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ABC Literacy
This resource from PBS Kids provides tips for helping to develop your child's literacy skills, for ages 2-8.

Shining Stars: Kindergartners Learn to Read
Shining Stars: First Graders Learn to Read
Shining Stars: Second and Third Graders Learn to Read
These guides from the National Institute for Literacy will take you through some of the things you can do as you as your child learns to read.

Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home
This resource from the Regional Educational Laboratory provides parents with information on how they can support foundational reading skills at home.

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ABC Literacy This resource from PBS Kids provides tips for helping to develop your child's literacy skills, for ages 2-8. Shining Stars: Kindergartners Learn to Read Shining Stars: First Graders Learn to Read Shining Stars: Second and Third Graders Learn to Read These guides from the National Institute for Literacy will take you through some of the things you can do as you as your child learns to read.

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Slide Deck from Kindergarten Parent Night- C. Reese

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Slide Deck from Kindergarten Parent Night- C. Reese

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Kindergarten Foundational Reading Spring Parent Meeting 2024

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Phonics is one of the five essential components of the science of reading, along with phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Phonics activities help young learners break words into their constituent sounds so they build their literacy skills, bit by bit. Here are some of our favorite ways to teach these key skills.

1. Sing a phonics song

Singing songs is such a fun and effective way to learn! Kids will love to watch and sing along, and might not even realize they're learning along the way.

Learn more: 15 Phonics Songs for Kids at We Are Teachers

2. Color in the beginning sounds

Most kids start learning phonics by mastering the beginning sounds of words. Have kids color in the words that start with the matching sound on these cute and free worksheets.

Learn more: Beginning Sounds Coloring Pages at The Measured Mom

3. Use Google Slides

Google Slides has tons of fun phonics activities kids can use in the classroom or at home.

Learn more: 18 Interactive Google Slides for Teaching Phonics and Sight Words at We Are Teachers

4. Hang phonics anchor charts

When it comes to phonics, there's a lot to learn. Post anchor charts around the room to help kids remember important rules like silent E, vowel blends, and hard and soft C and G.

Learn more: 20 Perfect Anchor Charts for Teaching Phonics and Blends at We Are Teachers

5. Build words with a chart of beginning sounds

Grab this free printable chart and print out copies for your students to use with their phonics activities. There's a version for rimes too.

Learn more: Beginning Sounds Chart at This Reading Mama

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6. Learn digraphs with clip wheels

Combine fine motor skills practice with phonics work with these free beginning digraph wheels. Tip: Add small dots on the back to mark the right answers so kids can self-correct their work.

Learn more: Digraph Wheels at Playdough to Plato

7. Slap the letter sounds

Sounding out words letter by letter is a lot more fun when you slap each letter with a flyswatter! This is a great idea for active learners.

Learn more: Letter Sound Slap at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

8. Walk the word

This one will also keep active learners moving and happy! Write words in sidewalk chalk, then walk (or hop or skip) along them, sounding the word out along the way. Simple but fun!

Learn more: Gross Motor Phonics Game: Walk the Word at Coffee Cups and Crayons

9. Fill in the missing letters

This active game combines a scavenger hunt with phonics! Hide sticky notes around the room with various vowels. Then, write CVC words with the vowels missing. Have kids hunt for the missing sounds and fill them in. Fun!

Learn more: Missing Sounds Reading Activity at Busy Toddler

10. Just swap one letter

As students move from box to box, they change one letter to make the new word represented by the picture. They might need to change the first, middle, or last letter, so it's a real challenge!

Learn more: Just Swap One at This Reading Mama

11. Make magic spoons

Pick up a pack of plastic spoons at the dollar store, then use them to practice building words by combining beginning sounds with word endings.

Learn more: Activities To Teach Phonics and Math at Education to the Core

12. Toss and blend with plastic cups

Grab a stack of plastic cups and some Ping-Pong balls for this fun phonics game. Label the cups with different letter blends and set them out (tape them down if they tend to fall over). Kids toss a ball into a cup, then come up with a word that uses that letter blend to earn a point.

Learn more: Toss and Blend at Education.com

13. Flip the pages

Divide the pages of a small notebook into thirds, then write letters on each page. Flip them to form new words.

