fbpx

I'm so glad You're Here!

February Literacy Engagement Ideas

A Short, but Sweet Month

February may be a short month, but it still can be difficult to keep readers engaged. They begin thinking of warmer weather…even if it isn’t actually near. Students are also antsy from being inside so much for the last few months. As a teacher, it’s important to keep the excitement alive in small groups to combat those feelings!

I’ve got a few ideas and a freebie for you to help make your readers stay excited about reading this month. I grabbed two different items from the Valentine’s Day section at Target that you can hopefully find too. The heart shapes glasses and the little airplanes are perfect for motivating little readers.

 

IMG 7962 scaled

Ways to Use the Heart Glasses

The heart glasses can be so motivating for readers in Guided Reading groups, literacy centers and independent reading time. Simply keep a container of them at your small group table or somewhere in the room that is easily accessible by all. Readers can then grab a pair and focus on being good readers with their special glasses. The glasses are a great way to encourage a LOVE for reading all month long!

Student Choice

Letting readers choose their own pair of glasses goes a long way. They feel like they’re making a decision in a time when most of the decisions are made by you. Always give the option of not using the glasses too, of course!

Fluency Center

Placing these glasses at your fluency center is one way to get readers excited about working on fluency. They can put on a pair and start working on their fluency passages. Once readers feel confident in reading the passages, they can read to you, or another adult. They can also then record their reading to assess how they’re doing. 

Check out more tips and lots of freebies on setting up a Fluency center in your room here!

Guided Reading

This same concept can be applied your Guided Reading groups. Readers will be excited for the new glasses to be worn while they read in small groups. I’m all about any little thing that is extra motivating!

How to Use the Airplanes

The airplanes can be used by readers a few different ways:

  • When reading individual sentences, outside of the text.
  • As pointers, while reading their texts.
  • Reading words, out of context.
Have students read a sentence from the text, prior to reading the actual text. You can either have it written before groups begin, or have the students write the sentence. They will then move the airplane along as they read each word in the sentence. 
 
Since February is a short month, these airplanes can also be used as pointers. Sometimes something too big and fancy for pointers is too exciting and distracts from the reading itself. However, since this is a short month, readers may be able to contain their excitement for the few weeks while using them!

Flying in February Freebie

I also made a freebie to use with the airplanes. These phoneme boxes are perfect for getting readers to practice saying each sound in a word. When they focus on each sound, they can then put all the sounds in the word together to read the actual word. 

To do this, you can tell readers what letters to put in each box. Or, for a slightly more advanced version: you can say the sounds of each letters and have readers find those letters to place in the boxes. Either way, readers will then use the airplane to “fly through the sounds.” The opposite of this can also be done where you give students the word and they break it down in the boxes. Download the freebie here to use with your readers this month!

I included 3, 4 and 5 sound boxes so you can differentiate based on the current focus of your different small groups. I love these for the beginning of Guided Reading groups or a small group focused on word work. 

IMG 8163 scaled
valentine's day decodable readers

Reading Response Freebie

One other freebie you can use this month: this reading response page- download it here!

This is a great way to focus on characters this month. Add it in as reading response pages for literacy centers or within Guided Reading groups! Printable in black and white or color. 🙂

That is all! Hope these help your readers stay excited about reading this month!

IMG 7603 scaled
IMG 7605 scaled
Picture of Aylin Claahsen

Aylin Claahsen

Providing resources and support to engage all readers.

Leave a Reply

Hi, I'm Aylin!

I’m so happy you’re here! I’m a certified reading specialist who loves talking all things literacy. I have a huge passion for providing resources and support to engage all readers!

TOPICS

Join the List

fluency passages freebie

Fluency Freebies!

Sign up for our newsletter and receive a set of fluency passages to help you incorporate fluency into your routine.

Recent Posts