File folder activities are perfect for early finishers or extra practice and can be customized to meet any educational need. If you envision a file folder activity, you’re probably thinking of matching or counting tasks; however, there are so many more varieties available for you to explore! Children can keep file folders in their desks as resources, complete morning work, practice visual discrimination, play board games, and learn life skills from these quickly-made activities! Take what works for you and your class’s needs from the list below!
6 Activities & Resources For Morning Work
1. Check-In
Use file folder activities to help your young students start their day off on the right foot by asking them to name their feelings, pick a greeting, and select a center. This simple task can help children check into the school day and feel accomplished early!
Learn More: Autism Adventures
2. Calendar Time
If whole group calendar time is a struggle, create a personal calendar folder for children to complete each day, or for your “Calendar Helper” to do for the class. Children can record the date, day of the week, weather, season, or anything else you typically include!
Learn More: Autism Adventures
3. Mini Office
Assemble this “mini office” for your students at the beginning of the year! This is a printable resource you will be thanking yourself for creating all year long. Students can utilize the calendar, hundreds chart, color chart, and more as a reference or as a stage for practicing skills independently.
Learn More: File Folder Fun
4. Describing Clothing
Make morning work simple while children practice their matching and describing abilities with this file folder activity! Kids will record what they are wearing; including types and colors, using these pieces. This great activity gets children tapping into an independent-work mindset at the beginning of the day.
Learn More: Autism Tank
5. Personal Sound Wall
As the science of reading is being adopted by districts throughout the country, the prevalence of sound walls is increasing. Provide children with a personal copy that they can keep on their desks or take home to equip them for reading and writing anywhere!
Learn More: Ship Shape Elementary
6. Speech Practice Folders
File folder resources are great for sending home practice activities with students, as well as providing them with a way to assess their performance! Simply change out the sounds students need to practice (perfect for literacy or speech lessons!), and this resource can be used repeatedly!
Learn More: The Dabbling Speechie
35 Math-Focused Activities
7. One-to-One Tasks
Help establish students’ one-to-one correspondence skills with errorless file folders! Children will match one Velcro piece to each spot on the opposite page, helping them to understand how to make pairs and generally work within file folders. This task also builds a sense of competence for young learners!
Learn More: Autism Work Tasks
8. Butterfly Symmetry
Build your students’ understanding of symmetry and work on visual discrimination with a beautiful butterfly-themed file folder game. Students will have to select the mirror image of each butterfly’s wing to build the whole insect. This task is perfect to stick in your life cycle file or letter B activities!
Learn More: Mama Jenn
9. Dinosaur Count and Match
Make this simple game for your dinosaur-lover to practice their counting and number recognition skills! Students will match a numeral to a given set of dinosaurs. Use it as a quick assessment, an on-the-go task for the car, or a simple game to tuck away for unexpected wait times!
Learn More: The Whatever Mom
10. Counting Flower Petals File Folder Game
Children will love this spring-themed, printable file folder game matching numbers to flower petals. Children will count the petals attached to the inside of the folder, then match the correct number to make the center of the flower. It’s simple, sweet, and goes perfectly with a spring theme!
Learn More: From ABCs to ACTs
11. Ice Cream Match
What child doesn’t love sprinkles? They will get to count the sprinkles on ice cream cones in this counting file folder game! Then, they will affix the correct number to the cone to complete this task. You can easily adapt the activity to include different arrangements, larger numbers, and more!
Learn More: The Measured Mom
12. Counting Ladybug Spots
Did you know you can tell the age of a ladybug by the number of spots it has? Share this cool fact with your students before starting this file folder task together! Children should count the number of spots on each ladybug and match it to the correct numeral or number word.
Learn More: My Folder Games
13. Counting Pepperonis
Counting the toppings on a pizza is a perfect way to get children engaged in their math learning! Children will think it is super silly to count all the pepperonis and match the slices to the corresponding number. Extend this activity by making felt pizzas for your dramatic play center!
