Kindergarten

Also, check out Help! How do I teach my child to read?

Jump down to kindergarten guided reading expectations.

1. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

Master phonological and phonemic awareness. These activities can be done with eyes shut—no print should be in front of the child. Print and follow this! If children cannot hear and manipulate sounds in their heads, they won’t be able to read and spell! Blending and segmenting are the most important phonemic awareness activities because these directly correlate to reading and spelling. You can find these activities by following this link, but you can blend and segment any word!

It would also be great to teach your child nursery rhymes. It is sad so many children no longer know these classics. Rhyming helps children experience the rhythm of language, recognize sounds in words, anticipate what is coming next, and more! There are many cute free online videos of nursery rhymes, and the library has beautiful nursery rhyme books.

2. Letter Names, Letter Sounds, and Letter Formation

Master letter names and sounds. Get a set of flashcards online, or here are free ones to print! These sets are good because the upper and lowercase letters are on separate cards.

Correct letter formation is important! All letters start from the top down. Not only are improperly formed letters messy, but improperly formed letters will slow children down when writing – impacting test-taking, creative writing, and note-taking… It will also impact their ability to learn cursive.

3. Phonics

Follow the Wilson Fundations Scope & Sequence for kindergarten. My Wilson Fundations page will give you even more information! The Wilson Fundations Home Support Pack can support your child’s learning. 

For paper and pencil phonics, try Primary Phonics 1A Short Vowels. These stories go with it.  Here is another good free workbook!

4. Tapping, Blending, Spelling

Teach tapping out and blending 3 sounds to form consonant-short vowel-consonant words or CVC words, such as bat, bit, tub, pet, pot.

Here is an AMAZING activity! Watch the video clip below. (This is not my video.) Word lists are also below.

  • Say it
  • Stretch it
  • Spell it
  • Change it

 

Go DOWN the lists, changing 1 sound each time.
kindergarten expectations
Use these templates:

Word lists appropriate for kindergarten:

Blends may be challenging, but give them a try!

5. Read Decodable Texts – Tap and Blend to Figure Out Unknown Words!

Read, reread, reread, reread, and reread free decodable texts. Talk about the stories as a quick comprehension check.

If your child can read these 30 Kindergarten Decodable Texts, they are ready for grade 1!

Research shows decodable texts are the BEST way to learn to read!

Decodable text falls under the phonics approach of the science of reading. When students decode words, they break them down and figure out how to pronounce them. Teaching beginning readers how to sound out words is critical in reading and writing. 

  • Always have your child read each story 3x for fluency and accuracy.
  • Having your child point to each word with 1:1 correspondence is essential because students tend to guess or memorize these simpler texts.
  • Your child should figure out unknown words independently by SOUNDING OUT. Not all words can be perfectly sounded out, but most words have at least parts that can!

When reading any text…

  • No more than 10 errors per 100 words, including words you had to tell your child, are acceptable.
  • The child must also demonstrate comprehension. Kindergartners should retell the story, make a connection to their life or another book, and tell their favorite part and why.

6. Master Sight Words

Master a few sight words each day. Kindergarteners should know the Pre-primer (Pre-Kindergarten) and Primer (Kindergarten) sight words in isolation. These are best learned in context. They should read, reread, and reread:

Pre-primer (Pre-Kindergarten) Dolch Story

Primer (Kindergarten) Dolch Story

For more practice, write each Pre-primer and Primer word in your own simple sentence for your child to practice reading.

Here are more sight word stories!

Your child must also know how to read and spell the Kindergarten Fundations Trick Words.

Parents, consider labeling items in your home – desk, refrigerator, television, bed… The more print your child encounters, the better! Also, close captioning should be put on TV and online read-alouds!

7. Vocabulary for Kindergartners

Kindergartners need to know the meaning of these words from the Marzano list.

And the meaning of these words, taken from WORDS TO KNOW BY GRADE LEVEL.

