The Know Your Safety Rules Worksheet helps 1st graders make smart choices for swimming, emergencies, car rides, and strangers. Answer key included—a no-prep way to build real-life safety confidence.
This Smilies Follow Directions Worksheet gives 1st graders five read-and-do directions plus three faces to finish. An answer key is included, so students build careful reading habits with no prep for you.
This drawing follow directions worksheet asks 1st Grade children to read six directions and draw each shape in the right box, with an answer key included, so position words become something they can do.
The Wheels on the Bus Song will help students learn in a fun way. This is the classic nursery rhyme that kids love to sing and do the motions.
In this position words activity, preschool to 1st grade children match butterfly pictures to above, below, next to, in front of, and behind. Answer key included.
This treasure hunt directions activity board game helps K-2nd grade students follow spoken and written directions as they race to Treasure Island. Answer key included.
This don't wake the librarian sorting books by genre activity is a quiet board game where 1st to 3rd grade readers sort fiction, nonfiction and poetry books. Answer key included.
In this roll a turkey thanksgiving activity, Preschool to 1st Grade children roll a die, count the dots and color the matching turkey part to win. Answer key included.
Using Lucky Charms Before and After Activity, studentsplay this fun game to practice identifying before and after.
This drawing details activity lets kindergarten to 2nd grade students read describing sentences and add the missing details to each picture. Answer key included for quick checking.
Play the Left and Right Simon Says Opposites Activity with preschool to 1st grade: move picture cards to the correct side of the mat. Practice page and answer key included.
This gingerbread house decorating following directions activity lets preschool to 1st grade children follow three-step cards to color a holiday house. Answer key included for quick, independent checking.
Children read a sentence and draw the missing detail in this drawing to add details activity for Kindergarten to 2nd Grade. Answer key included for quick checking.
Listen close, then go!
First graders learn to listen to, remember and follow directions with two or three steps, like "Get your pencil, write your name, then sit on the rug." They also learn the words directions use: position words like above, below, beside, left and right, and order words like first, next and last. It's a social studies skill too, since maps and community rules depend on it. The click moment is when a child hears a three-step direction once and does all three without asking "What was the second thing?"
Following directions is a skill kids practice all day. These moves make it a game instead of a struggle.
Give kids a small toy and a picture. Say, "Put the bear above the box," then "beside the box." Moving a real object makes position words concrete before kids ever see them on paper.
Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.
Try it withPosition Words ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Play Simon Says with left and right: "Simon says touch your left ear." Kids love catching each other. A quick round before lining up builds listening and the left-right vocabulary maps need later.
Why it works: in a well-known study, a few short sessions of a simple number board game measurably boosted young children's number skills (Ramani and Siegler, 2008).
Try it withLeft and Right Simon Says Opposites ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Use a seasonal project, like decorating a gingerbread house, where kids follow numbered steps in order. Give one step at a time early in the year, then two or three later. Small steps up over time build memory and focus.
Why it works: short practice spread over several days beats one long session, according to a large review of learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withGingerbread House Decorating Following Directions ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Direction games your first graders will ask to play again.
ActivitiesFollow the directions square by square on a game board to find the hidden treasure.
Open Treasure Hunt Directions Activity Board Game →
ActivitiesKids listen and draw exactly what you describe. Then compare drawings for a good laugh.
Open Drawing Details Activity →
ActivitiesRoll the die and follow the matching step to build a silly Thanksgiving turkey.
Open Roll A Turkey Thanksgiving Activity →Teacher favorites right now: Know Your Safety Rules Worksheet, Smilies Follow Directions Worksheet and Wash My Hands Song.
Most first graders can follow two- to three-step directions. Give them in order with clear words like first, next and last, and add steps gradually.
Get their attention first, give one direction at a time, and have them repeat it back. Practice with games like Simon Says, and praise them when they follow every step.
Young children have small working memories, so long directions slip away. Shorten the steps, use pictures or gestures, and check for understanding before they start.
It ties to rules, community helpers and maps. Using position words and following steps help kids read maps and understand how rules keep a classroom running.
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