Learn more: Phoneme Substitution Activities at Tickled Pink in Primary

14. Mix and match cups to make words

If you've still got some cups left over, label them with more letters or letter blends, then use them to mix and match words. This is an especially fun way to work on CVC and sight words.

Learn more: CVC Cups at Inspired Elementary

15. Hack pool noodles into phonics tools

This has got to be one of our favorite phonics activities. Cut a pool noodle into pieces and label it with letters. Then stack and spin for learning fun!

Learn more: Pool Noodle Phonics at We Are Teachers

16. Spin and rhyme

Here's a different spin (pun intended!) on Pool Noodle Phonics. All you need is a cardboard tube, a wire pants hanger, scissors, and a marker to make this fun DIY rhyming activity.

Learn more: Spin and Rhyme at No Time for Flash Cards

17. Make some phonics cubes

Slide the free printable inserts into a set of photo cubes, then roll until you get the correct combination of letter and word ending.

Learn more: Phonics Cubes at This Reading Mama

18. Use paint stirrers to make word pull-outs

These clever phonics tools are easy to make using paint stirrer sticks and paper towel tubes. Simply slide the stick in and out to make new words!

Learn more: Word Family Pull-Out Activity at I Can Teach My Child

19. Play a flip-top phonics game

If you go through packages of wipes like most parents do, you'll appreciate this idea. Save the flip tops and use them for DIY phonics activities.

Learn more: Flip Top Phonics Games for Kids at No Time for Flash Cards

20. Use a pocket chart for phonics activities

Here's another reason teachers love pocket charts: They're great for phonics centers. Sort and match cards to practice beginning sounds, blends, short and long vowels, and so much more.

Learn more: Short A Activities and Resources at Miss Giraffe's Class

21. Compete at Blends and Digraphs Bingo

Every kid loves a good game of bingo! Snag these free printable bingo cards and use them to practice blends and digraphs.

Learn more: Blends and Digraph Bingo at The Measured Mom

22. Toss some phonics water balloons

This one almost seems too fun to count as learning! Tape up beginning sounds, then toss water balloons to complete the words.

Learn more: Water Balloon Phonics at Mess for Less

23. Race to the Top with blends and digraphs

Play this free printable game to practice consonant blends. Toss a chip onto the board and say that word out loud. Then move the counter for the correct blend up one space. First to the top wins!

Learn more: Blends and Digraphs Games at This Reading Mama

24. Try locks and keys to learn phonics

This self-correcting phonics activity is also a good way to practice fine motor skills ... and a lot of fun to boot! Label keys with beginning sounds and locks with word endings, then match them up and try the key to see if you're right.

Learn more: Unlock and Learn Game at We Are Teachers

25. Play Phonogram Connect 4

Draw a word card and find an open phonogram slot on the board. Your goal is to get four in a row!

Learn more: Phonogram Connect Four at Mrs. T's First Grade Class

26. Teach them the Soft C & G Chant

Simple little chants like this will help kids remember some of those confusing language rules. Pair it with other favorites like " I before E, except after C."

Learn more: Soft C and G at This Reading Mama

27. Mix, color, and spell

We can't get enough of games that reinforce CVC words with short vowels-it's such an important early literacy skill! Practice identifying and distinguishing between vowels by coloring in the middle sound from pictures of CVC words.

Learn more: Teaching CVC Words at Susan Jones Teaching

28. Write the Room: Digraphs

Use this fun little letter scavenger hunt to move around the room to search for pictures with digraphs. First, mark the ones you find with a dot marker and then use another sheet to write the digraphs.

Learn more: Beginning Digraphs Write the Room at ABC's of Literacy

29. Use disappearing ink for letter formation

One of the first keys to early reading success is letter identification and formation. Keep it fresh by using "disappearing ink" (aka water) so students have to trace letters multiple times to prevent them from disappearing too fast. With so few materials and such high engagement, what's not to love?

Learn more: 3 Simple Play-Based Phonics Activities at Research and Play

30. Do word sorts

Word sorts are great for comparing word patterns that make the same sound, like vowel teams. They can also help reinforce so many different phonics skills, making them the perfect activity that can be easy differentiated for learners of all stages.

