Simple Provocations for Kindergarten and First Grade

Simple Provocations for Kindergarten and First Grade

Hey, y'all. I feel like my teaching has completely transformed over the last few years. Along with adjusting reading instruction to align more with the science of reading, I've also moved to more open-ended, student-lead instruction. And provocations fit right into that.

First off, let's talk about what provocations are. A provocation is an invitation to explore that leads to all kinds of thinking and open-ended results. It could be something simple like showing different ways to make 10, an invitation to finish a story or complete a writing prompt, an opportunity to build or explore materials, or any number of other things. 

If you do a quick Google search, you'll find many provocations in Reggio Emilia type classrooms. There are lots of natural items to use and explore, and no Chrome books or textbooks of any kind. It's about as student-friendly as you can get. That's right up my alley. 

So I made a few of my own provocation cards to get us going in the new school year. I wanted to create things that can be reused over and over so that students can explore the same concepts with different materials or at different skill levels. 

I also don't have a whole lot of room to work with all the time and can't always set up these beautiful invitations to play like you see on Pinterest. I mean, I teach in a public school with tons of mandates on how we do things. So I designed these to work with the normal centers you already do in your classroom, just a different kind of thought provoking. 

There are two prompts per page making them easy to fit into those plastic shoe boxes you find at Target or in some kind of picture frame. Then, all materials can be stored in the shoe boxes and students can explore them anywhere in the room. My students have always been pretty free thinkers and don't have any problems digging into our supplies to find more materials for their explorations anyway. 

These provocation cards cover everything from reading, phonics, and writing to math and STEAM challenges. There are over 130 prompts in all geared just to kindergarten and first grade (pre-k kiddos could even do many of them!). 

The best part is that once you have a collection of loose parts (pebbles, acorns, leaves, seeds, beads, dollar store glass rocks, etc.), you can reuse them for almost all of these cards. You could even have students bring in items to sort or go on a nature hunt together to gather things to count, sort, and build with. Imagine the level of engagement you'll have when students go out together to find materials to play with! 

You can find these cards in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. I'm always adding new resources so be sure to follow me on TPT for all the latest ideas, updates, and resources to make your school year absolutely amazing. 

I hope you found some wonderful new ideas for your classroom. Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you soon. 

Stay cozy,