10 Kindergarten Readiness Skills Your Child Needs

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/kindergarten-readiness-secrets/
What do teachers really want your child to know on the first day of
kindergarten? Kindergarten is changing and parents are feeling pressure to
prepare their children for their first school experience. But while some may fret
that reading and doing addition are prerequisites for kindergarten these days,
your child likely possesses many of the skills she needs to be successful as
she begins school.
“Some of the things I would like my kids to know coming into kindergarten are their
letters and some sounds, recognition of numbers 1-10, be able to write and recognize
their name and be able to cut with scissors,” says kindergarten teacher Nicole Barton.
“It is also important for them to be able to follow directions and to have the ability to
express their feelings.”
Here are the 10 kindergarten readiness skills to focus on as you work with your child.
Don't be concerned if she does not have them all down before the first day of
kindergarten, as she will continue to work on them throughout the year. Try a few
activities listed for the skills your child might need to work on a bit more before she
starts school.
1. Writing

 Help your child practice writing letters, especially the letters in her name.
 Teach your child how to write her name with an uppercase first letter and the remaining
letters in lowercase.
 Write in shaving cream in the bathtub, salt or sugar in a cake pan or in finger paint to
make practicing more fun and multisensory.

2. Letter Recognition

 Play games to help your child recognize some letters of the alphabet.
 Play hide and seek with refrigerator magnets.
 Rather than drilling your child with flashcards, use them to play a game of alphabet go
fish.

3. Beginning Sounds

 Make your child aware of the sound that each letter makes.
 Find items around the house that begin with the same sound and identify the letter that
makes each sound.
 Overemphasize the first sound in words to help your child hear the individual sounds in
words.

4. Number Recognition and Counting

 Count throughout the day (for example, the crackers she is eating for snack or the
socks in that you take out of the dryer).
 Point out numbers you see in your environment and have your child name them (for
example, the numbers found on food boxes or street signs).

5. Shapes and Colors

 If your child is having trouble recognizing certain colors, you might add a little food
coloring to cookie dough, milk or vanilla pudding to emphasize those colors.
 Help your child recognize more difficult shapes such as diamonds and rectangles by
showing her how to draw them on paper and cut them out.
 Play games in which your child finds objects of particular colors and shapes around the
house or in the neighborhood as you drive.

6. Fine Motor Skills

 Give your child several different writing options (colored pencils, crayons or markers) to
help keep her interested in writing and drawing.
 Playing with play dough is a fun way to strengthen the muscles of the hand that will be
used for writing.

7. Cutting

 Purchase a good pair of child-safe scissors and let your child practice.
 Give her old magazines or newspapers to cut up, or allow her to make a collage of the
things she likes by cutting them from magazines and gluing them to a piece of paper.
 Cutting play dough is also fun for children.

8. Reading Readiness

 Run your finger under the words as you read to your child to help her learn that words
go from left to right and top to bottom.
 Play games with rhyming words to help your child hear similar sounds in words. For
example, as you are going up the stairs, name one word that rhymes with cat for each
step as you go up.

9. Attention and Following Directions

 Read lots of stories with your child and work up to reading longer chapter books, one
chapter each night or as long as she remains interested and focused.
 Give your child two and three step directions. For example: "put on your pajamas, brush
your teeth and pick a book to read."
 Play Simon Says with two or three step directions. For example: "Simon Says jump up
and down and shout hooray."

10. Social Skills

 Give your children opportunities to interact with other children in preschool, church or
social groups or play dates.
 Teach your child how to express her feelings if she doesn’t like something.
 Role-play different situations she might experience on the playground or at school. Help
her find solutions for typical problems she might encounter.

Chances are you're already practicing many of these skills your child will need for
kindergarten. Remember to keep it fun and don’t make it stressful for you or your child.
With just a little fun practice, your child will be prepared for her elementary school debut!

Phonics and Word Recognition Instruction in Early Reading

Programs: Guidelines for Accessibility
By: David J. Chard and Jean Osborn (1999)
Abstract

This article examines the content and instructional plans of phonics and word recognition to be used with
children with reading disabilities. Information is provided about the content of effective word- recognition
instruction. Guidelines are included based on this information as well as on 4 other aspects of reading
instruction (i.e., oral language development, print awareness, reading aloud, and independent wide reading)
that are central to any accessible and effective classroom program. These guidelines will assist educators in
selecting programs that enable all children to be successful in learning to read.

