Explore September: 1st Grade Math & Literacy Centers

September always comes around way too fast. One minute, I’m enjoying a hot summer day by the pool in July; the next, it’s September, and we’ve been in the classroom for almost a month.  I really enjoy September in the classroom. The chaos of August and the back-to-school season has begun to subside, and I feel that my students and I know each other a little bit better. One way we get ready for the month is with these 1st Grade Math & Literacy Centers. They’re filled with engaging activities that are easy to prep.

Another perk of September is that we get to welcome the season of fall! We love celebrating the start of fall with some of these read-alouds and this exciting fall bingo game. We dive into language arts with our apple writing center and apple blends match-up. Maintaining the apple theme, we work on addition and subtraction with this editable activity. The month wouldn’t be complete without some seasonal science added in. My students have a blast with these four September science experiments and this apple boats STEM experiment.

I start and end the day with daily literacy and math journals to ensure my students keep their math and literacy skills sharp. I pull out the September Daily Literacy Journal each morning for a quick morning work/check-in activity. The September Daily Math Journal is perfect for either an exit ticket at the end of the day or to end my math block. The ease of using journals like these is so helpful. If you haven’t tried them, I would highly suggest giving them a shot!

And speaking of things that we love using in the classroom, we are really big on hands-on learning over here, which is why we spent so long creating these engaging 1st grade math and  literacy centers for September. These centers are full of fun, fall-themed math and literacy activities that will transform your classroom into the best place to be this fall. 

September 1st Grade Math & Literacy Centers

With this jam-packed bundle, you’ll receive 40 centers to add to your first grade September curriculum. These centers are themed with adorable fall and September clip art, making them fresh and exciting for your students to use. 

There are five different categories of math centers and five different categories of literacy centers included in the bundle. Each center is simple to explain to your students so they can be more independent after the first few times. These centers include games, puzzles, and so many more fun activities that will have your students so busy playing that they’ll forget they’re learning too!

Included in the September 1st Grade Math & Literacy Centers

20 September Math Centers for 1st Grade:

• 4 Write & Wipe Centers
• 4 Dice Games
• 4 Write the Room Math Centers
• 4 Match-Ups
• 4 Puzzles

20 September Literacy Activities for 1st Grade:

• 2 Puzzles and 2 Write & Wipe Centers
• 4 Sets of Poetry Center Materials
• 2 Pocket Chart and 2 Match-Up Centers
• 4 Sets of Writing Center Materials
• 4 Literacy Write the Room Activities

That gives you 40 September-themed literacy and math activities for 1st grade to use with your students this fall! 

Skills covered in the September Math Activities for 1st Graders:

• Graphing, Number Order, Addition, One More/One Less, Place Value, Two More/Two Less, 3D Shapes, Skip Counting, Subtraction, Counting On, Subitizing, Coins, Decomposing, Comparing Numbers, Telling Time to the Hour, and more!

1st Grade Skills covered in the September Literacy Centers:

• Writing, Poetry, Sequencing, Sight Words, CVCC Words, Comprehension, Plural Nouns, CVC Words, Simple Sentences, ABC Order, Character & Setting, Punctuation, and more!

Using the September 1st Grade Math and Literacy Centers

After you purchase and download the September math and literacy bundle of centers, you’ll now own 40 centers to use with your students. Because 40 centers can be a lot, we’re here to offer some guidance on how to best use, and how to set up, the 1st grade math and literacy centers in September. 

First, you’ll want to look through each center that’s included. If you’re not by your printer, make a list of the centers that you want to print. Look through the different variations of each center and decide if you’ll use the color or black and white version, and which recording sheet, or level of activity, you’ll use with your students for the centers that have multiple options for differentiation.

Once printed, organize your centers in piles or folders of what needs to be copied, laminated, cut, etc. We highly recommend prepping these centers the month ahead of time so that you’re not rushed. When you look through the centers, you’ll see lots of adorable fall themes that are perfect for September. But some of the centers could definitely fit in other months as well, so feel free to store something away for sub plans, etc., if you don’t plan to use all 40 centers during this month. 

There are two more pieces of advice that I can offer. Number one: laminate as much as possible to make them last so you can reuse them next year. Number two: explicitly and clearly model the centers for your students before letting them go. Trust me, they will do great once they understand the directions and your expectations. 

