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The first school activity is a multi-activity worksheet where the student is doing a rainbow, writing "down" with a crayon, tracing it with a pencil, report it. Then fill in two sentences using the word "down ." Next, build the dish, and find and spell the word. The second activity is reading a poem with an elbow partner and finding the words in the poem. All abilities and skill levels of students can do both activities.

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The take-home activity is also a set of the students' two simple poems. Each poem needs to be read by the student three times. If the student read both poems together, it would take about 15 minutes.

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These activities will bring the family together, away from the t.v and computer for a while.

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9 Early Literacy Activities For Kids | Parenting Tips & Advice

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Here are some reading and writing activities that take little paper or prep and can fill your home with letters, sounds and word fun.

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The first comprehension classroom activities I chose were both from Teacher pay Teachers. The first one was the same sound practice strips for beginning sounds. The Common core standards that were met were MN LA. RF.0.3.0.2, MN LA. RF.1.3.02 (Knight, 2018). The second activity is CVC sound boxes that allow the children to work on counting the number of syllables in the word while working on short or long vowel sounds. The following are the common core standards MN LA R. F.  0. 3. 0.1, MN LA R. F. 0. 3.0.1.b, MN LA. RF. 0.3.0.1.d, MN LA. RF. 0.3.0.1.a. If there are accommodations for the student, I will work with the special education teacher to ensure those happen.

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The take-home activity is a decodable CVC Sentence Building worksheet. The child uses the words in the boxes to make a sentence, and then they will copy the sentence below using either a crayon or a pencil to write with. Finally, the child can color the picture if they want to before returning it the next day to school (Terrific Teaching Tactics, 2022).

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The first school activity is Workin' on Syllables, which meets the MN common core standard MN LA. RF. O3. 02. The students will clap out how many syllables each word has. A student of all ability levels and skill levels can do this activity. (The Daily Alphabet, 2014). The second school activity is the Color the Rhyme Worksheet. For this worksheet, the student will be given an object, for example, BAT, and the student will need to color every one that ends with an AT, like CAT or HAT. A student of all ability levels and skill levels can do this activity. The MN common core standards for this worksheet are MN LA. RF. 03.02., MN LA. RF. 03.02 a (Frist In Class, n,d)

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The first school activity is a sequencing activity in which the student reads the story three times; next, they will find and color the sight words; and lastly, the student will order the story's events by sequencing. A student of all ability levels and skill levels can do this activity. If a student needs extra time, that is not a problem. (Down in Kinderville, n.d.) The second activity is rhyming cards. After the class would get done with the cards, and everyone turned theirs in, I would mix them up, and we would go over them as a class. Again, students of all abilities and skill levels can do this activity. (Rockin Readers, n.d.)

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The first classroom activity I chose was First Grade Vocabulary Builders unit one, which gives you nine weeks of words and will also break down the words and give them to the children three each week. A student of all ability levels and skill levels can do this activity. The Minnesota common core standards are M.N. L.A. L1.10.4.4, MN. L.A 1.10.4.4.a, MN L.A.L 1.10.5.5.c(Not So Wimpy Teachers, 202. The second activity is a sight word sentence unscramble worksheet that uses Dolch words from list 1. A student of all ability levels and skill levels can do this activity. If there are accommodations for the student, I will work with the special education teacher to ensure those happen. (Not so wimpy teacher, 2018).

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The take-home activity is Boggle, where the student can only use the letters listed several times on the board. There are also several letters of words the students need to find; one example is 6-plus letter words. However, only one letter in each box can be used one time. This would be a game for students to take home and work on with their parents or guardians.   There are MN core standards that I can share with anyone who would like them.

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This library of resources connects you with free, downloadable materials and organizations that support your child's early learning.

Raising Readers Resources

Raising Readers' Book Lists are lists for you to explore with your little. See every picture book we've ever given on a master list or filtered by age group (2, 3, 4, and 5 year old books).
Reading Tips Sheets for parents
Early Literacy throughout the Year are handouts offering a year's worth of ideas and activities to help you advance your child's emergent literacy skills.

January: Setting the Scene for Literacy - printable download

February: Creating a Love of Literacy - printable download

March: Promoting Oral Language - printable download

April: Building Vocabulary - printable download

May: Learning How Text Works - printable download

June: Playing with Sounds of Language - printable download

July: Building World Knowledge - printable download

August: Promoting Letter Recognition - printable download

September: Connecting Letters and Sounds - printable download

October: Building Genre Awareness - printable download

November: Building Comprehension - printable download

December: Promoting Writing - printable download

Maine Resources

Book Fairy Pantry Project is a family literacy movement sharing gently used, quality children's books to participating food pantries and WIC offices to be given to Maine families.

Dirigo Reads is a Maine-based organization with a mission to give a book each month of the school year to every Maine first grader attending public school.

Diverse BookFinder is an online collection of children's picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC).

Help me Grow Maine is a free service that connects parents and caregivers (of children ages birth to 8 years-old) to information and services about child development and community resources.

I'm Your Neighbor Books is a nonprofit organization that highlights the lives of New Arrivals and New Americans through the sharing of children's literature. I'm Your Neighbor Books is home to The Welcoming Library, a pop-up community conversation on immigration driven by a collection of picture books featuring new families.

Literacy for ME is a comprehensive Literacy for ME: Maine's Statewide Literacy Plan unifying the efforts of state agencies, community groups, and public schools to provide support to improve literacy achievement in Maine communities.

Literacy Volunteers provide student-focused tutoring in basic literacy and English as a Second Language at no charge to the student. Search the web for "literacy volunteers Maine" to find local affiliates.

Maine Adult Education provides adults with educational opportunities to gain and improve their literacy skills.

Maine Humanities uses books, poetry, and big ideas to promote meaningful connection and positive change in communities throughout Maine.

