Many early years classrooms incorporate poems and nursery rhymes into their daily literacy routine. Learning how to identify rhyming words in a sequence is a fundamental and important skill. There are quite a few literacy activities and crafts that can be done using Hey Diddle Diddle as a starting point. You can add these activities to a literacy center too. There are so many fun activities that can come from nursery rhymes like this one.
1. Cat Puppet Craft
This is the perfect activity for kindergarten. The paper bags that are used to make these will act as a glove. They can be utilized in a reader's theatre activity or can be included in a simple retelling task. This craft is inexpensive to make as well.
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2. Hey Diddle Diddle Centers
This set comes with pocket chart words and sentences. This bundle is full of activities for kids that are educational, fun, and creative as well. If you are looking for an expensive way to add to your current literacy centers, take a look at this resource.
Learn More: Kid Sparkz
3. Rhyming Practice
One of the best ways to get students to be able to recognize and identify rhyming words is through hands-on activities. There are many different ways to use these activity cards. You can ask the students to generate a rhyming word based on the picture on the card, for example.
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4. Letter Matching
Literacy activities like this one are excellent because they can be reused, especially if you laminate them. Supporting your students to find and match the uppercase letters and lowercase letters are some of the best interactive activities. They are even better when they are based on nursery rhymes!
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5. Letter Stamping
Associating letters with letter sounds is a skill that is frequently worked on in preschool and in the early elementary school years. Stamping a bingo stamper into the white circles is the perfect hands-on activity that also works on fine motor skills.
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6. Retelling Cards
Here is a nursery rhyme activity pack that includes many wonderful resources. This nursery rhyme activity packet includes retelling cards that are important resources for retelling and sequencing activities that you might be teaching about now or in an upcoming unit.
Learn More: Play To Learn Preschool
7. Moon and Cow Craft
You could easily turn this activity into a tracing activity if you print out cow and moon templates prior to this activity. Tracing and cutting are also foundational skills that students need to develop, build and strengthen as they get older and start to work with scissors and pencils more.
Learn More: All Kids Network
8. Dish and Spoon Painting
Get your students to design and paint their own plates and spoons. Adding googly or wiggly eyes to their creations when they are done is an excellent idea too to really make their craft come to life. Don't forget to glue the spoon and plate together!
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9. Game Cards
Game cards like this are so versatile. One idea is to get each student to have their own set and when you read the nursery rhyme, they hold up the cards of the words they hear you read. You may want to read it slow the first time.
Learn More: Pre-Kinders
10. Positional Sight Word Craft
Build your preschool or kindergarten literacy skills in your students by presenting an introduction of positional words. Giving them moon cards or cut outs will assist with this craft if your students have a hard time cutting. Crafting tasks are fun activities for students.
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11. Letter Sorting or Sequencing
Letter identification skills are vital in literacy and for building the foundation skills of reading. This activity works on phonics skills, letter sorting, and letter sequencing skills as well. This task will give them lots of practice as these spoons can be reused.
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12. Practicing Spatial Concepts
This activity utilizes a few printables to cut out images and a large poster board. Introducing spatial concepts to students at a young age can contribute to some very fun and enjoyable lessons. Have them place things over, under, and beside the moon.
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13. Picture and Rhyming Words
This website features a simple worksheet that instructs students to find and circle the rhyming words they see in the nursery rhyme that is printed for them at the top. They are even able to draw their own picture at the bottom of the worksheet.
Learn More: Education
14. Dish and Spoon Art
This activity will give your young learners extra practice at reading this nursery rhyme for themselves because it opens like a book and features a printout of the rhyme inside. It is glued in between two paper plates. The googly eyes bring them to life!
Learn More: Spell Out Loud
15. Sequencing Activity
This website also features a simple sequencing activity that students can work through. They can practice counting how many sequencing boxes they have and how many animals they see in the story. Practice sequencing with this worksheet here!
Learn More: Twinkl
16. Interactive Work Page
This moveable craft is adorable! Prompting the students to explain what happened in the story and how the animals are moving in their work promotes language development and oral language in your students. Preschool lessons like this one are so fun!
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17. Collage
Collages are a different type of media craft for the kids to do. You can include this idea in your summer learning if you are working with your children or students over the summer. It is not considered a tough task so they won't mind doing it in the summer.
Learn More: Creative Family Fun
18. Popsicle Stick Theatre
Take a look at this cute idea! Learning colors is also a vital skill that you can work on as you and your class of students make these adorable character popsicle stick creatures. Your emergent readers will love to see these characters come to life.
Learn More: How Wee Learn
19. Maze
Mazes involve simple strategies and will get your young ones to plan for the future. Try not to get stuck! They will have a blast working through this maze. You can laminate it and make it a puzzle mat too.
Learn More: Education
20. Felt Board Set
Playing with felt is such a sensory experience for your young students. They will be so excited to play with these felt characters that match their favorite nursery rhyme. They can each pretend they are one of the characters as they play, too!
Learn More: Etsy
21. Numbers and Sequencing
This sequencing activity is even more simple than the previously mentioned ones because there are actually no words involved. This type of simple activity allow students to participate even if their reading levels are low.
Learn More: Fun With Mama
22. Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Match
These colorful spoons add a pop of color to this task. Your students or children will work on matching uppercase and lowercase letters. The possibilities are endless with materials and resources like these spoons.
Learn More: Pocket Of Preschool
23. Hand Tracing Craft
Add a personal touch to this craft by tracing and cutting out your students' hands. They will get a chance to decorate their own hand shaped cow as well. You can make the cow spin around the moon or make it stagnant.
Learn More: Top Teacher
24. Shadow Puppets
These shadow puppets can be involved in your next readers' theatre time. Each student can be given the responsibility of being a character in the play. Laminating these characters will ensure they will be around for years to come.
Learn More: Kid Spot
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