Home Class Tools 47 Best Literacy Center Supplies for Classrooms

47 Best Literacy Center Supplies for Classrooms

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Setting up classroom literacy centers in your elementary school classroom? These stations equipped with literacy center supplies are designed to provide materials to help your students work independently or in small groups of two or more in an effort to meet literacy goals. We’ve done the research and gathered a great list of literacy center supplies you can use to make your centers inviting and engaging for students.

Best Literary Center Supplies for Classrooms

literacy center kit materials for literacy center supplies

FEATURED PICK

1. Hand2mind Differentiated Learning Kit

Don’t feel like putting a literacy center together from scratch? Streamline the planning and preparation with this grab-and-go solution. Each grade-level kit covers standards-aligned topics and hands-on activities to reach students at all levels of learning, and the 10-minute activities are perfect for small-group rotations.

writing paper templates
We Are Teachers

2. Writing paper

We all remember these, don’t we? They really do come in handy when encouraging students to practice their writing. The lines are effective guides for learning to write lowercase and uppercase letters. In the writing paper bundle, you’ll find templates to help students with narrative and nonfiction writing, all with guiding lines for handwriting.

Learn more: Elementary Writing Paper Bundle

whiteboard with writing lines and letters written on it
Amazon

3. Dry-erase boards

Waste not, want not! If you’re looking for a more environmentally friendly (and cost-effective) alternative to traditional primary paper, these dry-erase whiteboards are perfect!

Buy it: Individual Dry-Erase Whiteboards and Whiteboard Markers

triangular pencils for literacy center supplies
Amazon

4. Triangular pencils

These fantastic triangular-shaped pencils are ergonomically designed to help little fingers have more control. They are an ideal choice for children who are in the earliest stages of developing writing skills and serve as great tools for literacy center supplies.

Buy it: Set of Triangular Pencils

sentence building cards for literacy center supplies
Amazon

5. Sentence-building language cards

These language cards make it easy to tailor literacy activities to students of different learning levels. Color-coded and interlocking, this resource covers everything from capital letters to sentence building.

Teacher review: “Pick and choose puzzle pieces to work on specific sight words and phrases in reading and conversation. Real photos help students put sentences together more independently.” —Christine C.

Buy it: Sentence-Building Cards

set of comprehension cubes for literacy centers
Amazon

7. Reading Comprehension Cubes

Have students roll the dice and turn discussions about reading assignments into a game! This set includes six foam cubes in three different colors and an activity guide. It’s a great way to break students into small groups to spark conversations.

Teacher review: “The kids loved it—they couldn’t wait to play a game. Great questions and fun to use.” —Sheri S.

Buy it: Reading Comprehension Cubes

magnetic letters to use in literacy centers
Amazon

8. Magnetic letters

These fantastic sets to use for literacy center supplies come with a double-sided magnetic board, 182 lowercase letters, 52 uppercase letters, three whiteboard pens, and an eraser. Allow students to practice distinguishing and classifying letters and work on their spelling.

Teacher review: “As a primary teacher, I bought these to help students sound out CVC words at the beginning of the school year and my students loved them!” —Estela B.

Buy it: Magnetic Letters Kit

whack a word game
We Are Teachers

9. Whack-a-Word

Create your own Whack-a-Word spelling boards and have your students practice their spelling. We love how easy this is to create!

Learn more: Whack-a-Word Game

pop for sight words game box
Amazon

10. Pop for Sight Words

This cute activity will bring a little whimsy to your classroom literacy center. It includes 100 die-cut popcorn cards printed with 92 sight word cards, 8 Pop cards, and a guide. Students can learn game etiquette while practicing articulation, increasing vocabulary, and improving fluency.

Teacher review: “I have taught all of the grades in K-8 and I’ve had a use for this game every year.” —Emmer

Buy it: Pop for Sight Words

container of phonics dominos for literacy center supplies
Amazon

11. Phonics dominoes

Most kids love dominoes, and the tiles in this bright-colored set are printed with commonly used consonants and word families to make building words easy and fun. Play dominoes to make and read words as a main activity or a wrap-up game.

Teacher review: “I love the large variety of blends and digraphs! Tiles are nice colors. Also a great variety of word-endings.” —Ann G.

Buy it: Phonics Dominoes

cards for a phonics memory game
Amazon

12. Spelling Memory

Help students boost spelling and memory skills with the Spelling Memory game. This activity is a good addition to your classroom literacy center as it promotes letter recognition, word formation, and vocabulary growth. Make this a social game by pairing kids up with a partner.