Maine Libraries provide diverse collections of books and many other resources in most Maine communities, large and small. Library services are designed to keep children engaged and families supported. Find a library closest to you by clicking the link.

Maine State Library shares emergent and early literacy resources and a list of projects that parents may be able to do at home using basic materials that you already have on hand.

Maine State Library's Early Literacy Calendar features Maine authors and illustrators. This free downloadable calendar has an early literacy activity for nearly every day of the week!

Our Shelves is a small company that provides subscription book boxes to families that feature books with racially an ethnically diverse, LQBTQ+, and feminist characters and families, among other currently under-represented identities in children's books. This project is based in Maine.
Talking Books Plus/Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (incl. children's books)
Reading Together to Build Healthy Brains Video (by MaineHealth's ChildHealth Team)

National Resources

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a quick tip to help parents and children nurture their relationship-by reading a book together.
Tips to Help Your Child Enjoy Reading Aloud Tips to Help Your Child Fall in Love with Reading Connect with a Book: Take 5 and Take Out a Book (video)
Other Reading Resources

Five Easy Ways to Encourage Early Literacy Skills: Talk, Sing, Read, Write, Play (pdf download)

America's Literacy Directory provides a list of literacy and educational resources for adult learners.

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is an organization working to ensure that all American adults have the opportunity to read, write, and comprehend in order to navigate the world with dignity-and to raise the next generation of readers.

The Basics shares tips to help bolster brain development for social-emotional and cognitive skill building among children ages zero to 3 in an easy-to-use format.

The Centers for Disease Control shares a full, updated list of developmental milestones for children 2 months to 5 years.

Diverse BookFinder is a go-to resource for parents who are looking for picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) children, families, and subjects. This project is based in Maine.

Unite For Literacy's Free Digital Library is a free digital library that includes over 500 books with narrations in 50+ languages.

Get Ready to Read supports educators, parents, and young children in the development of early literacy skills in the years before kindergarten.

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of public bookcases.

National Association for the Education of Young Children is the national voice of early childhood and early childhood professionals.

Our Shelves is a small company that provides subscription book boxes to families that feature books with racially an ethnically diverse, LQBTQ+, and feminist characters and families, among other currently under-represented identities in children's books. This project is based in Maine.

Reading Bright Start provides tips for parents and caregivers to help a child learn to read with reading resources and reading activities.

Reach Out and Read is a national program similar to Raising Readers with recommended book lists, information on the importance of reading aloud and reading tips.

Reading Rockets is a literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults like you can help.

We Need Diverse Books is an organization that strives to create a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book, offers a resource list of over 60 websites and organizations that share books set in marginalized communities.

Zero to Three provides resources to help parents support healthy growth, development, early language and literacy of their infants and toddlers.

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Parent and Community Resources - Raising Readers

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This library of parent resources connects you with free, downloadable materials and organizations that support your child's early learning.

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The take-home activity is a two-part worksheet. The first part is to look for hidden pictures that start with the letter on the page. For example, the student must find the alligator, the ant, the axe, the anchor, the astronaut, and the ambulance. Then the second part is to trace the letter a and make a row of the lowercase letters a's. (Tejeda, 2021).

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Talking to and reading with your pre-K child are two terrific ways to help them hear new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy ways to get new words into everyday talk.

Even very young children love to hear and learn new words! Help your child expand their word bank and knowledge of the world by using interesting and vivid words instead of simpler language in your everyday conversations. For example, instead of saying, "this pizza is good" you might say, "this pepperoni pizza tastes spicy."

Reading aloud exposes your child to lots of vivid language that is not found in books for beginning readers. When you come upon a new and interesting word, take the time to stop and ask your child what they think that word might mean in the context of the story. Then offer a kid-friendly definition of the word and connect it to a similar word and a shared experience.

Word learning and vocabulary growth takes time and patience. Don't expect your child to learn a new word after one conversation or one read aloud. True word learning happens after being exposed to words several times. We all learn about words throughout our lifetime. You're getting your child off to a great start by developing an early interest in words.

Try these vocabulary activities at home!

Read aloud every day

Reading aloud to your child and having your child read books on their own is the best way to increase their vocabulary. Books provide words they won't encounter in everyday conversations as the language of books is more complete and formal than talking. A great story also provides context and illustrations for learning a new word.

Bring in the nonfiction

Nonfiction and informational books (such as the picture books by Gail Gibbons and Sneed Collard) offer young children a treasure chest of new and interesting words about our world. If the book has a glossary, spend some time discussing the words with your child, and as you read aloud stop as often as needed to think about new words and how they connect to what your child already knows about.

Grocery store vocabulary

Use the items on the grocery shelf to give your child practice finding something above their belly button, below their nose, on the bottom shelf, and between other items on a shelf. Opportunities to use superlatives, those little endings that help describe size, are all around the grocery store. Have your child find a big fruit, a bigger fruit and the biggest fruit in the produce section. What's the smallest item in the cart? The largest item?

Explore your world

Visits to a museum, the zoo, the botanical garden, historical sites, and even your neighborhood park are terrific opportunities to introduce your child to new words. Spend some time looking at the signage and identifying new words, then connecting them to what you see right there.

Talk about new words during read alouds

Talking to and reading with your child are two terrific ways to help them hear and read new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words ("The book says, 'The boy tumbled down the hill,' and look at the picture! How do you think he went down the hill?") are easy ways to get new words into everyday talk.

Sharing a new word with your child doesn't have to take a long time: just a few minutes to talk about the word and then focus back on the book or conversation. Choose which words to talk about carefully - choosing every new word might make reading seem like a chore. The best words to explore with your child are ones that are common among adult speakers but are less common to see in the books your child might read.

When introducing new words to your young learner, keep the following four helpful hints in mind:

First, provide a simple, kid-friendly definition for the new word:

Enormous means that something is really, really big.