The goals of reading instruction are many, but certainly include that children will read with confidence, that
they will understand what they read, and that they will find reading a source of knowledge and pleasure. To
achieve these goals with all children, an effective classroom program of beginning reading instruction must
provide children with a wide variety of experiences that relate to a number of important aspects of reading.

Some of these experiences focus on meaning. For example, children take part in oral language activities that
concentrate on concept and vocabulary development; children hear good stories and informational texts read
aloud; they read and discuss with other children what they read, often under the guidance of their teachers.

Other experiences focus on word recognition of printed words as children engage in print awareness, letter
recognition, writing, and spelling activities. Children take part in phonics lessons and word-recognition strategy
instruction. They learn that the sounds in spoken words relate to the patterns of letters in written words in
predictable and often generalizable ways. As they read books and other print materials, children learn to
combine their knowledge of print and sounds with their knowledge of language to read with meaning and
enjoyment. It is evident that no one aspect of a beginning program should monopolize instructional time.

Word-recognition Instruction

Many publishers - both large and small - have developed programs of phonics and word-recognition
instruction. Some of the phonics and word-recognition instruction are integrated in large basal reading
programs and others are in supplemental programs narrowly focused to address one aspect of instruction.
Many teachers teach phonics and word recognition by using the district's commercially published basal reading
program, typically a program of instruction that includes grade-level materials for teaching reading with a
teacher's guide and student reading materials as well as ancillary materials that support the primary
components. These programs often contain phonics and word-recognition activities embedded in a sequence of
instruction that includes shared reading from children's literature, guided reading in predictable stories, and
writing activities.

These commercially published basal reading programs are particularly important because they are typically
adopted by a school or district and become the cornerstone of instruction for most classrooms. Recent reviews
of the major commercial programs (Smith et al., in press; Stein, Johnson, & Gutlohn, 1998) have revealed that
word- recognition instruction and instruction in oral language skills related to word recognition were
inadequately represented. Stein et al. found that few programs included an explicit phonics approach, and
student reading selections often did not correspond to the words children were learning during word-
recognition instruction making most of the selections inaccessible to the readers.

In addition to the basal programs, teachers often supplement their regular instruction with published phonics
programs. These programs are commonly used with students identified as having reading disabilities. Many
parents seek out such programs to use at home if they are concerned that their children are experiencing
difficulty learning to read in school. There are literally hundreds of supplementary programs on the market,
and new programs appear regularly. These programs take many forms. Many appear in traditional print form
that feature board and card games, flash cards, word lists, story books, and workbooks. Some combine
traditional instructional materials with audiotapes, electronic games, videotapes, and computer discs. Still other
programs provide essentially all instruction by computer.

This article is designed to be used to examine the content and instructional plans of phonics and word-
recognition instruction to be used with children with reading disabilities. The purpose of the article, however, is
not to explore the many meanings, interpretations, and merits of phonics and word-recognition instruction.
Rather, the purpose of the article is to help those who intend to use commercially published programs of
instruction to make good choices that will benefit both teachers and students with reading disabilities. Such an
examination can provide information about the content of a program's word-recognition instruction and its
suitability for providing access to the general curriculum for students with reading disabilities.
The content of phonics and word-recognition instruction

Although the relation of systematic phonics and word-recognition instruction to reading achievement is a much
debated topic, any enlightened discussion by advocates of such instruction emphasizes that it must be only a
part of a total program of instruction (Snow, Bums, & Griffin, 1998). The main goal of such instruction is to
help children figure out the alphabetic system of written English and become comfortable with that system as
they become readers (Lyon, 1998). The authors of Becoming a Nation of Readers (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, &
Wilkinson, 1985), written almost a decade ago, nicely described the goal, purpose, and limitations of phonics
instruction:

The goal of phonics is not that children be able to state the "rules" governing letter-sound relationships.
Rather, the purpose is to get across the alphabetic principle, the principle that there are systematic
relationships between letters and sounds.