Learn More: Mrs. Bremer’s Class
14. Hungry Bunnies
Incorporating cute animals is one of the best ways to make any file folder fun! Children will enjoy feeding some bunnies their meal of carrots in this counting file folder game! Each bunny is marked with a particular number, and the student has to feed them the correct amount of carrots.
Learn More: Fun Learning For Kids
15. Hands-On Numeracy
Preschool file folder games should have as many opportunities for hands-on learning as possible. This sweet Valentine’s-themed file folder set incorporates just that! Students order, trace, write, build, count erasers, and more to investigate a particular number. This task is sure to keep them happy, busy, and having fun learning!
Learn More: Make, Take, & Teach
16. Bumblebee Number Representations
Children will be buzz-buzzing with activity as they work on this fun file folder game. Dominoes, dice, tallies, and other representations of numbers adorn little bee bodies, and children must match them to the hive with the corresponding number. Easily adapt to your child’s current level of understanding by limiting the pieces!
Learn More: Simple Everyday Mom
17. Gumball Counting
Grab this great freebie to practice counting skills at a higher level–children will have to count non-linear pieces in this downloadable file folder game. The creator suggests keeping this one with your sub plans or as an option for early finisher work!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
18. Watermelon Seed Counting
Math file folder games are always more fun when there is a hands-on fine motor element! In this watermelon counting game, children choose a card, then count the button “seeds” on their watermelon. Keep the seeds attached to the file folder with a little zip lock baggie, and you can take this activity anywhere!
Learn More: Planning Playtime
19. Floatie Count
What little one doesn’t love a rubber duckie? Add this engaging element into your file folder work by having children count duck “pool floaties” during this file folder activity. Children will select a card, then add that many ducks to the pool. Leave this out as a center close to summertime!
Learn More: Planning Playtime
20. Feed the Monkey
This silly monkey loves to eat bananas. While your students feed him his lunch, they are simultaneously practicing their colors and counting skills! The game also has a simple rhyme that goes along with the play, which makes it adaptable to whole group or small group work as well!
Learn More: File Folder Heaven
21. Balloon Number Match
This matching game will help young learners begin to recognize the strokes that make up different numerals. This is a precursor to number formation for early childhood students. Children will simply match a balloon number piece to the cloud with the corresponding number for almost-errorless fun!
Learn More: Teaching Special Thinkers
22. Pencil Patterns
Matching patterns is one of the initial steps to students being able to create their own! Get them working on this crucial skill with this pattern-matching file folder. Students will match colorful, patterned pencils to a black-and-white counterpart in the folder. Challenge them to design their own pencil pattern when finished!
Learn More: Kids Activities
23. Heart Patterns
This visual discrimination task is a perfect introduction to patterns while also working on matching skills. Students will look at the patterns on each heart and find its perfect pair! They will look for zig-zags, stripes, polka dots, and more. Extend the activity by having students decorate their own pairs!
Learn More: Desert Crafter
24. 2-Level Patterns
These patterning folder games are the perfect activities for preschoolers who are mastering the easier levels (like AB patterns). Children will build confidence as they create and complete this type, then move on to more difficult patterning with 3 objects or with longer expectations for extending.
Learn More: The Autism Helper
25. Build-a-Pizza
This tricky shape game requires students to match a particular arrangement of shapes with their outlines on the background picture. The shapes become the toppings on a delicious pizza! This is a busy folder that builds visual discrimination skills and can prompt discussions involving shape vocabulary terms.
Learn More: Learning with Missy Marlo
26. Leaf Shapes
Make this beautiful shadow-matching activity to use during your autumn leaves theme! Children will match the shapes of the leaves to their shadows on the folder. It’s simple and sweet and will leave your students feeling confident in their abilities to do hard work!