Second, provide a simple, kid-friendly example that makes sense within their daily life:

Remember that really big watermelon we got at the grocery store? That was an enormous watermelon!

Third, encourage your child to develop their own example:

What enormous thing can you think of? Can you think of something really big that you saw today? That's right! The bulldozer near the park was enormous! Those tires were huge.

Lastly, keep your new words active within your house.

Over the next few days and weeks, take advantage of opportunities to use each new vocabulary word in conversation. Kids often need to hear a new word in context ten times or more before they "know" that word.

Vocabulary apps

Reviews provided by Common Sense Media.

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Vocabulary: Activities for Your Pre-K Child

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Talking to and reading with your pre-K child are two terrific ways to help them hear new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy ways to get new words into everyday talk. Even very young children love to hear and learn new words!

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Research shows that children whose parents are involved in supporting their learning do better in school, but that's often a barrier for children whose parents aren't fluent speakers of English.

English-language-learner families are less likely than English-only families to attend parent-teacher conferences and other school-related events, U.S. Department of Education surveys have shown.

These families, most of whom are Latino, are also far less likely to volunteer or serve on school committees and attend school or class events-all important opportunities to communicate about students' academic progress.

Linguistic integration-the percent of dependent children whose parents are fluent speakers of English-is one of 13 indicators that make up the EdWeek Research Center's Chance-for-Success Index. The index examines the role education plays in providing opportunities throughout an individual's lifetime.

Across the United States, the percentage of children whose parents are fluent English speakers ranges from 67 percent in California to nearly 100 percent in Montana.

Roughly half of states have levels of linguistic integration that are higher than 90 percent. In 17 states and the District of Columbia, the percent of children whose parents are fluent English speakers is between 80 and 90 percent.

Levels of linguistic integration are below 80 percent in seven states-Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.

While language barriers affect student achievement, linguistic integration is just one factor that can influence academic outcomes. As the index reveals, boosting academic achievement is a complex process.

Some states that rate near the top of the index have relatively low levels of linguistic integration. The three states that rank highest on the overall index, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut, have had at least a 4 percentage point decrease in the number of English-speaking families since 2008, the year the EdWeek Research Center Chance-for-Success Index began its current scoring system.

Massachusetts ranks first on the overall index, with an A-minus grade, but 42nd for linguistic integration. New Jersey and Connecticut rank second and third respectively on the overall index, but in the bottom quarter of states for linguistic integration.

Conversely, some states struggled on the index despite high linguistic integration rankings.

Students in Montana and West Virginia face fewer language barriers than their peers in other states, but that does not necessarily translate to stronger academic achievement and adult outcomes.

Montana ranks first in the nation for linguistic integration, but only 28th overall, with a C-plus grade.

West Virginia has the second-highest level of linguistic integration, but ranks 49th overall on Chance for Success with a C- minus grade.

Louisiana and Mississippi also rank in the top 10 for linguistic integration, but fare much worse on the overall index, earning a C-minus and C grade respectively.

Developing Connections

Linguistic integration is part of the early foundation category of the Chance-for-Success Index, which also includes parental educational levels, family income, and other factors that can influence whether children start school ready to learn.

Under the index guidelines, all parents in the home must be fluent in English for a family to be considered linguistically integrated.

Having at least one English-speaking adult in the home increased the likelihood of a parent or guardian attending a school or class event, parent-teacher conference, or meeting with a guidance counselor, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Studies out of Boston University's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development have shown that parent involvement is a significant predictor of children's literacy skills, and that bonds formed with other parents at the school may help increase school involvement among Latino families.

A 2015 report from the Center for American Progress, " The Case for a Two-Generation Approach for Educating English Language Learners," makes the case that communities looking to improve education for school-aged English-language learners should also offer services to their parents.

The study found that limited English skills for parents and students "can create a poverty trap for families" and argues that engaging them simultaneously improves the academic and educational well-being of both generations.

Similarly, a 2015 report from the Education Commission on the States recommended that states do more to connect with English-learner families, including offering adult ELL community education classes to help bridge the language gap.

English-learners who do not reach proficiency can often end up illiterate in two languages, effectively unable to read or write in either.

Research from the Center for Early Education Development at the University of Minnesota indicates that parents whose primary language is Spanish-by far the most common language of English-learner families-or another language besides English, should encourage and support their child's development and literacy in the home language, which can benefit their English-learning.

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English Fluency Among Parents: Why It Matters for Student Success

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Research shows that children whose parents are involved in supporting their learning do better in school, but that's often a barrier for children whose parents aren't fluent speakers of English. English-language-learner families are less likely than English-only families to attend parent-teacher conferences and other school-related events, U.S. Department of Education surveys have shown.

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While the students play this game with their parents at home, they will learn sound deletion, among other beginning phonemic awareness skills, and have fun while doing it. This game is for all skill and ability levels; I would have students check out this game like a library book. Instead of only some people being able to take a game home, I would have some deletion worksheets.

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This site will have worksheets and educational games for your child to do on vocabulary.

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One of the most popular debates in early education is over when children should start learning to read. Some feel that teaching children literacy before kindergarten overworks their brains, while others believe that the earlier a child learns to read, the better. Advocates on both sides of the argument are passionate, and it can be hard to tell which side has it right.

As it turns out, the answer is more complex than you might think. Literacy is not just an academic skill but a multifaceted ability with psychological, social, and linguistic components.[1] Although most students won't learn reading fluency until elementary school, children naturally pick up pre-literacy skills from infancy onward.

Read on to discover how young children learn to read and the benefits of teaching pre-literacy skills before kindergarten. Then, learn how you can help your child or student develop a love of reading from birth to kindergarten and up.

When Should Children Learn Foundational Reading Skills?