Teacher review: “Overall, this is a great learning tool. It’s fun and educational at the same time. The cards are very well made and will last a long time.” —tlc

Buy it: Match It! Spelling Memory game

snap it up game cards
Amazon

13. Snap It Up!

The fast-paced Snap It Up! card game engages students and builds reading and phonics skills. Encourage parents to buy a second set for home—it’s a fun activity for the whole family!

Teacher review: “My students and I love playing this game! It’s very engaging and the students beg to play it. It helps struggling readers love to read again!” —Hard Working Teacher

Buy it: Snap It Up! game

game with word cards and letter tiles for literacy center supplies
Amazon

14. Phonics Spelling Game

The Phonics Spelling Game prompts young learners to find the missing letter of the words printed on the cards. Each set comes with 12 game boards, 40 foam letter tiles, and an activity guide.

Teacher review: “Students did great using the game and staying engaged and on task while I worked with other students in a small group.” —Kerrie P.

Buy it: Excellerations Phonics Spelling Game

wooden blocks with letters on them to build words
Amazon

15. Wooden Reading Blocks

Spark imagination in your classroom literacy center with these rotating blocks that spin to form three-letter words. Each box comes with five reading blocks. Bonus: This activity is also helpful for strengthening fine motor skills.

Teacher review: “The use of the wooden reading blocks practice word families, develops eye and hand coordination, and best of all offers the ability to be used as an independent transitioning activity for those that finish early.” —Traci L.

Buy it: Young Hands Wooden Reading Blocks

stack of multicolored word family dice
Amazon

16. Word family dice

Who doesn’t love bright-colored foam dice? This set comes printed with letters, different combinations of letters, and short words that can be used for many engaging activities in your classroom literacy center. Students can develop word building, decoding, and spelling skills.

Teacher review: “Bought for small-group center use in my SPED classroom! Love them and great quality.” —Alexandra B.

Buy it: Fun Express Word Family Dice

bananagrams game with pouch and letter tiles
Amazon

17. Bananagrams

This is a classic spelling game that, once they learn it, students can play when they’re early finishers. Use these literacy center supplies to reinforce spelling and automaticity in literacy centers.

Buy it: Bananagrams game

spelligator game pieces and word tiles for literacy center supplies
Amazon

18. Spelligator

There’s so much to love about this literacy tool. The name is funny, it’s bright and colorful, and kids will work on word building while learning spelling rules and sounding out words. Note: This game gets a little noisy!

Teacher review: “I used this with my English learner students and others who needed reinforcement of skills.” —Keith P.

Buy it: Spelligator game

flashcard with the word saw written on one side and a sentence on the back
Amazon

19. Flash Cards

Flash cards are a must for literacy center supplies. Sometimes they’re just what you need for warm-up or review. These flash cards are sturdy and have example sentences on the back.

Teacher review: “The cards are coated in a plastic material, which excited me because that meant I could use a dry-erase marker on them. I tested it out and it does easily wipe off. Yay!” —A. Rochelle

Buy it: Sight Words Flash Cards set

zingo game
Amazon

20. Zingo!

Zingo teaches sight words in an interactive bingo-style game. Students can play with you or in small groups.

Buy it: Zingo game

elkonian boxes with a sheep and markers in the four squares
We Are Teachers

21. Elkonin boxes

Elkonin boxes are a tool for students who are learning how to break words into sounds. Each box represents one sound. Use these printable boxes to reinforce phonemic awareness as students move from CVC words to long vowel blends and more.

Get it: Free Printable Elkonin Boxes

mad libs cover
Amazon

22. Mad Libs

Who doesn’t love a simple game of Mad Libs? Fast and fun, these activities teach parts of speech and will have students thinking beyond traditional words to make their story even more enticing.

Teacher review: “Stories turn out hysterical! Children and adults learn parts of speech while not even realizing they’re learning.” —Kate B.

Buy it: Best of Mad Libs

three boxes of flash cards for literacy center supplies
Amazon

23. Preposition, action, and emotion flash cards

These flash cards have pictures to show action words, emotions, and prepositions so you can use them to extend students’ vocabulary before or after reading, or with students who are English language learners.

Buy it: Flash card set

tin with materials for literacy centers
We Are Teachers

24. See and spell

Reuse Altoid tins by creating spelling games. Put pipe cleaners and beads into a tin for students to use to create words that you’ve been working on. They can build words while you’re reading with another student or if they finish early.