Learn more: Using Word Sorts for Phonics Instruction at Mrs. Winter's Bliss

31. Roll and Read

Roll a die and read the word from the corresponding column. Play with a partner or do it solo by coloring in the words as you read them.

Learn more: Lesson 79 Roll and Read at UFLI. While you're there, check out the UFLI free lesson resources, which include decodable passages and games for almost every phonics skill!

32. Roll letter dice

A perfect DIY idea for old blocks! Use three blocks and write consonants on two of them and vowels on the other. Have some fun rolling and blending CVC words.

Learn more: DIY Phonics Games at Early Impact Learning

33. Sort syllable types

If you are teaching the different syllable types, this word sort helps students practice their knowledge of the six types and shows you what they know.

Learn more: Six-Way Syllable Sort at Florida Center for Reading Research. Also, check out the many other phonics resources available by grade level: Kindergarten and First Grade or Second and Third Grades.

Get all the latest teaching tips and ideas straight to your inbox when you sign up for our free newsletters!

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33 Fun Phonics Activities and Games for Early Readers

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Help kids learn to read with phonics activities that break words into their basic sounds, like phonemes, digraphs, diphthongs, and more.

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Alphabet activities make learning their ABCs more fun for kids. There are so many ways to practice your ABCs, you might be able to do one alphabet activity a day for a year without repeating. We've gathered 36 super-fun alphabet activities so kids can play and learn every day. Share this article with parents too so kids can practice at home!

1. Read alphabet books

Always our number-one go-to, especially with little ones: Read, read, read! There are hundreds of books to choose from that explore the alphabet. Here's a list of 16 of our favorite alphabet books to help you get started.

2. Play alphabet hide-and-seek

Set up a sensory bin with sand, rice, or cornmeal and hide plastic alphabet bins inside. Challenge students to find a letter, identify its name and sound, and keep track of the letters they find on a whiteboard or piece of paper.

3. Write letters on dried beans

Large dried white beans are inexpensive to purchase and easy to write on. Grab a Sharpie and write all the upper- and lower-case letters on them. Then put each set in a pile (or baggie) and ask your kids to match them.

4. Line up in alphabetical order

Give each student an 8 x 11 piece of card stock with one letter written on it. Call out the ABCs one at a time and have students line up in alphabetical order. For example, call out the letter A. Students will look at their cards and whoever has A will start the line. Next, call out the letter B. That student joins the line. Continue until you get to the end of the alphabet.

5. Match uppercase and lowercase letters

Help your students learn to match uppercase and lowercase letters with this fun game. Using a Sharpie, label a divided container (like a mini quick pan or muffin tin) with lowercase letters. Give students a collection of uppercase alphabet beads and have them place the corresponding letter in the right compartment.

6. Use alphabet tracing strips

Sometimes learning a new skill takes repetition. Give students time to practice writing the letters in the alphabet with alphabet tracing strips.

7. Letter sort with sticky notes

Write individual letters on sticky notes and then place them all over your house or just on every stair in a staircase. This practice game has a lot of variations-all tied to sorting. Ask kids to sort by:

Lowercase letters

Uppercase letters

Letters in their name

Straight lines (H)

Curved lines (c)

Both curved and straight lines (B)

Consonants

Vowels

For even more practice, have them sort their finds into alphabetical order, match lowercase letters to uppercase letters, and then, find a way to sort them that's new.

8. Use Q-tips

Let students dip Q-tips into paint and fill in letters on these Q-tip Letter Cards. Other tools you can use are pencil erasers or pushpins that students can use to poke holes.

9. String together letter beads

Letter recognition is the first step on the way to literacy. Help your students learn their letters with this fun bead-stringing activity. All you need is pipe cleaners, large alphabet beads, and small alphabet beads.

10. Write letters in shaving cream

Squirt shaving cream on a table and let your kids write letters in the cream. Smooth it out to erase and start again. Bonus: Their hands and your table will be cleaner than ever!

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11. Serve up some alphabet soup

Teach kids name recognition with this alphabet soup game. Get instructions at Play Teach Repeat.