Traditionalists often say that children who learn to read before kindergarten are not equipped to handle such a complicated skill. But the stages of reading development are much more varied than just being able to read books independently. Students who are read to and who learn basic reading skills before kindergarten have a more positive association with books and make substantial academic gains once they develop full literacy.[2]

The best way to reach young readers, especially struggling students, is to understand what emergent literacy is as well as the cognitive science behind it.[3] Once children start picking up language skills, they also develop abilities that will help them learn to read later on. The process of early childhood literacy starts in infancy, though some researchers believe it may begin before babies are born. "We have evidence," says Dr. Nell Duke, early education professor at the University of Michigan, "that even when children are in utero... there is a positive memory or association to that particular set of sounds" when their mothers read to them while they're in the womb.[4] These fundamental abilities that lead to reading later on are called pre-reading skills.

The definition of pre-reading is any skill or strategy that will help students learn to read in kindergarten, and a few examples include:

Phonological awareness, or the ability to distinguish sounds from one another

Listening skills

Learning new words

Print recognition, or knowing what books are and how to hold them

Blending sounds into complex words (like "read" + "ing" = reading)

Several other factors can affect the method in which a student picks up these skills. Only ⅓ of under-resourced students, for example, are read to daily in comparison to ⅔ of high-income students. This can lead to a pre-reading skills gap unless resources are provided to prevent it.[5] Additionally, some learning disabilities like dyslexia or ADHD can alter literacy development. Both parents and teachers can take steps, however, to lessen or prevent these deficiencies.

When a student develops literacy can vary anywhere from PreK to kindergarten or early first grade. But all children can and should learn essential pre-reading skills before they enter school.[6] During early childhood, this responsibility primarily falls on parents and any resources provided to them. Then, through PreK and elementary school, families and educators team up to provide a comprehensive literacy education for their students.

Guided Reading Activities for Babies and Toddlers

Despite programs that may claim otherwise, research agrees that it's impossible to teach babies how to read.[7] But that doesn't mean that infants and toddlers don't benefit from being read to. Even before children know how to talk, reading aloud to them can strengthen their pre-reading skills. Book exposure to babies and toddlers in particular can improve metalinguistic skills like phonological awareness or blending sounds.[8] And on a socioemotional level, doing fun pre-reading activities together can strengthen parent-child relationships during a critical bonding period.[9]

During this period, one trait parents can nurture in their child is a love of reading. You can encourage this through various pre-reading strategies, but a great way to do so for young kids is by reading with plenty of emotion. Even babies who don't understand language yet can pick up on happy tones and associate books with positive memories.[10] "There seems to be a particular power," says education professor Dr. Nell Duke, "in... reading aloud books to children."[11]

Another skill young children can learn during this stage is print recognition. "Certainly one of the things we want," says Dr. Duke, "is for children to become very familiar with print."[12] Take your child to the library regularly and gather a variety of books for them to read. Try to choose books on subjects that they're interested in so they associate reading with happy memories. This can help your child learn to not only recognize what books are but teach them that books are enjoyable.

The more that parents are involved in pre-reading development, the greater a child's academic gains later on.[13] Try to plan a special reading time with your child every day to get them into a routine.[14] Usually, young children have short attention spans so make this time brief-even one or two picture books a day can have a positive effect. To increase family bonding, turn off your phone or other distractions so the time feels special to your child.

Turning PreK Children into Beginning Readers

PreK is the time where if you haven't already, you should begin teaching children letter recognition. Students who develop reading fluency quickest in school are those who know the letter names before they enter kindergarten.[15] Point out words or letters to your child while reading aloud together and try to prompt your child to give their name. This will build critical skills that students can use to develop early reading comprehension later on.

You can also use this as an opportunity to play phonological awareness activities with your child to help them learn letter sounds. While reading a picture book together, for example, try choosing a letter and asking them what sounds it makes. Or while driving or walking around town, ask them for the name and sounds of a letter on a street sign or billboard.[16] Soon, your child may even start to recognize and point out letters without your prompting.

Another fun reading activity for preschoolers is to focus not just on emotions but big idea questions while reading aloud.[17] This can prepare children to develop and use critical thinking while they learn to read. If you're reading a Cinderella picture book, for example, you could ask your child, "What would you do if you lost your glass slipper?" You may be surprised with how thoughtful your PreK child's responses become over time.

Although children do not need to learn to write until kindergarten, one simple activity you could do with your PreK student is help them learn to write their name.[18] That way, they'll know how to hold a pen or pencil and write their name on assignments once they enter school. And since children are often inherently interested in their own name, this assignment can be not only useful but fun, too. If you like, you could also teach them how to write standalone letters and very simple words (like "Mom" or "Hi").

By the end of the PreK period, your child should become an emergent reader. The definition of emergent reader is a student who can recognize the alphabet and has a strong familiarity with books, among other metalinguistic skills. Not every child learns to read words by the time they start kindergarten, but helping them develop pre-reading abilities will prepare them for school success.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten

Once children enter kindergarten, they are ready to start learning basic reading skills. One of the best ways for students to pick up reading skills and strategies, according to a 2018 study, is by using a multisensory approach.[19] Whether you're teaching students in a classroom or your own child at home, try to include audio or visual components. You could, for example, have regular read-alouds or try online reading activities. For early readers especially, multisensory instruction can help them grasp the fundamentals of literacy.

Once children start reading picture books on their own, try to treat reading as a form of entertainment.[20] If children see reading as fun, they're more likely to pick up books without being prompted. The more students read on their own, the better their literacy and writing skills will develop through exposure. Plus, they'll be more likely to see reading as an intrinsic reward instead of a task.

If your child or student didn't start learning to write in PreK, try helping them write a letter to a friend or family member later in the year. Encourage them to use short words and simple sentences so they can rely as much as possible on their own knowledge. Again, this will help students see reading and writing as enjoyable while sharpening their emergent reader skills. If they want to add a word they don't know how to spell, walk them through writing the word while pointing out each letter and letter sound.

