers. Beginning in kindergarten and extending through the early grades, students start by learning the alphabet, recognizing letters, and connecting each letter with its unique sound. This fundamental skill, known as phonemic awareness, is crucial as it lays the groundwork for understanding how sounds come together to form words. Teachers in these early grades, often pre-K through 1st grade, guide students through activities that help them recognize letter shapes and practice proper printing techniques, forming the letters with clear, consistent strokes.

As students grow more comfortable with letters and sounds, they start working on word recognition, beginning with simple, commonly used sight words. Sight words—such as "the," "and," and "it"—are frequently used words that students memorize to improve reading fluency and comprehension. In addition to sight words, early learners explore word families, groups of words with common patterns, such as "cat," "bat," and "hat." Recognizing these patterns helps students decode unfamiliar words and improves spelling skills. Teachers frequently incorporate word family exercises, allowing students to practice reading, writing, and sounding out similar words, which builds both reading fluency and vocabulary. Super Teacher Worksheets provides all of these resources to assist young learners in the classroom, including a ton of free early literacy worksheets.

In early literacy, students also learn to construct basic sentences, combining their understanding of words with simple punctuation and grammar concepts. Forming sentences encourages students to think critically about word order and meaning, which are crucial skills for reading comprehension and writing. Practicing sentence formation helps students not only read more fluently but also begin expressing their own thoughts in writing. This development of literacy skills, from learning the alphabet to forming sentences, typically spans kindergarten through 2nd grade, though the foundational aspects continue to be emphasized throughout elementary school.

The importance of mastering early literacy skills cannot be overstated, as these abilities serve as the building blocks for future academic success. Teachers and parents alike are encouraged to support young learners by providing them with a range of engaging activities and consistent practice. Mastery of early literacy skills allows students to tackle more complex reading and writing tasks as they advance in school, fostering a lifelong love for reading and a strong foundation in written expression.