Phonics ought to be conceived as a technique for getting children off to a fast start in mapping the
relationships between letters and sounds. It follows that phonics instruction should aim to teach only the most
important and regular of letter-to-sound relationships, because this is the sort of instruction that will most
directly lay bare the alphabetic principle. Once the basic relationships have been taught, the best way to get
children to refine and extend their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences is through repeated
opportunities to read. (p. 38)

Phonics then is the system of instruction used to teach children the connection between letters and sounds
(Snow et al., 1998). We do want to warn the reader, however, that this term is entirely abused and has many
different meanings to different people. A generally agreed on definition may not be possible.

The alphabetic principle

An important part of helping children with reading disabilities figure out the system underlying the printed
word is leading them to understand the alphabetic principle (Adams, 1990; Ehri & McCormick, 1998; Liberman,
Shankweiler, & Liberman, 199 1). This means, to understand that in written English, words are composed of
patterns of letters that represent the sounds of spoken English words. Some children seem to figure out the
alphabetic principle almost effortlessly, with little or no instruction. However, most children, and children with
learning disabilities (LD) in particular, benefit from organized instruction that centers on sounds, letters, and
the relations between sounds and letters (Perfetti & Zhang, 1995). They also benefit from word -recognition
instruction that offers practice with, for example, word families that share similar letter patterns. Additionally,
children with reading disabilities benefit from opportunities to apply what they are learning to the reading and
rereading of stories and other texts. Such texts contain a high proportion of words that reflect the letters,
sounds, and spelling patterns the children are learning.

Elements of phonics and word-recognition instruction

To help children map the relations between letters and sounds, effective phonics and word-recognition strategy
instruction should provide them with opportunities to become comfortable with a number of aspects of
reading, including alphabetic knowledge, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relations, word-identification
strategies, spelling and writing connections, related reading practice, and reading fluency.

Each of these elements of phonics and word-recognition instruction is discussed in this section. Each discussion
is followed by a set of guidelines for program evaluators to consider as they examine programs. We relied on
the following sources for determining what is most important to phonics and word-recognition instruction:

 Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children The National Academy of Sciences

report

 Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print (Adams, 1990), several
primary research studies, and secondary reviews of research that are noted in the
guidelines. At this point, it is important to note that, although many of these guidelines are
based on empirical research, others are based on a logical analysis of learning tasks and
effective classroom practice.
Alphabetic knowledge

Children must become expert users of the letters they will see and use to write their own words and messages
(Lyon, 1998). Children's knowledge of letters is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read (Adams,
1990). That is, children who begin first grade able to quickly and accurately identify, say, and write the letters
of the alphabet have an advantage in learning to read. Children whose knowledge of letters is not well
developed when they start school need a lot of sensibly organized practice that will help them learn how to
identify, name, and write letters.

Guidelines for alphabetic knowledge instruction

A beginning reading program should include the following elements:

1. A variety of alphabetic knowledge activities in which children learn to identify and name both
upper case and lower case letters.

2. Games, songs, and other activities that help children learn to name letters quickly.

3. Writing activities that encourage children to practice writing the letters they are learning.

4. A sensible sequence of letter introduction that can be adjusted to the needs of the children.

Phonemic awareness

Children's ability to think about individual words as sequences of sounds is important to their understanding of
the alphabetic principle (Liberman & Shankweiler, 1985; Snow et al., 1998). Toward that understanding,
children learn to identify rhyming words and to create their own rhymes. They also learn that sentences are
made up of separate words, words are composed of syllables, and words are made up of sounds that can be
separated from each other and manipulated in other ways. Finally, they learn that sounds that are separated
(or segmented) from words can be put back together again to form words.

Some children have a great deal of difficulty learning to separate, or segment, the sounds in spoken words,
and to then reconstitute the sounds (i.e., to blend the segmented sounds back together to make a word;
O'Connor, Notari-Syverson, & Vadasy, 1996). However, it is this very aspect of phonemic awareness that
enables children to apply their knowledge of sound-letter relations to the sounding out of printed words
(Smith, Simmons, & Karneenui, 1998).

It is important to make some clear distinctions: Phonemes are the separable individual sounds in words. They
are the smallest units of sound. The onset is the initial single phoneme or initial consonant cluster in a word
and the rime is the remaining set of phonemes in a word. Rimes are larger than phonemes, but smaller than
syllables.