For teachers, involve parents in reading activities for kindergarten students as much as you can. You could, for example, assign take-home books or send class newsletters with reading tips for families. Research suggests that if children are taught how to read both at home and at school, their academic gains are higher than their non-home reading peers.[21] Plus, since parents are often unsure how to best help children learn to read, offering help can give them the confidence to teach at home.

Benefits of Teaching Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood

The benefits of reading to children and teaching pre-reading skills from infancy onward are profound. Even simple activities like family read-alouds encourage healthy brain development.[22] But the importance of literacy in early childhood doesn't stop with academics. Students who learned pre-reading skills before kindergarten often develop a stronger sense of curiosity and better listening skills, too.[23]

More than half (59%) of all children are not prepared for school when they begin kindergarten, and ⅔ of students do not develop reading proficiency by the end of third grade.[24] One of the greatest indicators of whether a student develops kindergarten readiness is how much exposure they had to books as a young child. Children who are taught pre-reading skills early on tend to make greater overall academic gains than those who were not read to as often.

In short, the benefits of teaching early reading are:

Increased kindergarten readiness

Improved memory

Better listening skills

Stronger sense of curiosity

Higher academic gains

Whether you're a parent or an educator, you have an important role to play in teaching kids how to read. The path to literacy begins at birth, and even simple reading activities can have a substantial effect. The earlier parents and educators can help students develop these skills, the greater their literacy gains throughout their academic career.
Sources:
Strickland, D.S. Emergent Literacy: How Young Children Learn to Read and Write. Educational Leadership, March 1990, pp. 18-23.[1]

American Academy of Family Physicians. Early Childhood Literacy. Retrieved from aafp.org: https://www.aafp.org/patient-care/social-determinants-of-health/child-literacy.html.[2]

Torgeson, J.K. Lessons Learned from Research on Interventions for Students Who Have Difficulty Learning to Read. The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research, 2004, pp. 355-82.[3]

Jacobs, L., and Duke, N.K. Pre-K Comprehension Development & Instruction for Ed Equity and Learning. EduTalk Radio, August 2018.[4]

American Association of Pediatrics. Evidence Supporting Early Literacy and Early Learning. Retrieved from aap.org: https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Literacy/For-Professionals/Evidence-Supporting-Early-Literacy-and-Early-Learning/booksbuildconnections_evidencesupportingearlyliteracyandearlylearning.pdf.[5]

Mason, J.M. When Do Children Begin to Read: An Exploration of Four Year Old Children's Letter and Word Reading Competencies. Reading Research Quarterly, 1980, 15(2), pp. 203-27.[6]

Devitt, J. Can babies learn to read? No, NYU study finds. Retrieved from eurekalert.org: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/nyu-cbl022514.php.[7]

AAP News. Reading with children starting in infancy gives lasting literacy boost. Retrieved from aappublications.org: http://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/05/04/PASLiteracy050417.[8]

American Association of Pediatrics. Evidence Supporting Early Literacy and Early Learning. Retrieved from aap.org: https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Literacy/For-Professionals/Evidence-Supporting-Early-Literacy-and-Early-Learning/booksbuildconnections_evidencesupportingearlyliteracyandearlylearning.pdf.[9]

American Academy of Pediatrics. Why is it Never Too Early to Read With Your Baby? Retrieved from aap.org: https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Literacy/For-Families/Why-It-Is-Never-Too-Late-To-Early-With-Your-Baby/booksbuildconnections_whyitisnevertooearlytoreadtoyourbaby.pdf.[10]

Jacobs, L., and Duke, N.K. Pre-K Comprehension Development & Instruction for Ed Equity and Learning. EduTalk Radio, August 2018.[11]

Ibid.[12]

AAP News. Reading with children starting in infancy gives lasting literacy boost. Retrieved from aappublications.org: http://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/05/04/PASLiteracy050417.[13]

American Academy of Pediatrics. Why is it Never Too Early to Read With Your Baby? Retrieved from aap.org: https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Literacy/For-Families/Why-It-Is-Never-Too-Late-To-Early-With-Your-Baby/booksbuildconnections_whyitisnevertooearlytoreadtoyourbaby.pdf.[14]

American Academy of Family Physicians. Early Childhood Literacy. Retrieved from aafp.org: https://www.aafp.org/patient-care/social-determinants-of-health/child-literacy.html.[15]

Gough, P.B. How children learn to read and why they fail. Annals of Dyslexia, January 1996, 46(1), pp. 1-20.[16]

Scholes, L. Should my young child already be reading? Retrieved from greatschools.org: https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/young-children-reading/.[17]

National Education Association. Helping Your Child Learn to Read. National Education Association, 2007.[18]

Smith, G.J., Booth, J.R., and McNorgan, C. Longitudinal Task-Related Functional Connectivity Changes Predict Reading Development. Frontiers in Psychology, December 2018, pp. 6-12.[19]

Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., Serpell, R., Scher, D., Truit, V.G., and Munsterman, K. Parental Beliefs about Ways to Help Children Learn to Read: The Impact of an Entertainment or a Skills Perspective. Early Child Development and Care, 127 (1), 1997, pp. 111-18.[20]

Cuckle, P. Children Learning to Read - exploring home and school relationships. British Educational Research Center, February 1996, pp. 17-32.[21]

American Association of Pediatrics. Evidence Supporting Early Literacy and Early Learning. Retrieved from aap.org: https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Literacy/For-Professionals/Evidence-Supporting-Early-Literacy-and-Early-Learning/booksbuildconnections_evidencesupportingearlyliteracyandearlylearning.pdf.[22]

American Academy of Family Physicians. Early Childhood Literacy. Retrieved from aafp.org: https://www.aafp.org/patient-care/social-determinants-of-health/child-literacy.html.[23]

Ibid.[24]

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How to Teach Reading Skills from Cradle to Kindergarten - Waterford.org

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One of the most popular debates in early education is over when children should start learning to read. Some feel that teaching children literacy before kindergarten overworks their brains, while others believe that the earlier a child learns to read, the better.

