Differentiated teaching is so important for all grade levels, but especially for Early Ed where abilities and base knowledge range from zero knowledge and experience to very advanced. Differentiating your teaching on the fly is extremely difficult if not impossible, so I have created sets of Differentiated Centers for Preschool, PreK and Kindergarten in 6 different ELA areas as well as 5-6 different math areas of study as well.
The Differentiated Literacy Centers cover 5-6 literacy subject areas/standards-emergent writing, letters, beginning sounds, rhyming, vocabulary, and antonyms. Each literacy subject area includes 3 centers, a beginning/introductory level center, a middle/on-level center, and a challenge level center.
Examples of what’s included
Emergent Writing/Fine Motor:
In my Emergent Writing/Fine Motor sets I like to include tracing, following lines that are vertical and horizontal, filling in lines either with manipulatives or markers, tracing shapes of different sizes, and ultimately tracing letters that can be large or smaller as skills develop. See example pictures below.
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| Tracing horizontal & vertical lines-introductory level |
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| Tracing differently sized shapes-on level |
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Letter formation-advanced level
(Can be middle depending on letter size) |
Rhyming:
With Rhyming I will always being with books that have a lot of rhyming words that are either real or nonsense words. “The Hungry Thing”, “Nanette’s Baguette” or “Rhyming Dust Bunnies”. We talk about rhyming words in whole group before I ever introduce a rhyming center. The first rhyming center activity I start with is a simple “Does it Rhyme” word sorting activity. I show picture cards with words that are either a rhyming pair or not a rhyming pair and we sort them accordingly. A mid-level center would take it up a notch. The next level would be a rhyming match type game where there is only one word that would rhyme with another given word. Matching, rhyme and clip where there are 2-3 choices, or something similar would be an ‘on level’ center. The advanced rhyme centers will focus on finding more than one word that rhymes with a given word…making a rhyming ‘Family’. this concept requires strong base knowledge and critical thinking.
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| Rhyme/Not a Rhyme Sort-beginning or introductory level |
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| Matching one rhyming word-Medium/on level |
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| Making a rhyming ‘Family’-Advanced |
Beginning Sounds:
I teach beginning sounds as I teach letters, so I usually wait until we have a few letters under our belt before I bring out a beginning sounds center. In the Freebie that I will link to at the end of this post, I start with beginning sounds 2-part puzzles. The puzzles are all self-correcting so there is only one solution-therefore, the picture side will only fit with the correct letter. This is a great introductory center, or one to stay on with kids that are struggling, so they can begin to make some associations. The mid level centers are usually a center with a choice of letters to match a beginning sound picture or vice versa-again, there is only one option, so prior knowledge can be accessed to make the best choice. The advanced level calls upon prior knowledge again as with this center there are pictures with the same beginning sound, and the student has to find the correct letter out of all the letters in the alphabet…this one can be a REAL challenge!
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Beginning Sounds Puzzles-introductory
level or review |
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Clip the Beginning Sound-On level
for late PreK or early K |
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Find the Letter Match the Sound-
Advanced |
Teaching letters in both upper and lowercase can be a challenge. Some kids will just ‘get’ that two completely different looking symbols mean the same thing, and others need a LOT of repetition to make the connection. I begin with letter centers that first help differentiate between uppercase and lowercase. This set will include as an introductory center, an upper and lowercase letter sort. The next level again offers a choice of letters relying on prior knowledge to find the correct matching uppercase or lowercase letter-depending on the activity. The next step up would be to find the letter that matches the uppercase letter in lowercase form and vice-versa with all the letters of the alphabet represented-here I have a ‘Draw & Cover’ or ‘Mark the Letter’. If your group needs a review with this center you can differentiate by matching the uppercase letter to the uppercase letter or vice versa for a straight matching game. This is a great option for review or to build confidence and to solidify prior knowledge.
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Picnic Basket Letter Sort-a
fantastic introductory or review center! |
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Uppercase Letter Clip-On level
or practice |
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| Straight match Mark the Letter |
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| Mark the Letter |
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| Draw & Cover-make it easy or a challenge! |
Vocabulary:
I do a lot of repetitive vocabulary centers, mostly because the real work is in learning theme vocabulary. In the Free resource, I use simple vocabulary words and try to repeat the same words in all three activities. I like to start with a matching game, then move on to ‘Things that Go Together’, or a ‘What Belongs to Me?’ activity. A challenge vocabulary activity is introducing nouns and verbs. I teach Preschool 3-4’s and Pre-K, so I keep it very simple. I will make mats that are for People, Places or Things, and one that is for ‘Action/Doing’. This can be a real challenge for some, but it would be a fantastic introductory center for Kindergarten as they begin to learn parts of speech!
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| Vocabulary Matching-Introductory level |
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| Noun & Verb Sort-Challenge! |
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Things That Go Together-
On level |
Antonyms:
While I would never introduce antonyms to my 3-4 year old class, the Pre-K loves them! This section is mostly for Pre-K and Kindergarten. I have 3 tried and true activities that I use for antonyms. The introductory center is always self-correcting 2-part puzzles. There is only one solution, so it is a fantastic way to introduce the concept of antonyms in a way that is fun and can’t go wrong! The next level up is a matching game…this can be tricky, because the pictures are different, not just a match of the same thing. This center relies on prior knowledge and reinforces the concept. The challenge level is actually a challenge within a challenge! I have 2 different Bingo mats-one with 12 antonyms to find…and one with 16 antonyms to find. This is a center where you can differentiate with the same activity, just leaving the smaller Bingo mat for a group that might need more time to learn the concept and use the bigger Bingo mat for those who are close to mastery! All 3 of these centers are a lot of fun! In all of my Differentiated products they stay the same, only the theme changes…so you can use this set for assessment as wells differentiation.
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| Antonym 2-part Puzzles-Introductory level |
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| Antonym Matching-on level |
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| Two sets of Bingo Mats for differentiation within differentiation!
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Differentiation does not have to be difficult!
I created these centers along with others in different themes in my store to solve a problem that I was having in my teaching. I wanted to be able to reach all of my students within the same standards. With the variation of abilities my students, it was such a challenge that there were days I felt like a failure. Now I have options within the concepts I am teaching which helps my students learn and gain confidence, and it helps me as a teacher feel like I can give each student the help and attention they deserve. I have discovered that with the right amount of planning I can quickly asses my students, modify my lessons, and see amazing results! There is a lot of repetition, so I know that charting progress will be easier and I won’t let anyone fall through the cracks. If intervention is needed…I have the documentation and assessments to back up what I’m seeing in my classroom.
Follow the link below for a FREE resource featuring everything you see int his post, PLUS assessment sheets for each concept soy can track student progress.
Differentiated Literacy Centers for Preschool, PreK, K & Homeschool
