Winter Literacy Centers

Bring literacy to life this winter with this engaging packet of 18 skill-based literacy center activities designed for first and second grade learners! Each center includes hands-on sorting, matching, or game components PLUS a recording sheet to hold students accountable and document their learning.

Created with independent practice, small group instruction, or literacy rotations in mind, these activities help reinforce foundational language concepts in a fun, seasonal way!

❄️ What's Included?

Each activity is winter-themed and focuses on a key literacy concept:

• A Blizzard of Blends – Match blend words with corresponding pictures
• Cold Compound Sort – Sort compound vs. non-compound words
• Real & Nonsense Compound Word Game Board – Identify real vs. silly word combinations
• Winter Word Sort – Sort winter-themed nouns, verbs, and adjectives
• ABC Order – Alphabetize a list of seasonal words
• Snowflake Syllable Sort – Sort 1, 2, and 3-syllable words
• Cold Contractions – Match contractions with the two words that form them
• Ski Trip Scramble – Unscramble high-frequency words
• Snow Pal Synonyms – Sort & match synonym pairs
• Arctic Antonyms – Sort & match antonyms
• Snowball Synonym & Antonym Sort – Decide whether word pairs are synonyms or antonyms
• Past Tense Penguins – Match past and present tense verbs
• Past/Present/Future Penguins – Sort verbs by verb tense
• Asking/Telling/Excited Sentences (Penguins & Ski Pals) – Sort sentence types by punctuation (! ? .)
• Eskimo Editors – Rewrite “unreadable” sentences correctly and illustrate
• Sweet Facts & Opinions – Sort facts vs. opinions and write one of each
• Make an Inference (4 printables) – Observe winter scenes and write an inference with supporting clues
• Make a Prediction (4 printables) – Read a paragraph and predict what happens next

🎯 Skills Addressed:

✔️ Blends and phonics

✔️ Parts of speech

✔️ Word classification

✔️ Contractions

✔️ High-frequency word recognition

✔️ Synonyms & antonyms

✔️ Verb tenses

✔️ Sentence types

✔️ Editing & conventions

✔️ Fact vs. opinion

✔️ Inferences and predictions

✔️ Syllables and ABC order

👩‍🏫 Perfect For:

• Literacy centers / rotations
• Morning work
• Early finishers
• Skill-based intervention
• Small group reinforcement
• Sub tubs
• Winter-themed ELA practice