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Browse Word Pattern Games | Education.com

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Browse Word Pattern Games. Award winning educational materials designed to help kids succeed. Start for free now!

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Parents with children aged 5-6 often ask what their child should know to be prepared for kindergarten. One question I have received multiple times is if there is a list of words that children should learn to be ready for kindergarten.

In answering this question, I want to start with a word of caution. As the old saying goes, "Don't put the cart before the horse." In this article, we will discuss where sight words and high-frequency words fit within the scope of an early reading program and where your time will be better spent when working with your early reader on emergent literacy skills.
Related: Is My Kid Ready for Kindergarten? Kindergarten Readiness Checklist
What Are Sight Words or High-Frequency Words?

When teachers talk about sight words, they are referring to the words children will come across most often in their reading. We also refer to sight words as high-frequency words (although there are differences between these two terms, they are often used interchangeably).

Most high-frequency words and sight words that children should know by 1st grade, 2nd grade, or 3rd grade are listed on The Dolch Sight Word Lists or the Fry Sight Word Lists.

By mid-to-late kindergarten, your child should have a bank of basic sight words they can read automatically. I like using "automatically" rather than, "by sight" when thinking about high-frequency words.

While the difference between the two ways of thinking about sight words may seem slight, there is a big difference. Your child should not be relying on memorization to read sight words.

Instead of memorizing words, students should be looking at words and recognizing sounds, letters, and other phonetic elements within words. With practice, this decoding and recognition of a word will take place in the blink of an eye, or with automaticity.

How to Teach Sight Words to Kindergarteners

If a child is learning to read high-frequency words by rote memorization only, this can be laborious and have little transfer to other reading skills. In addition, it is important to note that most (nearly 2/3 of the sight words listed on the Dolch list) are phonetically regular and the early reader can use their decoding skills to read and have access to these new words.

The remaining words that may have irregular phonetic elements, typically have some features within the word that are decodable. With quality phonics instruction, most of the irregular (or less common) phonics rules will be taught to your learner and they will be able to decode new words or irregular words in time.

Ultimately, children should understand the phonics principles that drive the way words are written rather than memorizing words by a visual cue or rote memorization. There is far more return on investment in teaching the underlying phonics rules than memorizing a list of sight words, especially for early readers.

Understand Phonemic Awareness First

In the years before kindergarten, your child will likely show attention and interest in language. This is the time your child is developing phonological awareness. Phonological awareness provides a strong foundation for reading development. It is the ability to recognize, work with, and manipulate sounds in spoken language.

For your emergent reader, a focus on phonemic awareness is crucial. This will set the stage for your learner to understand the principles taught in phonics instruction in the coming year. Using flashcards, or memorizing long lists of words will not set your child up for success in reading.

A focus on rote memorization of words (sight word flashcards, kindergarten sight word lists, worksheets that promote memorization) does not benefit your child's reading development in the same way that providing engaging phonemic awareness opportunities and quality phonics instruction will.

Start your literacy journey with a focus on phonemic awareness, reading aloud to your child, and providing language-rich experiences. Work towards building an understanding of the alphabetic principle as a goal for getting your pre-K learner ready for the school year.

Remember, The English Language Is Logical

There is a misconception that the English language is full of illogical rules and difficult spelling patterns, and for that reason, some words must be memorized to be learned. If there is one thing I hope you walk away from this article knowing, it is that the English language is not chaotic, rather it has a defined set of rules.

When we teach children words and word rules (through quality phonics instruction), children will better understand how to decode words. Through good instruction and practice, learners will build a bank of sight words that they can read easily, and decode quickly.

When English language rules are systematically taught, your child will have the key to unlock multiple words. This sets your child up to become a skillful reader.

There are other added benefits of focusing on phonics instruction rather than rote memorization, such as learners who understand the rules of the English language becoming strong spellers and also enriching their vocabulary development as they begin to understand prefixes, suffixes, root words, and even Greek and Latin meanings.

Decoding Regular and Irregular Words with Kindergartners

Some English words are easy to sound out, for example, the word cat (/c/ /a/ /t/). If an early reader knows each sound in the word cat, they should be able to break the word up and sound it out successfully. Other words need further phonics instruction to decode correctly. For example, a high-frequency word in kindergarten is /for/.

If you sound out the individual letters in the word for (/f/ /o/ /r/) you will come up with a word that sounds closer to /far/ than /for/. This is because of the r-controlled vowel.

Children will eventually learn that when they see /or/ together, the /r/ will change the sound of the /o/. Then, instead of looking at the word /for/ as individual letters to decode, learners will use their phonics knowledge (connected to r-controlled vowels) to break up the word /for/ like, /f/ /or/ when decoding.

You can see that as children are taught phonics rules, they become better decoders and, with practice, quicker decoders. The more your kindergartner sees high-frequency words and decodes them, their speed and recognition abilities will increase. Students will begin to see the word /for/ and other common sight words and their braids will decode it automatically because they have worked with, read, and understand the principles of phonics connected to the word.

Where Do Sight Words Fit Into An Early Reading Program?

Let's think a little more about the last example of a common kindergarten sight word. The word /for/ is a good example of a sight word or high-frequency word because learners will see it often in text, and they will likely know the alphabetic principle by the time they are working to read this word (they will know the /f/, /o/, and /r/ sounds).

On a student's path to reading, Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, and Tina Osenga (2019) suggest, "Teaching 10-15 pre‐reading high-frequency or sight words only after students know letter names, but before they start (more in-depth) phonics instruction."

This focus on waiting until students learn the letters and their names will help early readers not become frustrated as they understand letters, sounds, and word parts of the high-frequency words presented.

In short, teaching sight words, couched in phonics instruction, can be a tool for children as they learn to read. As they continue to receive quality phonics instruction and study language, the reasons (and rules) for understanding how to decode irregular words will be explained.

