First Grade Leveled Reading and Shape Art Project

Let's Make Shapes

We read the leveled reader titled "Let's Make Shapes" from the Reading A-Z website today at our homeschool. Free trial memberships to the Reading A-Z website are available. At the time that I am writing this, you can get the free trial simply by going to the Reading A-Z website and selecting the link. During this trial, you can download and print books for FREE! There is a limit to how many you can download each day, but when I tried I could download as many as 15 books per day. It costs me approximately 10 cents a page or $1.50 per book to print them at my library.

The Reading A-Z website is my favorite source for books to teach reading at home. The book level for "Let's Make Shapes," is J. For those of you that aren't familiar with Reading A-Z, level J readers are at the upper first grade level. (The next level K is considered second grade reading.) It correlates with Reading Recovery or DRA at level 16. The book shows fun drawings that can be created from simple circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. The book shows the reader how to use these shapes to create a smiling face, a mouse, a caterpillar, a fish, a jack-o-lantern,

Jack-O-Lantern from a circle and triangles

a pine tree, a truck, a dog, a bus and a house.

When we read the leveled readers, I underline any words in the book that are difficult for the child. When we are finished reading, I ask them to write each word and they become our spelling words for the week. When we do spelling, we discuss the meaning of each word, perhaps draw a picture or act it out depending on whether it's a noun or a verb. I've found this is a perfect way to incorporate spelling into our homeschool lessons.

House from a Rectangle and Triangle

After reading the book, I had my boys draw shapes on construction paper and cut them out. We then used the shapes to make the pictures from the book. My boys chose to make a jack-o-lantern from a circle and small triangles, a house from a rectangle and a triangle, and a caterpillar from half circles. I let them pick with pictures to make because they enjoy it more if they are able to choose.

This activity helps building reading skills and and art skills at the same time.

Here is another level J book by Reading A-Z that is available online from YouTube if you'd like to learn more about the leveled readers. (Their is an online version of the books called RazKids.)