March Activities for First Grade

Who's ready for the first glimpse of spring?! March brings silly green leprechauns, rainy days, and a bit of springtime weather. After a long winter, it's a welcome change that can liven up classroom lessons. If you're looking for fresh and festive ideas, I've gotcha covered! Let's chat about some of my favorite March activities for the first-grade classroom. 

What to Teach in March 

By the time March rolls around, we've only got a few more months in the classroom before summer break. Typically, this realization can be quite shocking to me, as it always seems to sneak up! This time of year, I'm even more mindful of preparing my kiddos for what's to come. Testing season is right around the corner, which means review is even more important. 

This doesn't mean there is no room for fun though! Quite the opposite, actually. March is jam-packed with springtime sillies, leprechaun magic, and engaging lessons in our room. I'm all about embracing these fun themes. Seasonal activities always help maintain interest, especially on days when our target skills feel a bit repetitive. If you're not sure how to balance fun with learning standards, here are some of my favorite March activities that I return to year after year. 

March Phonics Activities 

Phonics is an all-year kind of thing in first grade. Our kiddos are learning foundational skills and concepts that will help them develop into strong readers. With this task comes the need for LOTS and lots of practice. My aim with phonics activities is always to make things fun. After all, if students are enjoying our lessons, they might just forget we're learning! 

Vowel Teams No Prep Worksheets 

Looking for a simple way to help your students master those tricky vowel teams? This is one of my favorite ways to sneak practice with vowels into our March activities lineup. These no-prep puzzles will come in super handy for fast finishers, center activities, and even homework assignments.

 

The puzzles include a focus on words with vowel teams for ee, ea, ai, ay, oa, and ow. To use, students will cut apart the pieces, read the word on each one, and match it up to the correct spot. I have students lay out all the pieces before gluing them down. The puzzle is self-correcting so students will be able to quickly see if they put a piece in the wrong space. If they answered incorrectly, they can make the necessary adjustments!

Once they have confirmed their answers are correct, I have them use gluesticks so they dry quickly, and then let them color the picture as a final step. These puzzles are fun and engaging for students and offer a great way to "refocus" with hands-on learning if you notice your students are having a hard time listening. 

Vowel Teams Write the Room 

Speaking of refocusing, Write the Room is another great activity to pull out if your students need a minute to "reset". Whenever my kiddos have a case of the wiggles or seem a little restless, this activity allows them to get up, stretch their legs, and get some more practice in with vowel teams. 

This Easter-themed write-the-room center is perfect for March! Simply hang the task cards up around the room and pass out the recording sheets and clipboards. There are 3 different recording sheets included, so choose the ones that work best for your students. 

Then, have kiddos walk around the room and stop at each card. They'll look at the picture and choose the vowel team that completes the word. This is a great practice activity that your students will really enjoy. Plus, it can be used as a stationary center or as a Scoot game too! 

Vowel Teams Poke Cards 

Have you ever used poke cards in your room? They're a bit more engaging than a typical task card activity, and students really enjoy them! When planning our March activities, I always include this center in my lesson plan. It's super simple to prep and will give kiddos one more opportunity to practice using vowel teams.

 

Students will choose a card and identify the picture. Then, they will use a straw or coffee stir stick to "poke" the correct answer. Then, they flip the card over to see if they answered correctly. This is a fun activity to play in pairs. Simply have children take turns and allow the other child to "check" the answer for their friend before going on the next card. 

There are also recording sheets and extra worksheets included to extend this activity a little bit further as well! 

March Social Studies Activities 

What social studies topics are you focusing on in March? In my classroom, we use this month to learn all about American Symbols. This is a really fun topic and my students love learning about all of the different types of symbols used in the United States. 

To explore this topic, we use many different activities from this resource. We always start out with the mini-readers, vocabulary, and informational posters. This helps lay the foundation and define many of the symbols we'll be studying. This unit includes real pictures, which make it a lot easier to explain each of the symbols to students. 

After this, students will use practice worksheets for continued practice. I like to use these during center time to follow up. The final activity in this unit is a really fun Uncle Sam craftivity. Students will color, cut, and paste foldable symbol word cards with pictures on a large piece of construction paper. Then, they'll get to add a fun Uncle Sam cut-out to the top. My students love this activity and it's a great way to allow them to share the info they learned with their families! 

March Writing & Grammar 

Do your students need extra practice with writing and grammar topics? Mine too! These subjects are tricky for firsties so I'm a big fan of weaving in extra practice opportunities whenever we can. In March, we're learning about different types of sentences. 

I like to introduce this topic during whole-group teaching sessions with posters and a sorting game. We also make an interactive mini-book that students can follow along with. I like to circulate the room and see how students are progressing as we move through the lesson. 

Once students have the hang of this, I repurpose the sorting activity in centers and use some of the other worksheets as independent practice activities. This combination of activities helps my students grasp the 4 types of sentences and get plenty of practice using them. If we still need extra practice after this, I will bring the sorting game out again for another chance to review. 

March Math Activities 

Last on my list of March activities are math games and centers. An important math concept in first grade is place value. We work on place value all year long, every single day. I know that practically the same skill daily can feel a little stale if I'm not careful to switch it up. To help make this more fun for my students, I like to add a bit of March magic to our math lessons. 

St. Patrick's Day Place Value 

First graders love St. Patrick's Day. The mere mention of sneaky, spunky little leprechauns on the loose is enough to make any of them smile. I take full advantage of this when it comes to generating a bit of excitement to practice place value. 

This St. Patrick's Day math resource is filled with worksheets, centers, and even a fun craft that students love this time of year. Inside this resource you'll find a pot of gold matching activity, building ones and tens centers, 3 no-prep worksheets, and a leprechaun craft. 

I like to use these activities the week of St. Patrick's Day. The centers are great if you need some thematic activities for party day and the leprechaun craft is a fun and festive way to practice tens and ones. Plus, they make the cutest bulletin board display after students have finished with them! 

Spring Place Value Write the Room

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day centers, this one is a winner too! In this activity, students will identify items in groups of tens and ones and then write out the number. The catch? This center is themed for March with "charms" type cereal on each card. 

Try playing it as a Scoot game if you're looking for a whole group game for party day. Simply lay the task cards out on the desks, pass out the recording sheets, and use a timer to let students know when it's time to "scoot"! I also like to play a calming, Celtic playlist on low while the kids word for a fun and festive touch. 

FREE Telling Time Activity 

As a special treat for you, I'm sharing one of my favorite, FREE March activities too! Grab this telling time resource to use in your classroom. These poke cards have a fun St. Patrick's Day theme and will help students practice telling time to the hour and half hour. 

Students will choose a card, read the clock, and use a coffee stirrer or straw to "poke" the correct answer. Then, they will flip the card over to see if they answered correctly. This freebie is a great addition to your March math centers to add a bit of leprechaun magic! 

More March Activities 

I hope this post has offered a bit of inspiration to kickstart your March activities planning. This is a fun month in the classroom, so enjoy planning! You can find all of these activities, along with many more in my TPT shop. Have fun choosing spring-inspired activities to use with your students this month! 

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