Examples of Sight Words For Kindergartners and Early Readers:

Here are some of the most common first sight words for kindergartners to learn.

How Many Sight Words Should Kids Know Before Kindergarten?

You may have heard that a child needs to learn anywhere from 100-300 high-frequency or sight words by the end of first grade. While it is true that teachers aim for the automaticity of high-frequency words, and that this automaticity helps the child when reading, this does not mean children should be memorizing hundreds of words or focusing too much time on sight word games or worksheets.

Instead, pre-school and kindergarten students should be building their sight word knowledge through quality instruction and proritizing phonetic concepts and rules over individual word memorization. As they do this, their bank of sight words will increase naturally.

Reading Automaticity vs. Rote Memorization

As Beth Villani suggests, "following a systematic scope and sequence for teaching phonics patterns and providing enough practice for each new letter pattern is critical." This instruction and practice will help students build a bank of known words (and word families) that they can access quickly when reading.

Automaticity in reading, or the ability to quickly and accurately recognize and decode words, comes from strong core instruction that includes phonological awareness and phonics. By the end of first grade, with proper instruction, your child should have a large bank of words they know based on their instruction, word work, repeated exposure, and practice.

If you are seeing long lists of sight words for your student to memorize, large stacks of printable flashcards coming home, assigned basic sight word lists, or sight word worksheets that have more to do with memorization than phonics instruction, this would be a red flag that far too much focus is being placed on recall or memorization and not enough on phonics instruction.

Conclusion: Developing A Skilled Reader in Kindergarten

The question parents should ask at this early reading stage is not: "How many words should I teach my child before Kindergarten?"

A better question is, "How can I ensure the appropriate instruction takes place that includes phonological awareness and phonics instruction, so my student can set the stage to become a skilled reader?"

While some high-frequency or sight words may be taught to your child in the coming year, this focus should be a minimal part of an overall reading program.

As children become more confident with their decoding skills, begin to learn phonics rules, and have repeated exposure to words in a language-rich environment, they will find greater automaticity and their sight word and high-frequency word confidence will increase. They will also better understand the conventions of English which will prove far more valuable than memorizing lists of words.

For more resources on teaching sight words to pre-K and kindergarten students, check out these 5 Activities to Practice Sight Words with Kids.

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Should I Teach My Child Sight Words To Prepare Them For Kindergarten?

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Parents with children aged 5-6 often ask what their child should know to be prepared for kindergarten. One question I have received multiple times is if there is a list of words that children should learn to be ready for kindergarten. In answering this question, I want to start with a word of caution.

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Apps are fun and motivating for kids! Let Reading Rockets help you find the very best educational apps that provide practice with essential skills in print awareness, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. We've also included apps for children with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder that support organization and goal-setting, language and communication, and emotional regulation.

Find more recommendations, from the experts at Common Sense Education: Apps and Websites to Build Literacy Skills: Top Picks.

Recommended Apps by Topic

Apps that give kids tools for communicating with others, through simple pictures, picture-based stories, and text-to-speech. (Selected especially for children with autism or Aspergers.)

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Apps are fun and motivating for kids! Let Reading Rockets help you find the very best educational apps that provide practice with essential skills in print awareness, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. We've also included apps for children with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder that support organization and goal-setting, language and communication, and emotional regulation.

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Creating a word family chart with the whole class or a small group builds phonemic awareness, a key to success in reading. Students will see how words look alike at the end if they sound alike at the end - a valuable discovery about our alphabetic writing system.

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Learning to read can be quite an overwhelming task for small children. In fact, if you think about it, it's astounding that children are even capable of learning to read in such a short amount of time. However, before they begin to read print, they must have an adequate foundational understanding of how sounds in words work. That is where phonemic awareness comes into play.

What is phonemic awareness?

In easy-to-understand terms, phonemic awareness is the ability to identify, think about, and manipulate sounds in spoken speech. This is NOT the same as phonics. Phonemic awareness is actually a critical skill that is a precursor to reading letters. That's why phonemic awareness instruction should NEVER involve print. If you find yourself working with letters or printed words, then you have skipped a step and crossed the line into phonics. This is a very important point. Research tells us that it's essential to focus on phonemic awareness in the classroom before reading can begin. We want to ensure that children have a solid understanding of the sounds of speech before we start phonics instruction.

Nowadays, we are facing an added difficulty, though. In today's early-childhood classrooms, teachers are feeling an ever-increasing pressure to get their students reading. It is easy to lose sight of the developmental process and try to skip steps in order to get our kids reading books as soon as possible. There is just one problem: skipping steps is not going to work. Children's progress in reading will be limited if they haven't learned to think about the sounds in words.

As early childhood teachers, we need to remember that we can't skip past phonemic awareness skills. We can't just barge ahead in the hope that all of our students have arrived in our classroom complete with the full-blown skills of thinking about and manipulating sounds in their minds. On the other hand, we also can't afford to spend a lot of time doing phonemic-awareness instruction. I am happy to tell you the good news that we don't have to! Phonemic awareness instruction can and should be done in small pockets of time throughout the school day. In fact, oral language and phonemic awareness can often be taught and reinforced in as little as five to ten minutes per day.

Here are five quick, easy, and fun phonemic awareness activities that are perfect for the beginning of the school year in any early childhood classroom. Yes, you heard me correctly - that word was F-U-N. I know fun has become an undesirable notion in many schools today. But I assure you that these activities will be fun and that your students really will learn about our amazing language! I have also included activities that require little or no preparation - things you can do on the fly! Although these activities don't cover the full range of phonemic awareness skills needed to produce great readers, they are still fantastic activities to begin any school year!

Listening

The ability to listen closely is a key ingredient of phonemic awareness. This is the part of instruction that is skipped most often, because teachers assume that young children know how to listen. They may not! Furthermore, if they don't, they're not ignoring you. It's just that they don't understand what "listen closely" means. They have to be taught.

