Practice Sheets are a key part of the All About Reading program, and for good reason: they help kids develop fluency, which is the ability to read smoothly, accurately, and with expression. In fact, many of you call them “fluency sheets” because they are so helpful in guiding students toward fluency.
But as helpful as Practice Sheets are, they aren’t necessarily the most exciting component of the reading lessons. If you’re looking for ways to spice them up, we’ve got you covered! Download this collection of activities and sample Practice Sheets and then read on! And be sure to scroll to the end of this blog post for a special bonus download!
Ready to have some fun and build fluency at the same time? There’s no shortage of ideas here…just pick an activity and give it a try!
Feed the monster. Print and cut out the monster (page 7 or 10) and the appropriate Practice Sheets from the download. Have your child read each strip and then feed them to the monster. For a fun alternative, check out our adorable Feed the Puppy game.
Number the rows of words and sentences on the Practice Sheets from 1 to 6, repeating the numbers as necessary. If your child rolls a 2, he reads the words in the rows you marked with the number 2. If he rolls a 3, he reads the words in the rows you marked with the number 3.
Read with a buddy. Take turns reading lines on the Practice Sheets with your student. Learn more about how buddy reading can help your child in this blog post.
Use sticker dots to reduce your student’s frustration. Break up the Practice Sheets into more manageable chunks using sticker dots to create a “starting dot” and a “stopping dot.”
Play hide-and-seek with words and sentences. Cut up the Practice Sheets and hide the pieces around the room. When your child finds one of the pieces, he has to read it before searching for the next piece.
Choose a letter and have your student search for and read only the words, phrases, or sentences that begin with (or contain) that particular letter.
Play Swat the Words. Print and cut out the splat graphic from page 9 or 12 on the download. Attach the splat graphic to a new flyswatter, a plastic ruler, or even just your student’s hand. Cut out words from the Practice Sheet and lay them on the table. Have your student find and swat each word as you read it out loud.
Break up the Practice Sheet by covering it with a piece of paper, making the page seem less overwhelming for your child. Slide the paper down to uncover one line or section at a time.
Make progress more concrete. Allow your student to track his progress using colored highlighters or fun stickers. Simply have him mark the words or sentences as he reads them.
Play Fluency Hopscotch. Write fluency words in each square of a hopscotch grid. Gather a different marker for each student, such as a beanbag, stone, or bottle cap. Follow standard hopscotch rules, but when the student stops to pick up his marker, he reads the word(s).
Play Fluency Snowball Fight. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips and tape them to the wall. Have your child read the words. After each strip is read correctly, have your child stand back and throw a snowball at the strip! Use Ping-Pong balls, Nerf balls, styrofoam balls, or even crumpled paper as snowballs.
Use an online word search puzzle maker to create your own word search puzzle using your child’s fluency words. Have her read the words as she finds them.
Make a word road. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips. Place the strips end to end on a long table or on the floor to make a road. Have your student drive a matchbox car over the words as he reads them.
Illustrate the words. Select a few words from the Practice Sheets and have your student draw a picture for each one. For even more fun, ask your child to make a collage of the words and pictures.
Silly sentences. Have your student read a word from the Practice Sheet and make up a silly sentence using the word. Have a contest to see who can make the other players laugh first.
Have fun with emotions! Cut out the emojis from page 9 or 12 on the download. Put the emojis in a basket. Cut the Practice Sheets into strips and put those in another basket. Have your student pick a strip from one basket and an emoji from the other basket. Now ham it up by reading the word using the selected emotion.
Here’s one more FUN way to help your child zip through those practice sheets! Reading is always more fun with a buddy and our All About Reading mascots are here to help! First download your Reading Buddies, then select the character that correlates with your child’s reading level or just pick your favorite! Either way, practice sheets are about to get a lot more fun!
What is your child’s favorite way to use the Practice Sheets? Let me know in the comments below!
Lisa
says:Looks like a fun way to get some good practice!
Rhonda
says:My daughter loves illustrating what she’s reading! This is a great list!
Heidi
says:My daughter loved when we added a snack/treat to the end of a row of words
Colleen
says:These are great ideas.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThanks, Colleen!
