Save BIG on Bundles

1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center – Nursery Rhyme Activities for 1st Grade

$5.00

This 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Poetry Center provides standards-based fluency and phonological awareness practice with a familiar counting rhyme. Students build rhythm, rhyme, and accuracy with printable and digital activities for literacy centers.

SHARE

This 1 2 3 4 5 poetry center provides teachers with standards-based activities using familiar nursery rhymes and children’s songs set to music. Created for independent literacy centers, these poetry activities help students strengthen fluency while building rhyme recognition and phonological awareness through repeated practice. Both print and digital formats are included, making it flexible and easy to use for your literacy plans.

Included in the 1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center

This 1 2 3 4 5 poetry center includes both printable and digital nursery rhyme activities, and gives teachers flexible options for whole group lessons, small group practice, or independent poetry centers.

1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center

Printable Nursery Rhyme Activities

1 2 3 4 5 Poem (color & b&w): Full-page poem for whole group or independent practice.
1 2 3 4 5 Mini Book: A foldable 4-page version of the poem for students to keep and reread.
1 2 3 4 5 Poem Strips: Each line of the poem is printed in boxes for retelling practice, with a blank template included.
Fill-in-the-Blank Poem: Students use a word bank to complete the missing words.
Visualization Exercise: Students draw what they pictured in their minds after reading the poem.
Rhyming Page: Students practice phonological awareness by matching words from the poem with new rhyming words in a cut-and-paste activity.
QR Code Page: Students scan to watch the video of the poem set to music.

1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center

Digital Nursery Rhyme Activities (Google Slides)

Video Access: Students watch and listen to the poem set to music.
Read the 1 2 3 4 5 Poem: Digital version of the poem for fluency practice.
Rhyming Slides: Students drag and drop words to match rhymes from the poem, giving them interactive practice with rhyme recognition.
Fill-in-the-Blank: Students drag words from a word bank to complete missing parts of the poem, reinforcing comprehension and fluency.

Student Benefits

  • Builds fluency with repeated readings of familiar poems/songs
  • Strengthens rhyme recognition and phonological awareness
  • Supports independent learning at your poetry center
  • Provides multiple exposures to vocabulary and text patterns
  • Engages different learning styles with print & digital options

Science of Reading Aligned

Fluency is a key part of the Science of Reading because it connects word recognition to comprehension. When students can read smoothly and automatically, their attention shifts from decoding to understanding.

These poetry activities support fluency through repeated readings, rhythm, and phrasing practice, giving students multiple opportunities to hear, read, and perform familiar poems.

1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center
1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center

Why Teachers Love This 1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center

  • Poetry activities are SOR and Standards-based
  • Nursery rhymes are easy to use in literacy centers
  • There is no prep required, just print or assign digitally
  • Many flexible formats which are perfect for whole group, small group, or independent practice
  • Engaging for students with music, movement, and interactive activities

Download the 1 2 3 4 5 poetry activities to build reading fluency, rhyme recognition, and phonological awareness in your first grade classroom.

Take a look at the poetry activities here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use these poems with my whole group before adding them to an independent center?

A: Yes. Whole-group modeling is recommended. Reading together helps students hear fluent phrasing and learn the routines before working independently.

A: The digital version has the same tasks but with interactive elements like drag and drop and fill in the blank.

A: The videos model fluent reading with rhythm, pacing, and expression. They give students a clear example to imitate before practicing independently.

A: Your students can scan the QR code, leading them to YouTube. Each poem also has Google Slide activities, and the video can be viewed from the first slide.

A: Younger readers using larger devices sometimes have trouble lining up the camera to scan a QR Code. All 4 codes are identical, so the camera will scan the first code it sees. This saves time and leads to less frustration.

Literacy Stations Library

Want all-access to Literacy Stations?

Shop by Resource

Find it Faster

Articles & How To

(4 customer reviews)

4 reviews for 1 2 3 4 5 Poetry Center – Nursery Rhyme Activities for 1st Grade

  1. Colene T. (verified owner)

    Excellent resource! 🙂

  2. Grace B. (verified owner)

    Thank you. Loved using it.

  3. Anne P. (verified owner)

    Great resource!

  4. Erin F. (verified owner)

    This resource was used a bunch in teaching nursery rhymes. It was great for my kinders!

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Related Products

Customers Review:

Literacy Stations
Library Card

Rated 5 out of 5

"I am so happy I signed up for the Literacy Stations Library Card! As a first-grade teacher, finding engaging and effective resources for my students can be a challenge, but this membership has been a game-changer."

Rated 5 out of 5

"The activities are fun, interactive, and align perfectly with the curriculum standards. I love how easy it is to incorporate them into my lesson plans, and my students have improved their spelling skills significantly since we started using these activities."