The Listening Game.

One of the first phonemic-awareness activities I do with my students, even as soon as the first day, is to bring their attention to noises. After lunch, we come back to the classroom and all the children lie quietly on the floor. It's not naptime, but it's a great time to unwind, which is important for young children. As we lie there quietly for five to ten minutes, we listen for sounds. We all stay perfectly still and quiet. We become "sound spotters." We don't use our eyes - we use our ears. There are always sounds and weird noises you can hear in a school building. We may hear the air conditioner, doors closing, teachers talking, stomachs growling. The possibilities are endless! Your part is to talk about the sounds you and the children hear. Use a little teacher enthusiasm and exaggeration to get the kids interested in this activity. The key phrase is, "Who can spot a sound with their ears?"

"Moo-Moo," Where Are You?

I love playing this game with my class. The kids have a ball, too. In fact, they simply think we are playing.

How to play: All the children sit in a circle. One child lies down in the middle of the circle and covers his or her eyes. The teacher chooses another child to go somewhere in the room and pretend to be a cow by making a "moo-moo" sound. The child in the middle of the circle - with eyes still covered - points in the direction of the animal sound. This game is great because it gets children to listen closely for sounds and for where the sounds are coming from. It also prepares their ears to listen more closely to sounds in words. When the child in the middle correctly identifies the sound and direction, he or she gets to go next and make a different animal sound.

Rhyming

Rhyming is such a great phonemic awareness activity! Most children easily grasp the concept of rhyme. Some need a little help, though. Using word-play with rhyming helps children notice that sounds in our language have meaning and follow certain patterns. Again, this is a precursor skill to seeing sound patterns reproduced in print - as a phonemic awareness practice, it is purely auditory.

The absolute best way to introduce rhyming to your students is by reading lots of fun rhyming books, poems, and songs. Act silly and have fun! The more fun you have with the rhymes, the more the kids will notice the rhymes and enjoy the activities. Exaggerate the silliness of the rhyme. The poem "Down By the Bay" and the book "Silly Sally" are perfect examples of how rhyme can be super fun!

In My Box

This game is great to use after your students have at least some understanding of how rhyming works. That means you have already read lots of rhyming books, poems, and songs and played with those rhyming words.

How to play: Get a small box and place some pictures in it with pairs of familiar words that rhyme (like box/socks, cat/hat, or chair/bear). Use enough pictures so that everyone in your class has a turn. Sit in a circle with your students. Start with a child you know is strong in rhyming. Hold the box and choose a picture. If the picture shows a cat, say "In my box, there's a cat". Call on him or her to come up with a rhyming word. The child might say, "In my box, there's a hat" (or some other rhyming word). After he or she answers with a rhyming word, hand him or her the box. Now he or she gets to choose a card and continue the play.

Syllables

Working with and noticing syllables within words is important, because it makes students aware of how words can be split up into smaller parts, according to their sounds. Our ultimate goal is to work on individual phonemes (vowels or consonants), but children must first learn the concept of "parts of words." It's easier for young children to start with larger parts of words and then work their way down to the smaller, discrete individual sounds of phonemes. We are building a bridge from hearing words to hearing phonemes.

Bippity Boppity Bumble Bee

This is such a fun game. You get the kids clapping out names, first. As they get used to the game, you can start using other words with more syllables.

How to play: Sit in a circle with your students. I have a little stuffed bee that the kids love to hold. You could also use a printable bumble bee. The teacher begins the chant and walks around to a child:

Teacher: "Bippity Boppity Bumble Bee, Will You Say Your Name For Me?"

The child responds, "Jennifer."

Teacher: " Let's all say it." And the class says her name out loud, while clapping once for each syllable.

Teacher: "Let's all whisper it." And the class whispers her name, while quiet-clapping the syllables again, once per syllable.

Teacher and class: "Bippity Boppity Bumble Bee, Thank You For Saying Your Name For Me!"

Repeat with another student and his/her name. As students become familiar with the game, you can allow students to take on the "teacher" role.

Old MacDonald

Here is another great game that you can use to give the students practice in listening to syllables and putting them together into words. It follows the pattern of the song, Old MacDonald. By the time I use this activity with my class, we have read and sung Old MacDonald hundreds of times, so the song is well-known to the students.

How to play: The teacher begins by telling the students they are going to learn a new game - it's a different version of Old MacDonald, and it's kind of a silly version. The teacher begins singing, "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm he had a /ti/ /ger/, E-I-E-I-O". Of course, the kids think the introduction of the tiger is wildly funny, but notice what they have actually done: Without being told, they have mentally combined the syllables /ti/ and /ger/ to realize what the animal was! It's huge! Then I show the children a picture of a tiger and they feel proud that they figured out the animal - and they think it's too funny! Again it's lots of fun, and they really think we are just playing a game.

The most important thing to keep in mind as an early childhood teacher is that phonemic awareness can be such a fun time! It shouldn't be long drawn-out lessons. All you need is five-to-ten-minute pockets of time each day. Phonemic awareness activities are also great to use during transition times throughout the day. I often use the ten minutes before lunch, and sometimes during group restroom breaks, to practice and reinforce listening and oral language skills. And the payoff is big! If you give phonemic awareness the attention it deserves, your students will be richly rewarded when it's time for them to start reading!

So now you know some of my secrets - the teaching games I use myself! I've had success with them, so I'm sure that if you make them your own, not only will you have fun with them in your classroom, but your students, too, will have an easier time with reading and go further faster!

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5 Quick, Easy, and Fun Phonemic Awareness Activities

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Learning to read can be quite an overwhelming task for small children. In fact, if you think about it, it's astounding that children are even capable of learning to read in such a short amount of time. However, before they begin to read print, they must have an adequate foundational understanding of how sounds in words work.