12. Take it outside

Take your little ones outside with sidewalk chalk and let them practice their letters in the sunshine. Give students letter cards attached to an O-ring to work from.

13. Bend letters with pipe cleaners

Pipe cleaners have always been a trusted source for fine motor practice as well as a fun craft resource. Now use them to have kids create uppercase and lowercase letters.

14. Use an ABC floor mat

Invest in an inexpensive interlocking foam alphabet floor mat for your classroom. Kids can get down on hands and knees and trace each letter with their finger. Or do a little one-on-one with a student and have them hop to the letters you call out. For more ideas, check out this list of activities.

15. Make sensory ABC bags

This one is great because you can change up what you put in the bags and even move to sight words. You'll need a gallon bag with a ziplock top. Add letters written on pieces of paper, magnetic letters, scrabble tiles, or anything else you can think of with letters. Then fill the bag with rice or oatmeal and seal it. Kids dig through the rice in the bag to find the letters. When they find them, they write down the letter they find until they locate all 26 letters of the alphabet.

16. Find invisible letters with watercolors

This is a classic. Using a white crayon, draw letters on a piece of white paper. Give your kids watercolors, let them paint the paper, and watch the letters appear.

17. Play musical alphabet

Set up letters in a big circle on the floor. You can use magnetic letters or just write them on index cards. Put music on and have your child walk around the circle to the music. When the music goes off, your child tells you the closest letter. Expand on it: Ask your child to name three things (colors, animals, etc.) that start with that letter.

18. Sponge the alphabet

Cut sponges into letters and use them for sponge painting letters or playing in the tub, or at school at a water table.

19. Put together name puzzles

Write the uppercase and lowercase letters in a name and then cut them apart in a simple zigzag. Mix up the letters and ask a child to match them up and put them in the right order.

20. Make letters from nature

Discover the alphabet right outside your door. Choose natural objects that already look like letters, or arrange them to form letters of the alphabet.

21. Eat your ABCs

We know from Alphabet Soup that eating your ABCs is plain old fun. So think of all the ways you can practice the alphabet at mealtime. Pancakes can be made into letters, Jell-O can be cut into letters, noodles can be used to make letters, and there's even a recipe from Raspberri Cupcakes for making alphabet marshmallows.

22. Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt

The fun part about this for grown-ups is that there is no prep. Tell kids to go find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. To make this game take longer, designate spots for them to bring each item back-one at a time. Every item must be approved before they can move on to the next. This allows for fewer meltdowns at the end when an item is deemed inaccurate.

23. Make your own ABC book

Personalizing the ABCs helps kids process and retain their learning. One of our favorite alphabet activities starts by creating a book out of 26 pieces of paper and staples or hole punches with a ribbon. Have kids write an uppercase and lowercase letter on each page. Finally, have them draw or cut out pictures of things that start with each letter.

24. Create ABC pop-up books

Use the tutorial video to learn how to make different kinds of pop-up pages. Then, create a page per week for 26 weeks for each letter. At the end, use a glue stick to glue them all together to make an ABC pop-up book!

25. Stamp letters in play dough

Roll out play dough and push letter stamps right into the dough. Alphabet activities using play dough are both tactile and great for practicing pre-reading skills.

26. Make tactile letter cards

There's lots of research (and experience) to support the value of using all the senses to learn. Making these tactile alphabet cards will be fun and have lasting benefits.

27. Trace letters in spices

This one combines touch, smell, and sight. It gives you an opportunity to talk about what we use spices for as well. Put the bottle in front of a child and have them write the spice name in the spice to make things a bit more challenging.

28. Study a letter of the week

Many pre-K and kindergarten classes do a letter of the week, and for good reason. Teaching instant recognition of letters and practicing writing them is so important for learning to read. Doing alphabet activities for one letter each week reinforces knowledge and recollection.

29. Do the yoga alphabet

Show kids this video and take the time to learn each yoga pose. Connecting the mind and the body is great for learning.

30. Sing songs about the alphabet

Everyone loves to sing The Alphabet Song, but did you know there are lots of other songs to sing that can help you remember the alphabet? Try out this Sesame Street favorite.

31. Draw pictures from letters

Using letters as a starting point, teach kids how to draw. If this is too difficult at first, just write a letter and then draw a picture around the letter.

