Printables
16 sheets to print, grouped by learning area. Each one has a single line of instructions for the grown-up at the top and pictures for everything else, so a child who cannot read yet can do the whole sheet.
Letters and stories
English language arts and literature
A to Z, upper case
Trace the big letters
Say the letter's sound as they trace it, not its name — /m/, not “em”. Two or three letters in one sitting is plenty.
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a to z, lower case
Trace the small letters
Lower case is what books are actually printed in, so it is worth more practice than capitals. Watch that b and d get pointed out as a pair.
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Match the pairs
Big letter, small letter
Draw a line from each big letter to its small one. Some pairs look alike and some do not — that is the whole point of the sheet.
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Twelve pictures
What sound does it start with?
Name each picture out loud together first. Then say just the first sound, and let them write the letter that makes it. Saying the sound before writing is the part that teaches reading.
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Write it, then write it again
My name
Print their name in the top box in lower case with one capital, the way it will be written at school. Then they copy it underneath, as many times as they are happy to.
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Numbers and shapes
Mathematics
Up to 5
Count and circle
Touch each picture as you count it — one number word per picture. Then ask “so how many?” before they circle. If they start counting again, that is the skill to work on.
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Up to 10
Count and write
Same idea, bigger numbers, and this time they write the numeral. Encourage them to move each picture out of the way with a finger as they count it.
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1 to 10
Trace the numbers
Trace the numeral, then colour in that many circles beside it. The circles are the point: a numeral is only useful once it means an amount.
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2-D and 3-D
Flat shapes and solid shapes
Trace the dashed flat shapes. Then go and find each solid shape somewhere in the house and tick the box — Alberta asks for shapes in the environment, not only on paper.
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Repeating patterns
What comes next?
Say the pattern out loud together — “sun, moon, sun, moon…” — before they choose. Hearing the repeat is easier than seeing it.
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Longer, heavier, holds more
Which one?
Circle the answer, then go and check with the real thing wherever you can. For the boats, ask which one could carry more people. Being wrong and then finding out is worth more than getting it right on paper.
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Looking closely
Science
Circle all that fit
Which senses would you use?
Go along each row asking five questions: could you see it, hear it, smell it, touch it, taste it? More than one answer is right, and arguing about the tricky ones is the good part.
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By itself, or does something move it?
Does it move?
Three columns: it moves itself, something else moves it, or it stays where it is. The cloud row is the interesting one — it moves, but the wind is doing it.
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People and places
Social studies
Sort the pictures
Need or want?
A need is something you must have to live and be well. A want is something you would like. Expect a fight about the toy car — that argument is the learning.
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Four things to draw
My community
Read each caption out loud and let them draw. Then ask them to tell you about the drawing — the talking is where the social studies happens.
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Moving and feeling good
Physical education and wellness
Match each coin to what it is worth
Canadian coins
Draw a line from each coin to its value. Then get the real coins out — the drawings are to scale, and feeling the sizes is the part that sticks.
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Before you print
- Everything is drawn as outlines, so a sheet costs almost no ink and can be coloured in afterwards.
- Each sheet is one page. Use your browser's print button, or the one at the top of the sheet.
- Where an answer is not obvious, there is a short for the grown-up note under the sheet. It does not print with it.
- Two or three minutes at a time is plenty at this age. A half-finished sheet is not a failed sheet.