For example, take bat and bright, both one-syllable words:

in bat, the onset is /b/ and the rime is /at/;

in bright, the onset is /br/ and the rime is /ight/.

In contrast:

bat contains three phonemes - /b/ /a/ /t/;

bright contains four phonemes - /b/ /r/ /i/ /t/.

Most sequencing of phonemic awareness instruction begins with rhyming words and then moves to helping
children learn how to divide (or segment) sentences into words, words into syllables, words into onset and
rime, and finally, one-syllable words into phonemes.

Not all programs include the same content. For example, some programs introduce onsets and rimes before
requiring students to identify and manipulate each of the separable sounds of one- syllable words. Some
programs do not include onset and rime activities. In many programs, segmentation is introduced by having
children identify and segment the initial sound of a one- syllable word. After practicing with initial sounds, the
children then learn to identify and segment final sounds, and finally work with medial sounds. Still other
programs have children learn to segment and then blend each individual sound of spoken one-syllable words.
Phonemic awareness activities usually involve oral tasks in the absence of print. In some programs, however,
the instruction directs the children to use auditory (clapping) and visual cues (Elkonin boxes, blocks) to help
them understand that the sounds in words can be separate entities. At the more advanced levels of instruction
(segmenting and blending), the relations of sounds to written letters often become part of the instructional
sequence, so that the children hear and see the relations between sounds and letters.

Guidelines for phonemic awareness instruction

A beginning reading program should include the following elements:

1. Activities that follow a sequence of instruction that progresses from easier to more difficult
tasks and from larger to smaller units, for example:

o Rhyming words.

o Dividing sentences into words.

o Dividing words into syllables.

o Segmenting and blending onsets and rimes.

o Identifying beginning, medial, and ending sounds in spoken words.

o Segmenting and blending individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

2. Auditory (e.g., clapping), visual (e.g., tiles, chips), or both cues to help children identify
separate sounds in words.

3. Activities to teach the relationship of letters to sounds in more advanced tasks (segmenting
and blending phonemes).

4. For children who are having difficulty, a sequence of instruction that:

1. Starts with continuous sounds (for example, m, s, i, f) that are easier to hear and
blend.

2. Advises teachers to stretch out and connect (or "sing") the sounds (e.g.,
"ssssaaaammm," rather than separating them, for example, "S ... a ... m").

Sound-letter relations

Children's early reading development is dependent on their acquisition of the sound-letter relations that
underlie written English. Many children with reading disabilities benefit from explicit and systematic teaching of
these sound-letter relations; this is typically described as or labeled phonics. Children with reading disabilities
benefit from a sequence of phonics instruction that permits them to apply the relations they learn to the
reading of words and simple stories (Carnine, Silbert, & Kameenui, 1997; Chard, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1998).

Phonics instruction is usually categorized as explicit or implicit. In explicit phonics instruction, the sounds
associated with the letters are identified in isolation and then blended together to form words. The teacher
directly tells students the sound represented by an individual letter. For example, "The letter l makes the
sound /llll/." When children have learned several correspondences, including one or two vowels, they can read
words by blending sounds of the letters together. For example, students who have learned the sound-letter
correspondences /I / /a/ /m/ and /p/ can utilize a blending strategy to read "lamp."

In contrast, implicit phonics instruction includes helping students identify the sounds associated with individual
letters in the context of whole words, rather than in isolation. Typically, students are asked to infer the sound
of a letter from a word or set of words that contain that letter. For example, in teaching the sound for m, the
teacher is directed to:

Write man on the board and underline the letter m.

Have the students say man and listen for the beginning sound. Elicit from the students that the
letter m makes the sound /m/.

In implicit phonics, children are often encouraged to utilize context and picture cues to identify any unfamiliar
words they encounter in text selections. Most supplementary programs employ explicit instruction.