Learn More: Pinterest
27. Ice Cream Shapes
This simple shape-matching file folder comes with two levels of this printable game. Students will work with 6-8 shapes and match the shapes to the corresponding outline on top of the ice cream cone. Use it as a quick assessment before summer or at the beginning of the school year!
Learn More: Tot Schooling
28. Shape Sorting Pockets
This simple sorting game for preschoolers will help develop shape-recognition skills during your math block! Students will sort and tuck shapes into corresponding pockets inside the folder. It will also encourage children to be looking out for shapes in their everyday lives!
Learn More: From ABCs to ACTs
29. Shapes All Around
Build math skills in your preschool or kindergarten classroom with this shape-sorting file folder! They will encourage children to extend their understanding of shapes by looking for them in everyday life. Students will sort common objects by shape, then extend the activity by sending them on a shape hunt in your classroom afterward!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
30. Fall Sequencing
These fun fall sequencing tasks will help children build their concept of time and order. Students will use the sequencing file folder game to think through the process of carving a pumpkin, raking leaves, getting ready for school, and more! Use them to prepare children for your real-life seasonal activities.
Learn More: The Autism Helper
31. 3-Step Sequences
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Challenge students to solve these sequencing mysteries with these simple, 3-step file folder tasks. Students will put short scenarios in the appropriate order to build their sense of patterns happening in the world around them and their understanding of changes occurring over time.
Learn More: Homeschool Preschool
32. Non-Identical Sorting
Improve students’ sorting abilities with this challenging activity. Students will sort non-identical objects–think cars and airplanes vs. colors of cars–onto their file folder mats. This resource includes 10 different activities to use for independent or small group work!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
33. Sorting by Size
Sorting by size is an essential skill to build among early elementary-age children. Themed activities like this zoo animal sort provide the perfect opportunity to practice this! In this fun game, kids will sort zoo animals by size–big or small. This cute activity also helps students learn more about animals in general!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
34. Category Sort
In this sorting game, students will have to decide if animals belong in a pond, on a farm, or if they could live in both places! Sing along to “Down by the Bay” and “Old MacDonald” using the pieces once they are sorted!
Learn More: Speech Sprouts Therapy
35. Car Roll and Cover
Add this to your list of file folder games to prep for your transportation unit! Car Roll and Cover builds number recognition, subitizing skills, and one-to-one correspondence. Children simply roll a die and cover up the corresponding numbered car. Increase the challenge by using two dice and numbers up to 12!
Learn More: Child Care Land
36. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Game
April file folder games should definitely include activities based on this classic story! Bring spring into full swing by creating and sharing this easy board game with your class. Children will roll a die and help the hungry caterpillar make its way to finally becoming a butterfly!
Learn More: Kids Activities
37. Count and Cover
This unique, space-themed count and the cover game help children to develop concepts of value and one-to-one correspondence. Kids simply draw a card, then use that many pieces to fill in the empty spaces on the rocket picture. Put one copy on each side of a file folder to make the game last longer!
Learn More: Child Care Land
38. Spring Puzzles
Tuck these puzzle pieces away in a file folder for springtime! You can include the background template for an easier task, or leave it out and test your children’s spatial awareness skills! They’ll feel accomplished once they’ve completed these adorable bunny, chick, and lamb pictures!
Learn More: Child Care Land
39. Key Matching
Every parent gives their child a ring of keys to play with at some point–children are mesmerized by the jingling bunch! Put “keys” on a key ring in this file folder game for children to match their silhouettes on the opposite page.
Learn More: From ABCs To Acts
40. Tetris Shapes
Tetris is the age-old game that captivates everyone! Children will have to use their spatial awareness skills to solve these introductory puzzles in this matching file folder activity. It is a key skill for eventually building adult logic and spatial reasoning! Best of all, it’s a free download!
Learn More: Mr. Printables
41. Telling Time
Just add a brad and some lamination to create this file folder game where children practice telling time on an analog clock, digital clock, and in words! The moving parts will help keep children engaged, and this is an activity you can revisit throughout the day to practice recording the current time!
