Kindergarten Reading & Writing
RESOURCES
▶️ Video ✎ Printable 💻 Electronic 🧑💻LCPS Student Links
Early Skills:
RHYME
ALLITERATION
SENTENCE SEGMENTATION
ISOLATING SOUNDS
SEGMENTING SOUNDS
SOUND SEGMENTING & BLENDING
Advanced Skills:
CHANGING SOUNDS
▶️ For How-To Videos, please visit the Florida Center for Reading Research YouTube Channel.
LETTER INTRODUCTIONS
ONSET AND RIME
Check out these phonics activities and the activities below to support all stages of learning in kindergarten.
MATCHING LETTERS TO SOUNDS
SPELLING & READING
Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently.
One way we practice fluency in kindergarten is by learning Red Words...
All About Red Words
Red Words are sight words. They are words that cannot be decoded (sounded out) either because they do not follow the spelling rules of English OR they follow rules that your child is not yet ready to be instructed in. About 15% of the English language is irregular, meaning it does not follow an expected rule or pattern.
For example:
Said can not be written or read as it sounds and it does not follow the rules of the “ai” sound.
Out is a red word for first graders who have not yet learned the rules of the sound the vowel team ou makes together. It is taught to them as a Red Word because it is a common word that first graders are likely to come across in text.
Red Words are Taught Differently than Decodable Words!
Teachers follow a specific sequence and instruct on reading AND spelling red words daily.
There is a special multi-sensory method used to help students map out and remember the words. For example, students tap the letters down their arm while spelling, write in sand, and spell the word aloud, letter by letter, as they are practicing.
Tips to Practice Red Words at Home
If your child’s teacher sends home a list of Red Words, practice reading and spelling them each night, or practice from the list by grade level (below).
Hunt for red words in books.
Put red words on sticky notes and post up on a wall. Have your child use a flashlight or pointer to “find” red words that you call out.
Write red words in shaving cream, sand, salt, or finger paint.
Build red words with play-doh.
Trace red words over sandpaper or a bumpy surface.
CLICK HERE to see Red Words by Grade Level
CLICK HERE to read about how we teach Red Words at LCPS.
WORDS & SYLLABLES
LETTER-SOUND CORRESPONDENCE
WORDS, PHRASES, & SENTENCES
Kindergarten students learn vocabulary through everyday conversations, books discussed and read aloud to them, and specific word instruction.
PreK - 1st Grade Writing Progression
Handwriting
Form letters accurately.
✎ How to Teach Letter Formation & ✎ House Paper
Space words within sentences.
Print all capital and lowercase letters in sequence and in random order
Print first and last names, beginning each with a capital letter
💻 Reading A-Z - Login for access to handwriting worksheets.
💻 Create your own Name Handwriting Worksheet
✎ KidZone - Printable themed handwriting booklets.
DECODABLE BOOKS WITH MIXED PRACTICE
Additional Resources
Literacy Apps That Work Without Internet
Some Of Our Favorite Online Games!
The following list contains resources for grades K-2 that are free to parents and students at all times.
Unite for Literacy- Free digital access to picture books for early elementary grades, printed in English with narration available in 47 different languages
National Center for Improving Literacy- information for families and KIDSZONE with at home reading activities
Starfall- free interactive phonics resources
Kiddle Search Engine- student-friendly search engine for research
Khan Academy- provides free online lessons in every subject
Wonderopolis- student friendly website that promotes research and exploration through sparking student interest and inquiry
Librivox- Free, public domain books read by volunteers from around the world that can be downloaded and listened to on any device