Rate and sequence of introduction

There is no set rule about how quickly or how slowly to introduce sound-letter relations. Obviously, it is
important to gauge the rate of introduction by the performance of the group of children with whom the
program is being used. Furthermore, there is no agreed on order in which to introduce sound-letter relations.
The advice most often given is to avoid programs that teach all possible sound-letter relations before providing
real reading practice. Rather, the sound-letter relations should be selected so that the children can read words
as soon as possible. That is, the initial sound-letter relations presented in a program should have high utility.
For example, m, a, t, and th are of high utility, whereas gh as in through, ey as in they, and a as
in want are of less high utility. It should be noted that programs that present all of the consonants before any
of the vowels are taught do not allow children to read words, even after they have learned several sound-letter
relations.

An effective program may start with two or more single consonants and one or two short vowels. The children
can read words that are spelled with these letters. Then, more single consonants and more short vowels are
added, along with perhaps a long vowel. As each new sound-letter relation is introduced, the children read
words spelled with those letters. For example, if the relationships for a, f, n, s, and t, are presented first, the
children can work with the words fan, an, at, ant, fast, and fat among others. Then if the relations
for m, th, c, and i are added, the children can work with such words as if, cat,sat, man, and that. The
children can create sentences such as, "A fast ant sat on a fat cat."

Consonant blends or clusters (e.g., br, tr) may be added; digraphs (e.g., th, sh, ch) are often introduced to
permit children to read words such as this,she, and chair. Stop sounds at the beginning or middle of words
may be harder for children to blend than are continuous sounds. Consonant blends or clusters may be harder
for some children to learn than single consonants. For some children, being presented with consonant blends
or clusters and individual sounds in the same lesson can lead to difficulty.

The number of possible variations is enormous. The point is that the order of introduction should be logical and
consistent with the rate at which the children can learn. Furthermore, the sound-letter relations chosen should
permit the children to work with words almost immediately.

Guidelines for examining sound-letter relations instruction

 Plan of instruction. A beginning reading program should include:

1. Common sound-letter relations taught directly and explicitly.

2. Advanced phonemic awareness activities combined with the presentation of sound-

letter relations.

3. Opportunities for children to practice sound-letter relations in every lesson.

4. Practice opportunities that include new sound-letter relations as well as cumulative

review of previously taught relations.

5. Opportunities early and often for children to apply their expanding knowledge of
sound-letter relations to the reading of regularly spelled words that are familiar in
meaning.

6. A suggestion that the teacher or students point to the letters as they sound out the
words.

 Rate of instruction. A beginning reading program should:

1. Recognize that children learn sound-letter relations at different rates.

 2. Introduce sound-letter relations at a reasonable pace (e.g., in a range of two to four
per week, depending on student performance).

3. Encourage teachers to informally assess children's application of sound-letter

relations and to use this information to make instructional decisions.

 Sequence of instruction. A beginning reading program should:

1. Introduce consonants and vowels in a sequence that permits the children to read
words.

2. Choose consonants and vowels that can be combined to make words for the children
to read.

3. Teach a number of high-utility sound-letter relations first and add lower utility
relations later.

4. Introduce consonant blends or clusters in separate lessons.

5. Provide blending instruction with words that contain the sound-letter relations that
the children are learning.

Word-recognition strategies

Effective word-recognition strategies permit children to quickly and automatically translate the letters or
spelling patterns of written words into speech sounds so that they can identify words and gain rapid access to
their meanings (Vandervelden & Siegel, 1997). Children must learn to identify words quickly and effortlessly so
that they can focus on the meaning of what they are reading (Stanovich, 1986). As children learn to read more
and more complex stories, effective word-identification strategies will permit them to figure out the
pronunciations of words they have never seen before in print. Students' semantic and syntactic knowledge, in
turn, can help to confirm the accuracy of their attempts at word identification.

It is important that children learn to use their sound and spelling knowledge as a primary strategy for word
recognition (Bay Area Reading Task Force, 1997; Beck, 1998). Children should also have opportunities to work
with larger units (e.g., word families, spelling patterns, and onsets and rimes). More advanced word-
identification strategies focus on structural analysis - the identification of root words, prefixes, and suffixes -
and on how to read multisyllabic words.Children need to recognize some common words before they have the
sound-letter knowledge to sound them out (e.g., the, this). Additionally, some words are "irregular," meaning
they are difficult to read using a sounding out strategy. The program should introduce some irregular and
other sight words in a reasonable sequence. These words should be continuously reviewed in the lessons and
in the written materials the children read. Presenting some words as sight words should not overshadow the
importance of teaching children to learn how to use word-identification strategies to figure out words.