Learn More: Mr. Printables
23 Lovely Literacy Tasks
42. Hands-On Letters
Children get to use one of their favorite classroom materials–play-dough–in this daily phonics file folder activity. Children will build the letter from the dough, focusing on the types of lines and curves in each upper- and lowercase letter, then use the letter sound to sort Velcro pictures. Complete the alphabet at your students’ pace!
Learn More: Make, Take, & Teach
43. The Letter Monster
“The Letter Monster” is a great file folder story that helps children learn their alphabet and letter formation! The poor monster in this story eats some letters to help himself go to sleep, but the different letters wreak all kinds of havoc on his tummy. Your kids will laugh themselves silly as they listen to this story!
Learn More: Dr. Jean And Friends
44. Alpha Animals
Incorporate children’s universal love of animals with literacy learning in “Alpha Animals.” In this activity, your students will match letters with the animal in the folder that begins with that sound. Make the activity more engaging by exchanging the pieces for letter manipulatives like foam letters or letter magnets!
Learn More: Earth Mama’s World
45. Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom
The quintessential first week of school story comes alive in this alphabet file folder game. You can modify the directions to meet different letter-learning needs by asking children to add a letter based on their formation, the sounds they make, vowels vs. consonants, and more!
Learn More: Pinterest
46. Earth Letters
While this resource is technically geared toward a unit on Earth Day, it would also work nicely with a space unit. The file includes upper and lowercase letter work that you can use as a file folder activity for matching both cases, matching manipulatives to the letters, and more!
Learn More: Simply Special Ed
47. Letter by Letter
This file folder pack focuses on each individual letter of the alphabet, integrating math through patterning and sorting tasks. Students will build the letter, sort lowercase, and uppercase versions, and sort objects that do and do not begin with the corresponding sound. Use this set for intervention or review!
Learn More: Lesson Plan Diva
48. Turkey Beginning Sounds
Simply print the template for this turkey file folder game and cut out the feather letter pieces (that you can store in a front pocket), and students are ready to play! Kids will work on identifying beginning sounds in words and matching alphabet letters with these sounds to complete the turkey tail!
Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
49. Sound Match
This beginning sounds-matching activity includes several extensions to keep your hardworking students busy! Children will match pictures to letters attached to the folder. You can stop there, or have students get in some tracing/writing practice with the additional pages!
Learn More: In My World
50. Interactive Stories
Fairytales present an endless source of fascination for children. Utilize them as a file folder task using these amazing interactive storyboards. Students will work on skills like story sequencing, identifying characters, vocabulary, and more as they manipulate these pieces and place them in the correct spaces in their folders.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
51. Mittens vs. Hats
Grab this freebie for a perfect file folder activity to complement your Jan Brett winter stories theme. Students complete the simple task of sorting pictures into the category of hats or mittens. While they play, you can also build color vocabulary by asking students to “find the red hat…,” etc.
Learn More: Simply Special Ed
52. Labeling
Develop beginning readers’ vocabularies with these labeling activities! Children will use their knowledge of letter sounds and blending to read simple words, like food terms, number words, etc., then match the appropriate picture. This resource covers colors, shapes, numbers, and foods!
Learn More: Autism Tank
53. See-Know-Infer
This file folder resource can be used again and again with photos and videos to help children practice their skills of making observations and inferences from what they notice. Laminate the response page, and provide sentence frames to assist children with responding to different scenarios that you provide.
Learn More: The Dabbling Speechie
54. Sort the Nouns
Reviewing parts of speech won’t be boring with these file folder sorts! Children will sort words into the different types of nouns–people, places, things, and ideas to practice identifying these types of words in their reading and writing. Encourage children to create their own example for each column as an extension activity!
