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. kindergarten reading expectations
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
Kindergarten Science of Reading
Word lists appropriate for kindergarten:
- CVC Words 1
- CVC Words 2
- Consonant Digraphs (even though these have 2 letters – th, wh, sh, ch, ck – they make 1 sound, so the 2 letters go in one box. w/i/sh)
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. kindergarten reading expectations
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:
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. Kindergarten Science of Reading
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. kindergarten reading expectations
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. Kindergarten Science of Reading
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!
Copyright 05/04/2012
Edited on 10/19/2024