Last but not least, don’t forget to be excited about these centers for your students and to have fun with them! The best part about integrating math and literacy centers into 1st grade September curriculum is that it makes every day a little more fresh and exciting. 

Materials Needed for the 1st Grade Math and Literacy Centers for September

• Dry Erase Markers
• Erasers
• Write the Room Clips
• Laminating Sheets
• Dice

1st Grade September Math Activities 

Dice Games

You and your students will enjoy the four first grade math games that are included in the dice games category. You’ll receive a roll and graph activity that will help students practice graphing and reading color words, a build a scarecrow game, a color by code activity sheet practicing subtraction, and a roll and cover/color game that reviews one more/one less. These centers are sure to find your students having so much fun that they won’t even realize they’re reviewing math skills. 

Partner Games

It’s so important to give our students opportunities to work with their classmates, especially at the beginning of the year. The partner games in the math and literacy centers bundle give you four September math games for first grade that are perfect for reviewing math skills, all while learning to play with others, too! The four partner games include a 3D shapes spin and cover game, a race to 20 game, an apple subtraction board game, and a skip counting card game. 

Puzzles and Match-Ups

The two fall math puzzles included in the bundle are apple and sunflower themed and review addition and one more/one less. The two math match-up activities for September help students work on completing a 100s chart and reviewing tens and ones. 

Math Write the Room Activities

The four math write the room centers for September can be used by hanging the cards around the room and sending students off with the recording sheet to find the answers, or you can place the cards on a ring or in a basket and put them in a center to be used as task cards. The math skills focused on in these centers include telling time, identifying coins, comparing numbers, and finding the missing addend/completing a number bond. 

Write & Wipe Activities

Write and wipe activities are helpful for math skills because they allow students to repeat the activity over and over again to build fluency with the skills. The four write and wipe math activities for September will help your first graders review subitizing, addition, 3D shapes and their attributes, and counting on. 

First Grade Literacy Activities for September

Pocket Chart Activities

The September pocket chart activities include a sequencing writing activity and a sentence scramble writing activity. Students can practice retelling the process of raking leaves with the sequencing activity. The sentence scramble includes age-appropriate sentences fit for the fall. These September writing tasks for first grade are sure to be a hit in your classroom! 

Write & Wipe Literacy Activities

Wait until you see these write and wipe activities; they are so adorable! All you have to do is print, laminate, and cut these task cards to make them work with dry-erase markers. One of the write and wipe centers focuses on segmenting and unscrambling CVC words. The other write and wipe center has students reading a sentence and finding the missing word that makes the sentence complete. 

Literacy Puzzles for September

The two puzzles that come in the September literacy activities are great to use in a center, as morning work, or for your early finishers. One of the puzzles has students reading sentences and finding the picture that shows what the sentence is saying, helping them to improve their comprehension and visualization skills. The other puzzle will help students review singular and plural nouns.

Poetry Centers

Our September poetry centers come with four poems, three original poems about school and September, and one nursery rhyme that your students may already be familiar with. Each poem comes with pocket chart pieces for building the poem, a poetry notebook, and an interactive poetry journal to use with your students. You can use these first grade reading tasks for fall as whole group instruction, or in centers, or in whichever way works best for you in your classroom.

Literacy Match-Ups

The two literacy match-ups include an editable sight word hide and seek game and a CVCC word building activity. The word building match-up is perfect to add to your September word work centers. Both of the centers are covered in adorable fall leaves and apple clip art, making them extra fun for your students to learn with! 

Write the Room 

The four literacy write the room centers cover skills including ABC order, CVC words, punctuation, and identifying characters and settings. These centers are great for encouraging kids to be more active and engaged in their learning. 

Writing

Our September math and literacy centers come with four sets of word cards. The topics for the September writing center cards include feeling words, apple words, fall words, and community helper words. The writing centers also come with differentiated writing pages to use and other writing tools like alphabet charts to help make your fall-themed first grade writing stations successful. 

Download the September 1st Grade Math and Literacy Centers today!

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Have fun exploring September with these first-grade math and literacy centers. Your students will love the engaging, hands-on activities, and you’ll love how easily these centers fit into your September curriculum!

Want first grade math and literacy centers for the entire year?

Kick off September with our comprehensive 1st Grade Math & Literacy Centers. Your students will thrive this fall with these exciting and engaging activities!