Days of the Week Abbreviation Worksheet

Learning to shorten a word is one of the first writing conventions first graders meet, and the days of the week are the perfect place to start. This days of the week abbreviation worksheet teaches students that an abbreviation is a short way to write a longer word, and that the shortened form of a day name always begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. Sunday becomes Sun., Wednesday becomes Wed., and Thursday becomes Thurs. Once children can read and write these seven short forms, calendars, planners, homework charts, and classroom schedules all become far easier to understand.

This first grade abbreviations worksheet lists all seven days in calendar order across a clean, roomy chart. In the first column students trace the abbreviation on a solid handwriting line, and in the second column they write it again on their own. Print one copy per student and work down the page together, saying each day and its short form out loud before writing. Because the page moves from Sunday straight through to Saturday, children also rehearse the order of the week while they practice letter formation and end punctuation.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 7 trace-and-write rows covering every day of the week — 14 handwriting tasks in all

There are three reasons this days of the week abbreviation worksheet builds the skill so quickly. First, the trace-then-write pairing gives every child a model to copy and then an immediate chance to recall it independently, which is what moves a new spelling into long-term memory. Second, keeping all seven days on one page lets students notice the pattern for themselves: every abbreviation keeps the capital letter and adds a period. Third, the writing lines are generously sized for first grade handwriting, so children can form neat, well-spaced letters instead of squeezing them into a cramped box.

Away from the page, keep the practice playful. Post a weekly job chart that uses only the short forms and ask a helper to read it each morning. Play a quick matching game with index cards, pairing Mon. with Monday and Sat. with Saturday. Have students write tomorrow’s date at the top of every paper using the abbreviated day. At home, let children fill in a family calendar with sports practices and library trips, writing the day in its short form each time. Then ask them to spot abbreviations on an appointment card, a sports schedule, or a store sign, and talk about why writers shorten words when space is tight.

Related Resources

• Writing Days of the Week Abbreviations Worksheet
• Abbreviations Worksheet
• Creating Abbreviations Worksheet
• Days of the Week Song (Have Fun Teaching)