A sunny Picnic Day rebus worksheet that helps preschoolers read picture sentences, match pictures to words, and build early reading confidence. Answer key included.
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.
Pictures that read like words!
A rebus story swaps some words for little pictures, so preschoolers can "read" long before they know every letter. In a sentence like I see a (picture of an apple). the little apple says the word for them, and they read the rest with your help. Rebus reading teaches that print carries meaning, that we read left to right and that every word we say matches something on the page. It's a huge confidence boost. The click moment is a child tracking a whole sentence with a finger and reading it proudly by themselves.
Rebus reading works best when it feels like a picture puzzle.
Read a rebus sentence aloud slowly, touching each word and picture as you go. Then read it together, then let a child take a turn. Pointing shows that each spoken word lives somewhere on the page.
Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it withPicnic Day Rebus WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Give kids a sentence strip that says "I like the ___." They choose a sticker or draw a picture to finish it, then read it to a friend. Making their own rebus means they can always read it back.
Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withLeft and Right Simon Says Opposites ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Post a new rebus sentence each morning at circle time, using the same starter words all week: I, see, the. By Friday those little words feel familiar. Short daily practice builds early reading habits.
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).
Teacher favorites right now: Picnic Day Rebus Worksheet and Left and Right Simon Says Opposites Activity.
A rebus story uses small pictures in place of some words. Young children "read" the pictures and get help with the words, so they can follow a whole sentence.
They teach that print has meaning and that we read left to right, one word at a time. They also make kids feel like real readers early on.
Write a short sentence and draw a quick picture or glue a sticker in place of one or two nouns. Recipes, shopping lists and notes work great.
Many children enjoy rebus reading between ages 3 and 5. The pictures carry the hard words, so they can join in early.
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