Learn More: Mama’s Learning Corner
55. Pumpkin Rhyming
This pumpkin rhyming match-up is a great game for preschoolers or kindergarten students who are working to develop their phonemic awareness. Children will find and match a rhyming pair–with one member on a leaf and the other on a pumpkin. This includes a quick and easy printable for making more fall file folders!
Learn More: Make, Take, & Teach
56. Multisensory Name Folders
Check out this amazing name folder idea for your preschoolers and kindergarteners! Children first tap and say the letters in their name, then trace them with their fingers (this version is covered in hot glue for a sensory element). Next, children build their names and write them on a dry-erase portion.
Learn More: Play to Learn Preschool
57. Personal PC
Dr. Jean’s typing center is a file folder activity you can prep in five minutes. Simply print out a picture of a keyboard and give your child their name card to practice typing out their letters. It’s a simple task that builds a useful skill for each child’s future!
Learn More: Dr. Jean
58. Pre-Writing Cards
Laminate and glue these prewriting cards into a file folder for reusable writing practice! Children can take these folders on the go (if you’re homeschooling), or use them in centers (in the classroom). Attach a dry-erase marker with tape and a piece of yarn to make it an all-in-one activity.
Learn More: Child Care Land
59. Umbrella Letters
This umbrella alphabet roll-and-cover game is perfect to recreate again and again as a review activity for each set of letters you introduce. Simply adjust the letters included in the file folder and on the foldable dice to meet your students’ current needs!
Learn More: Child Care Land
60. Alphabet Match
This pre-made alphabet activity is great for children needing to build exposure to the shapes of letters. Children will consider various alphabet letters and find the corresponding space in the file folder that matches. This helps children learn things like which letters have curves, straight lines, diagonal lines, etc.
Learn More: Teaching Special Thinkers
61. CVC Words
Kindergarten and 1st Grade are the years of mastering blending letter sounds to read CVC words! For some additional practice for early finishers or small group work for students needing some support, check out this simple matching game! Kids will read the word, then match the label to the pictures.
Learn More: Supports for Special Students
62. Hands-On Sight Words
Play-dough, letter tiles, and dry-erase markers–the workhorses of literacy manipulatives–make this file folder activity for sight words engaging and fun for all your little learners! Provide students with a list of sight words to work on or challenge them to come up with their own words to try!
Learn More: Make, Take, Teach
63. Word-Building Folder
Utilize this excellent resource with older elementary students for a do-anytime activity! Children can use the included letters and letter combinations to build words, then practice writing them and drawing a picture to describe them. This is a great activity for a daily word work center or early finisher activity!
Learn More: Lucky Little Learners
64. Beginning Sound Puzzles
To create this file folder game targeting beginning sound isolation, cut up flashcards and glue one piece into the folder, and leave the other out for matching. Aided by the pictures, students will have to find the beginning sound for each word to finish each puzzle.
Learn More: Little Family Fun
13 Spectacular Social Studies Activities
65. Land, Air, and Sea
File folders can be a useful tool during your transportation-themed unit to help children develop an understanding of the different modes that exist. In these quick sorting activities, children will have to recall how each mode of transportation travels–by air, land, or sea. This multi-leveled resource is also cost-effective!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
66. How Community Helpers Travel
In this fun matching activity, children will decide how each different community member travels–they will match police officers to their cars, firefighters to their trucks, pilots to their planes, etc. These file folder game pieces build useful social studies concepts and logical/practical reasoning skills!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
67. Wants vs. Needs
This social studies sorting exercise helps children to consider the things they encounter that are wanted or needed. Children will sort photographs showing things like water, clothing, and toys into wants and needs. After completing the sort, challenge kids to come up with their own cards to add!
Learn More: Teacher Pay Teachers
68. Happy/Sad Sort
Children will build social-emotional skills of labeling emotions and noticing facial expressions through this sorting activity. The original creator made this file folder game from an easy Google image search. Keep that in mind if you plan to adapt this game to include more emotions!
