As teachers of little learners, we frequently discuss the days of the week and months of the year. They are a key component of our morning meetings and calendar time. Even with daily practice, these concepts can still be tricky for our students to grasp. Time concepts are tough for kids under the age of 7, so how do we introduce them in a meaningful way?
Keep it Simple
Since we know that the days of the week and months of the year are complex ideas for young students, keep your lessons simple and fun. Start with easy-to-repeat songs or chants that can become part of your daily routine. A quick Youtube search brings up tons of options that will grab your students’ attention. We like to add fun dance moves to our songs to make them even more memorable. You will also find that when students get stuck on the order of the days and months, they will reference the songs to help them remember the order.
I love this version of the days of the week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poQGhbve36g
This month of the year song is an oldie but a goodie. The kids love it!
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
An easy way to teach the concept of time to students is to use this small poster set for identifying yesterday, today, and tomorrow. By identifying the sequence of days, students will practice using past, present, and future tenses. These make a great addition to your morning routine and easily fit by your calendar.
This different version is also available.
Grab these days of the week cards here!
Practice, Practice, Practice those Days of the Week
Giving your students plenty of opportunities to practice reading, writing, and sequencing the days of the week and months of the year will help them better understand this time concept. Using cut and paste activities is a great way to have students physically put the days and months in the correct order.
These activities can easily be laminated for repeated use in centers or small groups.
These worksheets on the days of the week and months of the year make great morning work and/or homework as well. The cutting and gluing will help build your students’ fine motor skills. The extra handwriting practice is also a nice bonus. Take a look at these resources here.
Half sheets are another great option for a quick activity or as exit tickets to check understanding. You can find these worksheets here.
Digital Practice
Technology is a large part of our daily routine. Adding digital activities to our calendar skills is another way to reach students who need more practice. These digital slides help to reinforce understanding of the sequence of time. They are also a great way for students to practice their spelling.
Ordering Days of the Week and Months of the Year
An activity that students love is putting days and months in order as a large group. Give students large cards with the names of the days and months. Each student should have one name card. They then work together to separate themselves by days and months. After they are sorted, they put the words in order. This is a fun way for students to work together to complete a task while also being able to visually see the words put into order.
Grab these FREE calendar cards to use for this months of the year activity.
Have fun!
With a combination of the fun and engaging activities listed above, you and your students will have a blast with the days of the week and the months of the year.
No Comments