Guidelines for addressing word-identification strategies

A beginning reading program should include

1. Opportunities to practice word recognition, including words with newly introduced sound-
letter relations or word parts mixed with previously learned words.

2. Opportunities for children to learn to use word order (syntax) and word meaning (semantics)
to confirm the words identified through word-recognition strategies (Adams, 1998).

3. A limited set of sight words (some of which are regularly spelled) in the beginning stages of
reading instruction.

4. Phonetically irregular words in a reasonable order and review the words cumulatively.

5. Phonetically irregular words in the written materials the students read.

6. Opportunities for children not only to decode words but also to access the words' meanings.
 7. Strategies for identifying words with more than one syllable.

Spelling and writing

Children with reading disabilities must have opportunities to write and relate their writing to spelling and
reading. Initially, children's phonetic approximations of words or invented spellings should be encouraged to
stimulate writing (Ehri, 1998; Snow et al., 1998). As children learn to read and write words, they become
aware of how these words are spelled. Increasing children's awareness of spelling patterns hastens their
progress in both reading and writing. In the first grade, spelling instruction can be coordinated with the
program of reading instruction. As children progress, well-organized, systematic lessons in spelling are critical.

Guidelines for effective spelling and writing activities

A beginning reading program should include

1. Spelling activities that are related to the words that children are reading and writing.

2. Guides to move children from their own temporary spellings to more standard spellings.

3. Spelling instruction with explicit instruction in sound-letter relations and word-identification

strategies.

4. Lessons that help children attend to spelling patterns.

5. Purpose-filled writing activities that permit children to respond to what is read to them and
to what they read, express themselves creatively, and communicate with others.

Related reading practice

Most children benefit from opportunities to practice accurate and fluent reading in stories. The
term decodable text is used to describe stories and other materials that use the sound-letter relations the
children are learning as well as a limited number of high-frequency sight words. Decodable text may also
contain a limited number of "special words" that make the text more interesting. Decodable stories can provide
children with reading disabilities with the opportunity to practice what they are learning about letters and
sounds. For example, if the children know these sound-letter relations - m /m/, s /s/, t /t/, p/p/, e /e/,
and a /a/ and the special words the, elephant, said, no, and thank you - they can read a story such as:

 Pat and the Elephant

 Pat met the elephant.

 The elephant met Pat.

 Pat sat.

 The elephant sat.

 The elephant sat on the mats.

 The elephant sat and sat.

 Pat sat and sat.

 Pat said, "Elephant, pat the pets."

 The pets said, "No, thank you, Elephant."

In addition to decodable books, many predictable and patterned books provide children with engaging
language and print experiences. These books may be most beneficial when children are developing print
awareness. Typically these books are not based on the sound-letter relations, spelling patterns, and sight
words the children are learning. For example:
  Two Cats Play

 Two cats play on the grass.

 Two cats play with yarn.

 Two cats play with a ball.

 Two cats play all day.

 Two cats too tired to play.

Many children benefit from practice with stories that contain a high proportion of decodable or familiar words.
For some children, this sort of systematic approach is critical.

Stories should "fit" the child's reading level. As children with reading disabilities become more proficient, a
wider range of books become readable to them. The decodability or predictability of the books is no longer a
constraint. There is little research that directly address the level of decodability of texts that best facilitates
children's reading fluency. Different sources have recommended different levels of decodability. For example,
Anderson et al. (1985) and Juel (1994) both recommended approximately 90% of the words in a story should
be decodable. As children learn to read words, sentences, and stories fluently, accurately, and automatically,
they no longer have to struggle to identify words and are free to pay closer attention to word meanings.

Guidelines for decodable text for related reading practice

A beginning reading program should include

1. Stories that have a significant proportion of decodable words.

2. A sequence of stories, such that the sound-letter relations the children have learned are
cumulatively reviewed in the words of the stories.

3. Stories that are comprehensible.

4. Words in the stories that are in the children's spoken vocabularies.

Reading fluency

To become fluent and accurate readers, children with reading disabilities must read texts that are appropriate
to their current level of reading ability. This can be ac complished by engaging students in activities in which
they read and reread stories and informational texts (Samuels, 1979). Periodically, timing children's reading is
also effective in increasing accuracy and fluency (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 1992).