Learn More: Desert Crafter
69. Animal Feelings
These errorless folders include a repetitive sequence of matching animal pieces showing different facial expressions to spaces on the opposite page. This reinforces labeling feelings, fine motor skills, and one-to-one correspondence for learners with disabilities or in early childhood classrooms who are just beginning independent work tasks.
Learn More: Autism Work Tasks
70. Identifying Emotions
Your classroom management will reap the rewards when children are able to notice how others are feeling as a result of their actions. Build your students’ vocabulary with this matching activity. Name an emotion, and help your students identify the correct picture of a facial expression showing that feeling.
Learn More: Simply Special Ed
71. Identifying Emotions, Pt. 2
This is an excellent resource for children to use in early childhood grades, special education classes, guidance activities, and more! Children will explore and identify how certain emotions make them feel in their bodies. Matching emotions to physical sensations will help them be better able to label their feelings!
Learn More: The Responsive Counselor
72. Community Helper Tools
Community helpers have a lot of tools at their disposal to help them do their important work. Children will have to determine which tools belong to whom in this file folder sort. Occupations include doctors, teachers, firefighters, artists, and more important community members for students to match with vehicles and objects.
Learn More: The Autism Helper
73. Tomb Dash!
This file folder board game is perfectly geared toward older students learning about ancient Egypt! Students will have to answer trivia questions about that era in time in order to travel through the tomb and win the game! Best of all, this game can have up to six players!
Learn More: Home School in the Woods
74. Westward, Ho!
This amazing board game is the file folder version of the iconic Oregon Trail! As they play, children will have to gather supplies, finalize plans, and set out on a journey westward through the United States. This game teaches older elementary students about the beginnings of American expansion.
Learn More: Home School in the Woods
75. Name That State
Are you about to embark on a cross-country excursion, or just want to help your children learn more about American geography? Name That State! is the perfect game to play! It teaches children names of states, important cities, and more, and is adjustable to different levels of difficulty!
Learn More: Home School in the Woods
76. Route 66
Another amazing file folder game for teaching history and geography, this board game helps children learn about the origins and landmarks along Route 66. To win the game, students answer a series of questions about different eras in able to move along the highway. Kids will “get a kick” out of it!
Learn More: Home School in the Woods
77. Bill of Rights
This social studies matching and sequencing activity helps older elementary children learn about the Bill of Rights and what it includes. Children have the option to match just the description of each statement to a picture, or sequence the picture and the description for a more difficult challenge!
Learn More: The Wise Nest
12 Simple Science-Based Tasks
78. 5 Senses Game
Students five senses are one of those exciting themes that can be revisited throughout the year! After introducing the concept, let children work in this file folder sort to help them better identify the things that can be seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and felt.
Learn More: From ABCs to ACTs
79. Zoo Animal Matching
This file folder may seem simple, but creative teachers can utilize it in so many ways! Children will complete an identical matching activity using zoo animal pieces, but this simple challenge will build vocabulary, develop their oral language skills, help children identify beginning sounds, and much more!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
80. Farm Animal Matching
This matching game can be serious or silly–it depends on your classroom needs! Students will match the front and backsides of animals to make farm creatures. Or, let children mix and match the pieces to make crazy, mixed-up animals! Either way, it’s a fun way to develop farm animal vocabulary!
Learn More: Pinterest
81. Animal Habitats Sort
Bring your study of animals and their home environments to life with this habitat sort. This is a perfect activity for middle-elementary students who are developing vocabulary terms and an understanding of geography. Children will match animal photographs to biomes like the tundra, rainforests, grasslands, and desert.
Learn More: Earth Mama’s World
82. Insects vs. Spiders
One of the biggest surprises for little ones studying bugs is that spiders are, in fact, not insects! As you delve into what defines an insect versus a spider, children can test their knowledge using this file folder sort! Children will categorize real photographs into these two groups.
