My previous post elaborated on our kindergarten reading/ language arts curriculum at a high level. Last week I attended a very informative meeting that discussed both the kindergarten curriculum for reading/language arts and math for the first and second semesters. This post is dedicated to the reading/language arts section. The kindergarten teachers provided strategies to use at home to assist a child in reaching her full potential.
Writer’s Workshop.
This is an ongoing risk free developmental process. Teachers do not correct this work and students are encouraged to select their own topics based on personal experiences. My daughter has brought home several pictures; the one to the right is a favorite. They reiterated that each child develops differently. Some children can write the letters of the alphabet and some are learning the letters. Encourage your child to draw pictures and when appropriate have them label the picture or write a sentence. The teachers emphasized that the focus is on the ability to tell a story; to become an author which begins with getting an idea on paper.
Reading Block
This consists of both whole group reading lessons and literacy centers. The reading lessons will address story elements, genres and text features. The literary centers encompass reading, writing, listening and speaking. Since each student comes to school with a diverse knowledge of literacy, assessments were performed. The test results assisted is forming appropriate reading groups.
Early emergent readers (level 1-3)
Concepts about print are explained (e.g. we read left to right, top to bottom with a return sweep). In addition, conceptually a student needs to recognize each word has a meaning. Parents can assist in this area by reading every day; they recommend 20 minutes a day. In addition, parents should work with their child so that they know both the letters of the alphabet and their basic phonic sounds. In addition, we were given 25 sight words. The teachers want students to be able to read and write these sight words because decoding a sight word or stopping and sounding out each word typically results in a loss of comprehension. Knowing these most common words allows a child to focus on identifying the nouns or verbs in the sentence. They can also rely on picture support to assist them in decoding words.
25 Kindergarten Sight Words
a | am | and | at | can | come | |
go | here | I | in | is | it | |
like | look | me | my | on | said | |
see | the | this | to | we | you | up |
Upper Emergent Readers (level 4-9)
These students are starting to read. They will learn punctuation and the components of a story (e.g. main character). As they progress to a fluent reader, they will no longer use their finger. They will learn reading strategies (e.g. predicting what will happen next). The teachers concluded this section by stating, read to your child every day!
Positional words.
While this section was discussed in the math curriculum, I incorporated it in this section because some of these words are sight words. Our teachers wanted us to work with our children using the following positional words:
under | above | between | behind | in front |
top | middle | bottom | after | before |
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