8. Are you looking for a tech option?

Lexia Core 5 is a well-respected app used in many schools. It is available as a home version and costs $175 for a one-year subscription. My school uses it, and I highly recommend it!

Lexia Core 5 is a research-proven computer program that accelerates the development of literacy skills for students of all abilities, helping them make the critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn. It has 21 levels, spanning from preschool through grade 5. It is based on the science of reading. Each level has 5 areas and includes automaticity/fluency, comprehension, phonics, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Each level should be completed within 5.5 to 9 hours.

9. Read Aloud or Listen to Online Texts – Put the Closed Captioning On

Read aloud more complex books to your child, or have your child listen to books online – not decodable texts – on topics they enjoy to instill a love of reading, improve listening comprehension, and grow vocabulary. Kindergarten reading and listening comprehension are based on:

Here are Kindergarten Common Core State Standards Question Stems you can use as discussion starters with your child, but make talking about books fun! However, the CCSS is used in the classroom.

We administer the FREE DIBELS 8 3x/year. Each are 1-minute tests:

  • Name letters. The upper and lower case are mixed up on a sheet of paper.
  • Orally segment individual sounds heard in a word; for example, “apple” is /a/ /p/ /l/ and “holes” is /h/ /o/ /l/ /z/. If the child can correctly segment apple (3 sounds) and holes (4 sounds), that is 7 sounds.
  • Read 3-letter short vowel nonsense words ~ these can be sounded out ~ for example, “sil,” “tog,” “paj,” “zev,” “nud.” The goal is for the child to recognize these chunks automatically.
  • Read real words – sight words.

The minimum scores to pass: 

Here are other free literacy assessments if you want to assess your child!

 


Does your child’s school use guided reading?  🙁

Guided reading is NOT a good way to learn to read. Parents, if your school uses guided reading, please scroll to the top of this page and follow my “Kindergarten Expectations and Recommendations.”

Guided reading falls under the Fountas and Pinnell cueing system method, which is now frowned upon. Students do NOT sound out words when they are stuck; instead, as students read, you ask them to figure out unknown words by looking at the picture, looking at the beginning letter sound, thinking about what would look right/sound right/make sense or skipping the tricky word/reading on/going back. This makes reading a guessing game.

To Meet the “Guided Reading” Benchmark, kindergarteners should be instructional at Level C by June. Their independent level is Level B.

Get Level A-C books on Amazon or at the public library. Here is a book list. Again, I do not recommend these. They are predictable books—the child is guessing and not reading. Decodable books are best when learning to read.

AT LEVELS A-C, A CHILD’S READING LEVEL IS DETERMINED BY THE FOLLOWING:

These bullet points are based on the DRA2 assessment.

• Is the child reading with accuracy? No more than 1 error per 10 words.

• Is the child using the pictures and letter sounds to figure out unknown words?

• Does the child recognize their mistakes and go back to fix them?

• Are they demonstrating an understanding of the directionality of print from left to right?

• Can they show directionality on two or more lines of text?

• Are they pointing to each word with consistent 1:1 matching? (Students tend to guess or memorize texts at this age level.)

• Can the child hold the book and turn the pages independently?

• Does the child understand the terms: begins with, ends with, letter, and sound? For example, “Find the word that begins with this letter: g. Find the word that ends with the sound /b/.”

Reading Survey

Your child will be asked who reads to them at home and to share a title and specific details about a favorite book. A survey will also be given asking the child:

  • What books have you finished lately?
  • What are you reading at school now?
  • What are you reading at home now?
  • What are 3 things you do well as a reader?
  • What are 3 things you need to work on to become a better reader?
. . . so make books at home part of your daily routine! 

No donations from my school, please!  I am here to help you!  🙂

$10 for the Kindergarten Reading Expectations document.

 

Copyright 05/04/2012

Edited on 03/17/2024

References

I did not write those wonderful blurbs of what advanced students look like at each grade level. They came from an unknown source.

DRA2 Teacher Manual from Pearson Publishing, 2006.

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