Learn More: File Folder Heaven
83. Living/Nonliving Sort
Challenge students to think outside the box with this sorting game! Kids will have to decide if pictures belong to the living or nonliving categories; some items are a particular challenge, like an apple or fire. Let the work inspire thoughtful discussion in the whole group once everyone has had a chance to play!
Learn More: My Folder Games
84. Mom/Baby Animal Match
Baby animals: they’re totally adorable, and kids love them! They’ll definitely be delighted by all the pictures in this sweet matching game! After studying mom/baby pairs, children will have to put their powers of recall to use and remember who goes with whom. Bonus points if they remember the baby animal terms!
Learn More: Little Family Fun
85. Simple Machines
Help your kindergarteners learn the types of simple machines in their physical science unit with this matching file folder game. Students will match a picture of the machine to its correct vocabulary term. Use this game before diving deeper into how each tool functions for deeper, more knowledgeable discussions!
Learn More: Teachers Pay teachers
86. Garbage or Recycling?
Use this printable to create a file folder sort to help children learn which items can be recycled to better our planet! Students will sort through the “trash” to pick out items made from glass, paper, or plastic and “recycle” them. A science lesson and useful life skills, all in one!
Learn More: Supply Me
87. Earth Day Sort
Use this great sorting activity from Totschooling to help your children learn about actions and activities that can help or harm the planet! Students will decide if things like car exhaust, planting new trees, littering, and other activities belong with happy or sad earth.
Learn More: Tot Schooling
88. Food Group Sorting
Challenge students to make a healthy plate and sort their foods by type: grains, dairy, protein, vegetables, and fruit. Add the plate to one side of the file folder, and add the foods to a copy of a fridge or pantry for children to choose among and make their meals!
Learn More: Tot Schooling
89. Fruit Slice Matching
As you study food groups, entertain your students with this colorful fruit slice matching game! Students will have to remember what the inside and outside of different fruits look like and match the two together. It’s also a perfect game to go along with a summertime picnic theme!
Learn More: Coffee Cups and Crayons
12 Creative Color Activities
90. Scat the Cat
Use file folders to tell a silly story that supports children’s color words vocabulary with the tale of Scat the Cat. Dr. Jean’s story also helps children practice rhyming and sequencing, and can be a conversation starter about the things that make us unique!
Learn More: Dr. Jean
91. Paint Chip Color Sorting
Students will love this low-prep activity that you can make for almost free! Utilize your local hardware store and pick up some paint chips to cut up for this activity. Students will match the colorful squares to their appropriate color words inside this color sorting file folder.
Learn More: Fumbling Through Parenthood
92. Food Color Matching
Kids will discover that foods come in all of the colors of the rainbow as they work on this file folder activity building beginner matching skills. Given color swatches and pieces showing different foods, children will match the two categories based on their colors.
Learn More: The Autism Helper
93. Paintbrush Color Matching
Work on preschoolers’ visual discrimination and matching skills with this color-matching file folder with paintbrushes! Students will sort each paintbrush into the correct pocket with the matching color. Expand into different hues or more obscure colors as children master the basics!
Learn More: Confessions of a Homeschooler
94. Clothing Color Sort
File folder games are even more wonderful when they encourage children to develop multiple skills at once, like in this clothing color sort game. Students will develop visual discrimination skills, color words vocabulary, and an essential skill of sorting laundry by color all with one simple game!
Learn More: The Autism Helper
95. Cactus Colors
Cacti and succulents are a cute trend burning their way through elementary classrooms (and the adult world!). Capitalize on that interest with this cactus color sort! Kids will enjoy matching these cute cactus plants to the corresponding colorful pot in the file folder, building some math skills along the way!
Learn More: Planning Playtime
96. Roll-a-Leaf
This sweet file folder game board helps children develop turn-taking skills, matching abilities, and social-emotional concepts like being a gracious winner or loser during gameplay. It is best used for kindergartener practice during free choice time or during math centers. And, you can get the download for free!