32. Highlight letters on a page

Print a page of text or grab your favorite magazine and a highlighter. Ask kids to highlight as many of one letter as they can find. This is also great for sight word recognition. Here's a freebie from The Inspired Apple to get you started.

33. Do-a-Dot letter tracing

These fruit-scented dot markers you can buy on Amazon make tracing letters more fun and help kids with directionality and remembering how to write and recognize letters.

34. Play letter slap

Make two sets of index cards with all the letters on them (52 cards in all). Shuffle the cards together and deal them so each kid holds 26 cards. Together each player takes their top card and turns it upright. The player with the letter closest to A wins the hand and takes the card. If two of the same letter are played, the players slap the card. The one on the bottom of the slip wins the hand. The game ends when one player holds all the cards.

35. Match plastic egg letters

Surely you have some plastic Easter eggs hanging around your attic. Use a Sharpie or letter stickers to put an uppercase letter on one half and a lowercase letter on the other. Then separate the two and throw them all in a basket. Kids pull them out and match them up. Tip: Add difficulty by not coordinating the colors.

36. Create loose-part letters

Loose parts are exactly what they sound like-a collection of loose materials or objects. These can be small pebbles, bottle caps, random LEGO bricks, seeds, keys-anything. Draw big letters on a piece of paper and have kids line up loose parts to make the letter.

Recognizing letters is a fundamental part of learning how to read. Without it, children struggle to learn letter sounds and identify words. Beginning readers who know their alphabet have a much easier time learning to read. Making alphabet practice a part of every day in fun ways helps create a lifelong love for letters and words.

What games and activities do you like to use for practicing the alphabet? Come share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out our favorite activities using alphabet beads and the best alphabet books.

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36 Fun, Easy Ways for Kids To Practice Their ABCs

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Alphabet activities rule the early childhood classroom. Here are 36 different ways to give kids the practice they need to be ready to read.

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Watch this quick video to learn how to use this padlet.

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This is the for the Library District Summer Reading Challenge for 2025 (ignore that it says 2024). 

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This is the for the Library District Summer Reading Challenge for 2025 (ignore that it says 2024). 

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En Español For Kids & Teens (ages 0-17) Parents! Looking for solutions…

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Get an overview of the reading and writing skills that are typical for 5-year-olds. Remember that kids develop at different rates, so don't be worried if your child isn't doing some of these things yet. If you do have concerns, talk to your pediatrician, your child's teacher, or the reading specialist at school.

Reading

Understands left-to-right and top-to-bottom orientation for books and print.

Knows the parts of a book and their functions.

Recognizes and can name all uppercase and lowercase letters.

Enjoys being read to and can retell simple stories or what they learned in informational texts.

Uses descriptive language to explain and explore.

Recognizes letters and letter sounds.

Begins to match spoken words with written ones.

Identifies and uses rhyming words.

Can recognize beginning sounds and sometimes middle and end sounds in simple words.

Recognizes and uses "word families" (words that share certain letters and may also rhyme, for example: bat, hat, rat, sat).

Identifies the sounds of each letter in simple, one-syllable words.

Recognizes some "sight words," common words kids have to recognize instantly without sounding them out. A few examples are a, the, I, my, you, is, are.

Sound like they are reading when pretending to read (or reading a familiar book they've memorized).

Uses new vocabulary and grammar in own speech.

Connects information and events in texts to life and life to text experiences.

Likes to dramatize stories or parts of stories.

Can name some book titles and authors.

Correctly answers questions about stories read aloud.

Makes predictions based on illustrations or portions of stories.

Writing

Independently writes many uppercase and lowercase letters (although they may not be clearly written).

Writes own name (first and last) and the first names of some friends or classmates.

Begins to write some words they use and hear often.

Uses invented spelling - children at this age are translating the sounds of spoken words into writing.

Begins to build a bank of correctly spelled words.

Draws a picture that tells a story and adds labels to the picture.

Writes (unconventionally) to express own meaning.

Begins to write stories with some readable parts.

Looking at Writing

See examples of real writing from kindergarteners in our interactive resource, Looking at Writing.