Guidelines for instruction that promotes fluency

A beginning reading program should include

1. Opportunities to read and reread familiar stories by using partner reading and peer tutoring.

2. Practice in reading new or difficult words, prior to reading texts.

3. Opportunities for occasional timing of students' reading with strategies to record their
progress in their accuracy and rate of reading.

4. Opportunities to hear texts read appropriately by adults, tapes, and peers.

5. Ideas for developing a home-school connection that supports children's reading and
rereading of texts to parents, grandparents, and siblings.
Oral language development, print awareness, story reading, and
independent reading

As previously mentioned, the point of reading instruction is not that children learn to say words, but rather that
they understand the meanings of the words, sentences, stories, and other texts they read. Four aspects of
beginning reading instruction contribute directly to all children's ability to understand what they read:

1. Oral language development: Children must have opportunities to expand their use and
appreciation of oral language.

2. Print awareness: Children must have opportunities to expand their use and appreciation of
printed language.

3. Reading aloud: Children must have opportunities to hear good stories and informational
books read aloud daily.

4. Independent reading: Children must have opportunities to read daily from a broad range of
print materials.

Each of these elements of beginning reading programs is discussed in this section.

Oral language and listening opportunities

A weak foundation in oral language may impede children's progress in reading (Snow et al., 1998). To
comprehend written language, children must have some familiarity with the vocabulary and sentence
structures they encounter in their stories and school texts. Constructive oral language experiences in the
classroom are important for all children, but they are especially so for children with reading disabilities and for
those who have had fewer opportunities to develop the kind of language needed for reading. For these
reasons, kindergarten instruction needs to capitalize on every opportunity to engage children in thoughtful
discussions, explanations, and demonstrations. Listening is another aspect of oral language development.
Children need to listen carefully to follow directions. Listening comprehension is an important contributor to
reading comprehension (Menyuk, 1988). Consequently, kindergarten instruction should provide opportunities
for children to listen as well as to speak. These opportunities can come in giving and following directions, class
discussions, storybook reading, and games. Children's comprehension of written language depends in large
part on their effective use and understanding of oral language (Snow et al., 1998). Language experiences are a
central component of good reading instruction. Children learn a great deal about the world, about themselves,
and about each other from spoken language.

Ideas for instruction that promote oral language

Kindergarten and first-grade language instruction that focuses on listening, speaking, and understanding
includes:

1. Discussions that focus on a variety of topics, including problem solving.

2. Activities that help children understand the world, in and out of the classroom.

3. Songs, chants, and poems that are fun to sing and say.

4. Concept development and vocabulary-building lessons.

5. Games and other activities that involve talking, listening, and, in particular, following
directions.

Developing print awareness

Children's appreciation and understanding of the purposes and functions of written language are essential to
their motivation for learning to read (Lyon, 1998). Children with reading disabilities must become aware that
printed language is all around them on signs, billboards, and labels, and in books, magazines, and newspapers,
and that print serves many different purposes (Gunn, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1998; Sulzby & Teale, 1991).
These experiences and what the adults around them say about the print can help children learn how print
functions.

When children are read to regularly and when they play with letters and word games, they begin to learn how
the system of print works. Specifically, they begin to understand that we read print from left to right, that we
read from the top of the page to the bottom, that capital letters begin sentences, that periods end sentences,
and more. Awareness of these concepts of print provides the backdrop against which reading and writing are
acquired.

Ideas for instruction that promote print awareness

Reading and writing instruction that focuses on the use and appreciation of written language includes:

1. Activities that help children to understand that print represents spoken language.

2. Activities that highlight the meanings, uses, and production of print found in classroom
signs, labels, notes, posters, calendars, and directions.

3. Activities that teach print conventions, such as directionality.

4. Activities in which children practice how to handle a book - how to turn pages, how to find
the tops and bottoms of pages, and how to tell the front and back covers.

5. Lessons in word awareness that help children become conscious of individual words (e.g.,
their boundaries, their appearance, and their length).