Learn More: Look We’re Learning
97. Bumble Bee Colors
Color words are one of the first sight words children latch onto. Build their reading abilities with this bumblebee file folder. Kids will match wing colors, then add a color word piece to make the body. The words come in color for additional support, or black and white for a more demanding challenge.
Learn More: Child Care Land
98. Paint Splash
Oh no! The paint spilled! Task your students with finding the correct paint can color to “scoop” the paint splatter back into! This color-matching file folder is simple to build children’s confidence, and is best used in preschool or early kindergarten rooms!
Learn More: Arrows and Applesauce
99. Pete’s Shoes
Pete the Catstories are a hit with little learners, particularly the one about his white shoes! In this matching activity based on the book, children will find the colorful pairs and put them together in the file folder. For children building verbal skills, ask them to name each color pair they find!
Learn More: Line Upon Line Learning
100. Repurposed Border
If you ever have a leftover piece of bulletin board border with color words, cut it up to turn it into a file folder activity! In this example, the creator uses color words from a Sesame Street border as the picture, then children use letter pieces to spell the color word.
Learn More: Mama Jenn
101. Mr. Monster’s Color Sort
This printable file folder game encourages children to sort by more than one attribute. While children sort by color, they are also having to decide what body part they are sorting by. Is it green shoes? A green body? Grab this resource to work on those “next-level” math skills!
Learn More: File Folder Heaven
9 Lively Life Skill Activities
102. Laundry Helper
Previewing the basic steps for life skills like doing laundry is a great way to use file folders! In this activity, children sort laundry by color or season to prepare for washing, then practice where clean and dirty clothes go (in the drawers versus in the hamper).
Learn More: Breezy Special Ed
103. Bathroom Sequence
Help make visiting the restroom an independent task for your young learners by first reviewing the steps they will need to take when they arrive. Students will use this sequencing file folder game to put the routine in order. This folder game also builds skills in logic!
Learn More: Adapting for Autism
104. Shopping List
Students will love getting to “visit” the store as they complete this file folder learning activity! Children will have to use the provided grocery list to “shop” for items. They will then sort the groceries into items that are and are not on the list.
Learn More: Adapting for Autism
105. More Grocery Games
Help prepare children for a visit to the store by letting them play these file folder games in the car! Children will get thinking about where to find certain groceries by sorting them by food groups: vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy, bread, and condiments. These are perfect for your food theme in the classroom as well!
Learn More: Breezy Special Ed
106. Managing Money
Students will use this activity to practice their skills in selecting the right bills to pay at a store. Students will see the amount on the cash register, then choose the correct $1, $5, $10, or $20 bill to use to pay! It is perfect for teaching another basic skill to your elementary students.
Learn More: Breezy Special Ed
107. Sorting by Room
Students will prepare for the skill of cleaning up at home using this file folder sorting activity. Given certain rooms of a house, children will have to correctly place items in their proper room. This helps children build their logic and sorting skills (and will hopefully lead to some happy parents at home!).
Learn More: Autism Tank
108. Phone Numbers
This classroom center is perfect for building an important safety skill for young learners–memorizing important phone numbers. Give students cards for building their phone numbers so children can learn them for emergencies. This is one of those basic skills that can be overlooked in the age of smartphones, but it’s important nonetheless!
Learn More: Etsy
109. Interactive Winter Weather Work
Children will practice the skill of selecting appropriate clothing for winter weather while engaging in this simple file folder fun! Attach the story pages using binder rings, and let children select the correct Velcro piece to match each picture and complete the story. It’s satisfying and almost errorless!
Learn More: My Speech Universe
110. Identifying Body Parts
Helping children be able to name the different parts of their bodies is a crucial skill in early childhood. It promotes safety, helps children establish body autonomy, and is a typical science unit in preschool. In this game, name a body part and have the children match its picture to the word.
Learn More: Simply Special Ed