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Get an overview of the reading and writing skills that are typical for 5-year-olds. Remember that kids develop at different rates, so don't be worried if your child isn't doing some of these things yet. If you do have concerns, talk to your pediatrician, your child's teacher, or the reading specialist at school.

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Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home

Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home

Learning to read begins at home through everyday interactions with children, long before they attend school. Your continued support of literacy development as children enter elementary school and progress through the grades positively affects their reading ability. We are pleased to provide these Family Activities with easy-to-follow instructions to help your child practice foundational reading skills. We invite you to view the short Family Videos for tips on how to use the activities to help your child grow as a reader. Using the Family Activities at home can help your child develop language, link sounds to letters, blend letters and word parts to read and write words, and read for understanding.

Connect with REL Southeast

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educational improvement; excellence in education; educational research; statistics; statistical data; statistical surveys; regional educational laboratory program; rel; rigorous studies; fast response projects; no child left behind

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REL Resource | Supporting Your Child's Reading at Home

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Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent-child interactions, long before children attend school. Your continued support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects your child's reading ability.

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By Amanda Morin

At a glance

Many kids who are ready for kindergarten can say the alphabet and count to 10.

Kindergarten readiness includes motor skills like holding a pencil and using scissors.

Self-care like getting dressed and not needing help in the bathroom are important kindergarten skills.

When kids are getting ready for kindergarten, many families wonder about academic skills. But self-care and social and emotional skills are important for kindergarten readiness, too. For example, does your child need help using the bathroom? Learn about the different kinds of skills kids are expected to have when they start kindergarten.

Speak in complete sentences and be understood by others most of the time

Use words to express needs and wants

Understand two-step directions

Make comparisons and describe relationships between objects like big/little, under/over, and first/last

Enjoy listening to stories

Know how to find the first page of a book and which way to flip the pages

Recognize familiar logos and signs, like stop signs

Recite the alphabet and identify most of the letters

Recognize and try to write their own name

Recognize when two words rhyme (like cat and bat)

Start to connect letter sounds to letters (like the sound of the first letter in their name)

Draw a picture to help express an idea

Count from 1 to 10 without skipping numbers

Match a number to a group of five or fewer items ("I see three cats")

Recognize and name basic shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle)

Understand more than and less than

Arrange three objects in the right order (like from smallest to biggest)

Name or point to the colors in a box of eight crayons

Use the bathroom and wash up on their own

Get dressed on their own (but may still need help with buttons, zippers, and shoelaces)

Know and can say their first and last name and age

Social and emotional skills

Separate from a parent or caregiver without getting overly upset

Interact with other kids

Pay attention for at least five minutes to a task an adult is leading, like listening to directions for an activity or discussing the day's weather during circle time

Use a pencil or crayon with some control

Use scissors

Copy basic shapes

Make distinct marks that look like letters and write some actual letters, especially the ones in their name

Put together a simple puzzle

Run

Jump with feet together

Hop on one foot

Climb stairs

Bounce a ball and try to catch it

How to help your rising kindergartner

Kids develop skills at different rates. It's not unusual for kids to have strong skills in one area and weak skills in other areas. Some states use kindergarten readiness tests to get a sense of which early learners might need extra help in some areas.

If you're concerned your child isn't ready for kindergarten, talk with your child's preschool teacher and work together to come up with a plan to address any trouble spots. You might also want to talk with your child's health care provider. Learn about the pros and cons of delaying kindergarten for a year.

Key takeaways

Kids develop skills at different rates and might be strong in some areas and weak in others.

Some states use kindergarten readiness tests to see if kids need extra help in certain areas.

If you're concerned your child might not be ready for kindergarten, talk to your child's preschool teacher about how to help.

Tell us what interests you

About the author

About the author

Amanda Morin is the director of thought leadership at Understood and author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education." She worked as a classroom teacher and early intervention specialist for more than a decade.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Kristen L. Hodnett, MSEd is a clinical professor in the department of special education at Hunter College in New York City.

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Many kids who are ready for kindergarten can say the alphabet and count to 10. Kindergarten readiness includes motor skills like holding a pencil and using scissors. Self-care like getting dressed and not needing help in the bathroom are important kindergarten skills. When kids are getting ready for kindergarten, many families wonder about academic skills.