Bethany
says:Great ideas! Thank you. I love the road idea.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGlad you like it, Bethany! The word-road idea is especially well-received by kids that have lots of wiggles.
Kathy
says:My kids like using reading buddies to help them track words they are reading. It helps the page seem less overwhelming.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you for letting us know that your kids like the Reading Buddies, Kathy!
stephany
says:Thank you!
Sheila
says:Your website is amazing and so helpful! My son is actually excited about trying your spelling program
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Sheila! It’s great to hear that the website is helpful.
Heather
says:I love these fun ideas!
Chaya Perl
says:this looks exciting looking forward to using these ideas
West
says:My triplets have loved this curriculum. It is fun and engaging.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat to hear, West!
Lorraine
says:These are awesome resources. Thanks!
Heather
says:I just came across this blog recently. My 4 year old is completing level 1 and we needed ideas for our fluency sheet. Thank you!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Heather. I hope you find lots of ideas here to make the fluency practice sheets more fun for your child.
Meredydd Seidel
says:These are great ideas! Will Definitely be adding some to our lessons!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat! I’m glad you like them, Meredydd!
Hedgehogi
says:I love these ideas for my older one. I have two kids and they practice back and forth with each other.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceSharing the work always makes it more enjoyable! Great idea!
Laura
says:You can also play a game where the words are written on circles and then flipped with a pancake flipper. This can be played with the words being flipped from facing up to facing down to allow the child to be in control of the order words are practiced. It can also be played with the words facing down and then being flipped up to increase the challenge since the child is not able to see the word until it is flipped over.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, I really like this idea, Laura! Thank you for sharing it. It is similar to our Egg Flip activity from the All About Reading level 1 Activity Book, and that is a popular one for many students.
Abigail
says:Also, I forgot to mention- pro tip for those who try the hide and seek practice: Make sure you keep a master list of what you hide so you know when they have all been found. I may know from experience what it is like to have your kids bring you words days later and say, “Look! I found another one!” 🤣🤷
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceOh, great tip, Abigail! I’m sure I’d be one to forget where all the cards were hidden.
Abigail
says:We break it down even further with the dice. We use a ten sided dice and my daughter numbers each individual word. The number she rolls is the word she reads. Then she crosses it out and puts that number on another available word. It takes longer but for my struggling reader one at a time is less overwhelming than an entire row.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI love how you found a way to make it less overwhelming for your daughter, Abigail! I think your method could work with a standard six-sided die as well, as ten-sided dice are sometimes hard to find. Thank you for sharing this idea.
Nicole G
says:These strategies are a lifesaver! They actually ask for these games instead of whining about reading a practice sheet.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYes! That is the kind of thing we love to hear, Nicole! We love it when children are excited to learn!
Shelly M
says:Our favorite “game” is reading the emoji one. We like to read the words on the practice sheet while pretending we have different emotions. I’ve seen a lot of improvement in my daughter’s reading expression by doing this.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m very pleased to hear that the emoji activity has helped your daughter’s reading expression, Shelly!
Tania S.
says:I love these ideas!
Whitney B
says:These are some great ideas! My kids definitely don’t love to do the practice sheets, so these give me some inspiration!!
Amy
says:Just love all the ideas thank you!
Denise Bier
says:Thanks for these tips! Going to try them with my oldest who seems to get frustrated easily with this type of work.
Allison Matz
says:I think my grandkids would love these.
Philip Lawrence
says:It is very important to keep a child’s interest up in order for them to willingly want to continue learning. My child’s favorite way to use the Practice Sheets is by challenging himself to do each one faster than the one before it.
Sofia
says:Great ideas! Breaking up into small section does the trick for my kiddos!
Sarah Gibbs
says:Never thought about sticker dots thanks for the suggestion
Rayhana Ebrahim
says:Thank you for this post, I especially love the reading buddies, it keeps them focused in a fun way.
Thank you for all the wonderful resources.
Dana Goodman
says:Such fun ideas! it is refreshing to have fun ideas to go with a language arts curriculum as that is not often seen in many of the programs I have looked at online.