Learn more: Ways To Use Altoid Tins in Classroom Centers

scrabble junior board game cover
Amazon

25. Scrabble Junior

Another spin on another classic spelling game! Scrabble Junior has two sides for beginner and advanced play. One side allows for matching of letters while the other side lets students build their own words.

Teacher review: “This game is wonderful for younger kids. It has 2 sides, one for just learning how to spell and the other for more advanced spelling.” —Laura

Buy it: Scrabble Junior

workbook for third grade reading center supplies
Amazon

26. Workbooks

Not as fun as a game, but workbooks help with comprehension, reading, spelling, and more. Perfect for early finishers to go grab something to keep them occupied.

Teacher review: “I love the short passages with 6 questions. For students that are overwhelmed by long texts, this is the perfect way to teach them how to go back and underline the answers in text easily.” —John W.

Buy it: 180 Days of Reading workbook

reading pointers on pencils for reading center supplies
Amazon

27. Reading pointers

Think of these cool pointers as a literal extension of your arm as you direct students’ attention to things in a big book or across a whiteboard. They also come in handy for reaching up to words or posters you’ve taped high up on the wall!

Teacher review: “These pointers are geared towards the elementary learner. They are the perfect size for young hands and super easy to wipe with sanitizing wipes between students.” —Teresa

Buy it: Set of 3 Learning Resources Patterned Hand Pointers

kinetic sand and a scoop
Amazon

28. Kinetic sand

Kinetic sand is a really fun way to bring a sensory table to your classroom literacy center. Trace letters, or use letter stamps to promote recognition and spelling without making a huge mess—this sand literally sticks to itself!

Buy it: Kinetic sand and letter cookie cutters

letter stamps for literacy center supplies
Amazon

29. Letter stamps

Letter stamps are a great way to have students spell words when their handwriting is a challenge or when they want another way to spell.

Teacher review: “These were very good quality and perfect size for little hands!” —Karen B.

Buy it: Letter stamps and stamp pads

cubes with letters written on them
Amazon

30. Letter cubes

Another way to build words with phonics patterns or sight words, letter cubes allow students to easily find and switch out letters to make new words.

Buy it: Set of letter cubes

toobaloo fluency phones
Amazon

31. Toobaloo

There are many ways to develop literacy and language skills, which is why these feedback phones are so useful in classroom literacy centers. They can not only help improve reading fluency, but they can help students with pronunciation as well!

Teacher review: “My kids love it in the classroom and it really has helped them monitor their reading.” —Kasia

Buy it: Toobaloo Auditory Feedback Phones (6-Pack)

black desktop pocket chart for literacy centers supplies
Amazon

32. Desktop pocket chart

The perfect pocket chart for when you are working with a small group and want to use sentence strips or word cards.

Buy it: Desktop pocket chart

set of sentence strips
Amazon

33. Sentence strips

Sentence strips are an excellent addition to your classroom literacy efforts. These handy tools can help your guided reading routine as students can use them to keep their place while practicing reading sentences. You can use them in small-group lessons with a pocket chart, or you can write individual words on them and have students combine words into sentences or sort words by family.

Teacher review: “I use these in my classroom and they are sturdy. Colors are bright. I definitely recommend.”

Buy it: Juvale 100-Pack Colored Sentence Strips

bulletin board letters letter B with a bumble bee
Amazon

34. Bulletin board letters

Your wall space is prime real estate in the classroom, especially near the small-group table, so you want to choose what you hang wisely. These beautiful alphabet cards by World of Eric Carle provide a visual reference for young students to enhance their learning experience.

Buy it: World of Eric Carle 27-Piece Alphabet Bulletin Board Set

story cards set
Amazon

35. Sequence cards

Literacy is about more than recognizing letters and sounds—it’s also about understanding the meaning of text. These sequence cards are an excellent resource for classroom literacy centers as they help build social skills and emotional recognition.

Teacher review: “I’m a one-to-one special education teacher and am happy with purchase. The cards are very well made and the pictures create a lot of room for discussion.” —Irene Z.

Buy it: Story Cues Skilled Sequence Cards

alphabet acorns set
Amazon

36. Alphabet Acorns

These little acorns are really wonderful for visual and tactile learners who are working on those early vocabulary skills. Additionally, they’ll get plenty of practice with learning the alphabet and color recognition.