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This practice guide was prepared for the WWC by Instructional Research Group under contract 91990020F325 (GRAPE T4).

The following research staff contributed to the guide: Madhavi Jayanthi, Russell Gersten, Rebecca Newman-Gonchar, Sarah Krowka, Kelly Haymond, Samantha Wavell, Joshua Furgeson, Julia Lyskawa, and Emily Rosen.

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early childhood education; prekindergarten or prek; preschool; social-emotional; executive function; mathematics; language and vocabulary for mathematics; academic language; literacy; vocabulary; language; shared reading

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WWC | Preparing Young Children for School

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This new practice guide, developed by the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) in conjunction with an expert panel, distills contemporary early childhood and preschool education research into seven easily comprehensible and practical recommendations that preschool educators can use to prepare young children for school.

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Welcome to the University of Florida Literacy Institute's Parent Resource Hub! This collection of web-based language and literacy resources was compiled and curated by UFLI faculty and graduate students. We are adding to and refining these resources regularly, so check back often!

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Welcome to the University of Florida Literacy Institute's Parent Resource Hub! This collection of web-based language and literacy resources was compiled and curated by UFLI faculty and graduate students. We are adding to and refining these resources regularly, so check back often!

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A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

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The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is home to 25 unique branches across Southern Neveda. The Library District nurtures the…

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Reading 101: A Guide for Parents

Welcome, parents! One of the most important gifts we can give our children is to help them learn to read and write so that they can succeed in school and beyond. Confident, active readers are able to use their reading skills to follow their passions and curiosity about the world. We all read for a purpose: to be entertained, to take a journey of the imagination, to connect with others, to figure out how to do something, and to learn about history, science, the arts, and everything else.

Learning to read is complex. Children don't learn one reading-related skill and then move on to the next in a step-by-step process. Instead, they are learning to do many things at the same time: decoding, reading with comfortable fluency, absorbing new vocabulary, understanding what the text says, and discovering that reading is pleasurable and builds knowledge about the world.

We hope this guide will give you a better understanding of what it takes to learn to read (and write) and how you can help your children grow as readers, writers, and learners!

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It's not an easy thing, learning to read and write. Discover what it takes to build important literacy skills, and how you can help your children grow as readers, writers, and thinkers!

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Parent Friendly Standards for Math and ELA- Kindergarten

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Parent Friendly Standards for Math and ELA- Kindergarten

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How people learn to read and write: a story

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The 7 Habits of Happy Kids resources. Please explore!

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Very Important "pre-reading" practice activities. 

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Very Important "pre-reading" practice activities. 

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The ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in spoken words is a critical skill for learning to read and spell.  Try some of these engaging activities with your student this summer.

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That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

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Reading Rockets- Amazing Resources for Parents

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Reading Rockets- Amazing Resources for Parents

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Check out some of the amazing resources that website has for parents!

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The Reading League’s Reading Buddies is an engaging foundational television series, based on the science of reading, that cleverly teaches underlying components of skillful word reading such as phonological awareness, letter names/sounds, and blending sounds to decode words. There are two full seasons available on YouTube to freely watch.

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READING BUDDIES™ - The Science of Reading

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Reading Buddies: /m/y reading buddies (Season 1 - Episode 1)

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ABCmouse.com helps kids learn to read through phonics, and teaches lessons in math, social studies, art, music, and much more! For kids ages 2 to 8.

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NWEA e-book

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Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) is a language arts program for grades PreK-5 that combines a multi-sensory approach to phonics with rich texts carefully sequenced to build content knowledge-so that students learn to read read to learn at the same time.

Every day in grades PreK-2, students complete one full lesson that builds foundational reading skills, as well as one full lesson that builds background knowledge. In Grades 3-5, students start to master the skills of reading, further opening up their worlds.

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Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) is a language arts program for grades PreK-5 that combines a multi-sensory approach to phonics with rich texts carefully sequenced to build content knowledge-so that students learn to read read to learn at the same time.

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Correct Tripod Pencil Grip for Writing. How to Hold a Pencil Correctly For Foundation & Kindergarten