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Although I currently teach first grade, I do occasionally have students move-in from other areas in need of some kindergarten skills.  To help these kiddos out, I like to have literacy and math centers on hand that they can do independently and feel successful with!
These adorable zoo-themed matching puzzles have students work on three skills: matching capital letters to lowercase letters, matching numbers to tally marks, and matching capital letters to lowercase letters that form 4-letter sight words.

Getting Ready

To prep this activity, simply download the file below for free, print the 6 pages in color onto card stock for durability, and laminate!
Then, you’ll need to cut the puzzle pieces apart.  Cut the zoo pictures into squares, but be sure to leave the matching mats intact.  I would also recommend drawing a star, smiley face, or some other symbol onto the back of the square pieces to indicate which puzzle set they are from.  Students may become frustrated if all of the puzzle pieces get mixed up.

Letter and Number Matching Puzzles

To play, students should pull a puzzle set and begin matching– it’s as simple as that!  You can prompt students to say the letters or numbers aloud, and if you have any zoo animal toys, this activity would be a great opportunity to pull those out and engage in a vocabulary-rich conversation!

Get Your Copy

Ready to download?  Simply click on the blue button below and hop over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to grab this freebie!
You can find even more zoo activities for kids by following the links below!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Editable Name Puzzles // Playdough to Plato
It’s a Zoo Graphing Game // Stay at Home Educator
Zoo Themed STEM Activity // Sara J Creations
Zoo Sight Word Book // Still Playing School
Zoo Small World Busy Box // Play and Learn Every Day
Zoo Animals: Tracing Lines // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Letter and Number Matching Puzzles // The Simplified Classroom
Zoo Busy Box // Teach Me Mommy
Zoo Pom Pom Mats // Fairy Poppins
Zoo Themed Counting Clip Cards // Schooling a Monkey
Zoo Number Puzzles // The STEM Laboratory
Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game // A Dab of Glue Will Do

Need more hands-on activities?  Check out this great fine-motor pack and MORE! 
Thanks for reading and happy teaching! 

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