Monster Visual Discrimination Cards
This fun activity will have your little ones searching for the tiny details! Included in this post are six visual discrimination activities for preschoolers. Visual discrimination is a pre-reading skill, so I guess you could say that this post offers six pre-reading activities for preschoolers!
Teach Pre-Reading Skills with Visual Discrimination Cards
Teaching visual discrimination might seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually super fun! Using fun activities and hands-on moments, your preschoolers will be spotting the differences and similarities in no time!
My daughter is a bit of a slob.
Ok…not a slob, but she is definitely messy.
I am the complete opposite. In fact, one time a friend came over to my house, looked at my kitchen, and asked me, “Are your kitchen counters always this clean?”
I guess to some, my kitchen looks barren. Just one lonely fruit bowl lingers on the counter in the corner. No mixer sits on top. No coffee maker. No paper towel holder. No cute, handmade menu board from Etsy.
Nothing but a single fruit bowl.
And I love it like that.
But my daughter…she doesn’t get it. She likes to have “everything out and accessible,”and her bedroom reflects that.
To me, her bedroom looks like a tornado has mercilessly run though it, and when I ask her to clean it, she says, “Clean what?”
She legitimately does not see a mess. It’s even worse if her bedroom is only kinda’ messy by my standards. I’ll ask her to pick up her art materials and she will look around her room and and begin picking up some, but she never finds all her art materials.
Being able to sort through a mess to find something is a visual discrimination skill. To be able to discern between to like items or non-like items. To know, yes this fits and follows the rules and that doesn’t.
Visual discrimination is also a pre-reading skill, which is why visual discrimination activities for preschoolers are so important to include in your teaching.
I’m offering a free set of printable monster themed visual discrimination cards. They will pair perfectly with loads of other visual discrimination activities for preschoolers.
Oh, and I’m also offering five additional ways to use them, too!
Free Monster Visual Discrimination Cards
This Monster Visual Discrimination activity is a breeze to set up and so fun for young children! Once prepped your little ones can use it over and over again!
Materials
- free monster visual discrimination cards
- heavy cardstock
- laminator
- book ring (optional)
The Set-up
Start by printing the cards on cardstock paper. Laminate the cards for added durability. Cut the strips of out and you are all set to use!
What is Visual Discrimination?
Visual discrimination is the ability to notice details. This means spotting similarities and differences in an image, picture, or illustration.
Why Visual Discrimination Activities are Important for Learning to Read
Honing this skill is critical for early reading and numeracy skills. Being able to determine the difference between letters (b versus d, for example) is critical when it comes to early reading.
In fact, a child who frequently mixes up certain sets of letters, like b and d, lacks visual discrimination skills, so activities like this one are an easy add to your preschool routine.
How to Use Visual Discrimination Cards
Grab a monster card and let’s get to work! Invite a preschooler to join you. Read the sentence at the bottom of the card, pointing to each word as you read. Have the child point to the correct monster on the card.
If the child is having difficulty, you can assist by either crossing off one or two incorrect monsters or by calling attention to additional details in the picture.
More Ways to Use this Printable
There are loads of ways to use songs in the preschool classroom, and even more ways to use this printable, too.
Try some of these other ideas!
- Use these adorable monster cards for teaching color identification too! For example, ask the student to find a red or purple monster.
- Find similarities amongst all the monsters. How many monsters have two eyes? How many are furry? How many have horns?
- Teach prepositional words like in between, next to, beside, etc. For example, “The monster holding a bird is next to the fuzzy orange monster.”
- Build vocabulary by asking, “What monster do you like best?” Encourage interesting adjectives like fuzzy, spotted, striped, colorful, etc.
- Infuse numeracy by counting. How many striped monsters do on all the cards? How many monsters have sharp, pointy teeth?
More Pre-Reading Printables
Get Your Free Monster Visual Discrimination Cards Here
Think my monster themed visual discrimination cards would be a benefit to your pre-reading activities and lessons? I’ll send a copy to your email!
But don’t leave yet. Check out more free pre-reading printables below.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.