Spin and Write Activities for Kindergarten
We know that repetition is key for young students who are learning how to write numbers and letters. However, it can be challenging to keep students motivated to keep practicing! Today I’m going to share with you a way to make letter and number formation more fun for your students. Spin and Write Activities are a great way to keep your students engaged in letter and number practice in the kindergarten classroom!
Spin and Write Activities for Kindergarten
Spin and write activities are a low-prep option for both alphabet and number sense practice with fine motor practice mixed in as well!
All students will need is a spin and write mat, a spinner overlay, and a writing utensil! If you don’t have actual spinners handy, a paperclip with a pencil also works great! Just teach students how to hold the pencil upright as they flick the paperclip like a spinner. This small task is a fun way for students to practice their hand-eye coordination!
Spin and Write Letters
For alphabet practice, students will identify the letter the spinner lands on as being uppercase or lowercase. Once the spinner has landed on a letter, students will trace or write the letter in the correct row. This will continue until all of the boxes are filled for one of the letters. Students are always excited to see which letter will win! If there is still time, they can continue to spin until they have filled in all of the boxes on the page.
Spin and Write Numbers
For number sense practice, students will identify the number they land on and then trace or write it in the correct boxes. This activity comes with two different options: One mat only uses two numbers while the other option includes four numbers. You can choose the option that works best for your students!
5 Ways to Use Spin and Write
The best part of spin and write activities is that they can be used in so many different ways! You can pull this activity out of your teacher toolbox whenever a simple hands-on activity could come in handy. Here are just a few ideas:
1. Morning Work Activity
Spin and write can be a great addition to your morning routine! The format of the activity is the same no matter what letter or number you’re focusing on, so students will know exactly what to do when they see spin and write printables on their desks. They’ll be able to get right to work! The activity is engaging and low-pressure, so it’s a simple way to help students get ready for a day of learning.
2. Literacy and Math Centers
Since spin and write is an easy activity for students to complete independently, it also makes a great option for centers! If you choose to use spin and write activities as a low-prep center, you can adjust the mats to make the activity open-ended and reusable. Just laminate the mat or put it in a plastic sleeve so students can complete the activity using dry-erase markers. After filling in one of the grids, they can erase it and play again. This will keep them engaged until it’s time to switch stations!
3. Targeted Instruction
If you need to work with individual students or small groups to practice letter identification or number sense, this can be a fun supplemental activity! You can encourage students to identify the letters or numbers by name as they practice tracing and writing. This can be a fun option for warm-up or if you have a little bit of extra time at the end of your targeted instruction.
4. Early Finisher Activity
Speaking of extra time, spin and write is an engaging activity option for early finishers! You can be strategic about which mats you have available for students to use, so they coordinate with recent or current instruction. You can choose to use paper and pencil so students can turn it in, or you can use the dry-erase option to keep it open-ended. Either way, this activity can keep students on task until it’s time for the class to move on to the next activity.
5. Homework
Finally, spin and write activities can be a fun option for literacy or math homework! This is a simple way to encourage students to practice letter and number formation at home. Since families might not have spinners or paperclips on hand, you could attach a paperclip to the printable mat when you send it home.
Free Spin and Write Printables
Did this post spark some ideas for how you can use spin and write activities in your classroom? Be sure to grab this free set of alphabet and number formation printables! It includes alphabet letter practice for all uppercase and lowercase letters, along with number formation practice for numbers 0 to 20. This free resource also includes some helpful tips for setting up this activity in your classroom. Just click the button below to grab these free spin and write printables from my shop!
FREE Spin and Write Alphabet Formation and Number Writing Practice
Save These Spin and Write Activities
If you’d like to come back to this freebie later, be sure to save this post! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. This will make it easier for you to find this spin and write activity when you’re ready to grab this freebie or share it with a teacher friend!
More Free Printables for Alphabet and Number Sense Practice
Are you on the lookout for even more free printables to add to your teacher toolbox? Be sure to check out my round-up of free alphabet activities for kindergarten! You’ll find even more freebies to help you add variety to alphabet practice in your classroom.
Also, be sure to check out my free number sense printables! You’ll find engaging activities that you can use to help students practice number identification, counting, number formation, and more.
Just like the spin and write activities shared in this post, these free alphabet and number sense activities can be used throughout your daily routine. They are helpful whenever your students could use some additional alphabet and number sense practice.