Teacher review: “The tactile experience of holding and manipulating these acorns adds an extra layer of sensory engagement to the learning process.” —Olivia

Buy it: Learning Resources Alphabet Acorns

wiki sticks letters for literacy center activities
Amazon

37. Wikki Stix Alphabet Cards

These alphabet cards include directional arrows that show students the proper stroke for letter formation, supplementing learning with a kinetic tool. Use with Wikki Stix, which are made from nontoxic food-grade wax and hand-knitting yarn.

Teacher review: “What I love about Wiki Stixs is they never dry out and can be used over and over again. The cards are easily bent but work fine and are easily straightened out.” —Molly

Buy it: Wikki Stix Alphabet Cards and Wikki Stix

box of sight word cards
Amazon

38. Sight word cards

Teacher review: “Really like the amount of words in this set. Like that you can see the word you are showing to the student/viewer without having to flip the card over because it is small on other side for you to read.” —Jaime

Buy it: 1,000 Fry Sight Words card set

package of retell cubes with questions on them
Amazon

39. Retell a Story Cubes

There’s just something fun about giant foam dice, isn’t there? Your kids will light up with these a Retell a Story cubes, designed to strengthen after-reading skills by boosting reading and listening comprehension.

Teacher review: “My students loved these! And I’m a high school teacher. It makes story discussions a lot less tedious and very interactive.” —Asher

Buy it: Learning Resources Retell a Story Cubes

page with word lists and cards with prefixes base words and suffixes
Amazon

40. Morphology set

When students are learning prefixes, suffixes, and base words, a literacy center kit like this one comes in handy. Use these cards for pre-teaching and reteaching word parts.

Teacher review: “I like to use multimodal and metalinguistic methods to teach both first and second languages. This set is a great starting point for such methods.” —Tacha

Buy it: Hand2mind Morphology Wall Card Set

cvc word set with pictures cards and letters for literacy center supplies
Amazon

41. Wooden CVC word blocks

This CVC word set combines letters and images for students to practice phonemic awareness and blending. The images are clear and the cards and letters are sturdy, so you’ll get a lot of use out of this set.

Teacher review: “Simple, easy, fun way to teach CVC words. The pictures and self-check feature are nice. It’s small but perfect for little hands. The quality of the material is good.” —Ajay

Buy it: Coogam Wooden Reading Blocks set

Flip chart with words and pictures for literacy center supplies
Amazon

42. Sentence flip chart

A flip chart like this is great for teaching and reinforcing sentence structure. For English language learners, they’ll develop core language and you’ll know they’re making progress when they start laughing at the silly sentences they can make.

Buy it: Junior Learning Sentence Flips

short words with pop its to use to read each word
Amazon

43. CVC Pop-It center

If you have students who need extra practice with CVC sounds and words, this center is a great one. It’s motivating (I mean, Pop-Its!), tactile to reinforce that each letter has one sound, and has lots of common words.

Teacher review: “This is a great resource for early childhood education! Its quality is great, engaging for children, easy to use, and super cute!” —Whitney F.

Buy it: CVC Word Game

three board game boards
Amazon

44. Comprehension board games

Board games are a great way to reinforce higher skills or review skills. In this case, these three board games teach cause and effect, problem and solution, and context clues.

Buy it: Comprehension Game Trio

List of words with consonant vowel consonant pattern
We Are Teachers

45. Word lists and cards

As you’re moving through phonics patterns, download and print word lists and cards for CVC words, short ‘a’ words, short ‘e’ words, and more. Use the cards to practice reading and the list to find just the right word for students to read or write.

Learn more: Lists and cards for CVC words, short ‘a’ words, and short ‘e’ words

colored post it notes
Amazon

46. Sticky notes

Sticky notes are the most versatile literacy center supply. You can use them for students to write words on a quick exit ticket, record notes about what students can and can’t do, or place three sticky notes in front of a student for impromptu Elkonin boxes. The point is: You need these!

Buy it: Sticky notes

word detective worksheet for third grade reading comprehension activity
We Are Teachers

47. Vocabulary worksheets

Print these vocabulary practice sheets as easy literacy center supplies and have them on hand for when students are starting a new text and need to preview words, or when you need to teach academic vocabulary.

Learn more: Vocabulary Worksheets To Use With Any Word List

Now that you’ve got literacy center supplies, here are activities students can perform in your classroom literacy center.

What supplies do you put in your classroom literacy center? Come and share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.



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