6. Activities in which children practice with predictable and patterned language stories.

Story reading

Good stories and informational books should be read aloud daily. What should be read? Obviously, read-aloud
books must interest children, hold their attention, and expand their imagination. At the same time, children
should hear books that stretch their knowledge of the world, expand their vocabulary, and provide them
experiences with a variety of sentence patterns. The best read-aloud books are not the books with simple
vocabulary and sentence structures that are written for children to read on their own, but rather books that are
characterized by less common vocabulary, more complex sentences, and concepts that stretch children's
knowledge of the world.

A program of reading aloud should include a variety of genres-narratives, nursery rhymes and other poems,
and informational books. Good story reading includes good discussions about the story. Such discussions help
clarify the author's intent and the relation of the story to the children.

Although everyone agrees that children love good stories and develop favorites that they want to hear again
and again, their interest in acquiring information about the world around them should not be neglected. For
example, informational books about animals, trees, planets, stars, and how machines work will introduce
children to a lot of fascinating knowledge about the world in which they live.

What is the best way to organize for reading aloud? There are lots of ways and various times during the school
day to read books to children (i.e., books can be read to the entire class or to groups of children, and
volunteers can read to individual children or small groups of children).

Ideas for reading aloud to children

Lots of good advice is available on how to read to young children, but some common sense observations are
important to keep in mind:

1. With very young children who have not had a lot of story reading experiences, start with
very short periods of story reading; gradually make the story period longer, 15 min or more.

2. Make sure that the children are paying attention.

 3. Make sure all of the children can hear what is being read.

4. Make sure all of the children can see the pictures that are shown.

5. Make the delivery interesting - dramatize exciting parts of stories, change your voice when
speaking the lines of different characters (i.e., act surprised, exaggerate, laugh, be sad).

6. Read interactively; that is, engage the children in the story by having them respond to
questions, repeat phrases, and predict what is going to happen next.

7. Discuss the story with the children after reading it; have children retell parts of the story.

8. Do not hesitate to reread favorite stories, but remember to keep adding stories that will
extend the children's vocabulary and their knowledge of the world.

9. When reading books aloud, do not hesitate to change the wording in a sentence or phrase
that children may not understand to a phrase or sentence they will understand. Then return
to the book and read the phrase or sentence that was in the book.

10. Explain and sometimes act out the meanings of important words in the story that children
may not know. Point to the details of illustrations that will help children understand the
meanings of complex sentences and new words.

11. Talk about the story at other times of the day; try to find everyday situations in which some
of the words and phrases from the story can be used.

12. Do not forget to read informational books as well as stories.

Independent wide reading

Children must be provided with opportunities to read widely. In addition to contributing to reading fluency,
wide reading improves vocabulary through experience with a variety of language experiences. Wide reading
allows children to advance their reading repertoire by exploring many different kinds of genres. Providing
children with a great many books, both narrative and informational, is a primary objective. Sometimes children
will want to pick their own books. At other times, children will want teacher- or peer-recommended books to
read.

Classroom and campus libraries must offer children a variety of reading materials: some that are easy to read
and others that are more challenging. Additionally, many children need access to books that can travel home
for reading with family members.

Guidelines for independent wide reading

Classrooms that ensure wide reading provide the following:

1. Daily time for self-selected and teacher- recommended reading.

2. Access to books children want to read in their classrooms and school libraries.

3. Access to books that can be taken home to be read independently or to family members.

Conclusion

Recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) has placed greater emphasis on
the inclusion of children with LD in the general education curriculum. This emphasis on curricular inclusion
demands that the methods and materials used for instruction be accessible to a full range of students. To date,
analyses of commercially published reading programs present in the literature have revealed that the design of
materials is typically based on instructional principles that make them inaccessible to children with LD (e.g.,
Smith et al., in press; Stein et al., 1998). It is not realistic to expect that school districts will undertake time-
consuming and labor-intensive analyses before purchasing commercially published reading programs.
However, the quality of programs used to teach beginning reading to children with and without reading
disabilities is critical. Hopefully, these guidelines will assist educators in selecting and implementing reading
programs that enable all children to be successful in learning to read.

References

Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Adams, M. J. (1998). The three-cuing system. In F. Lehr & J. Osborn (Eds.), Literacy for all: Issues in teaching
and learning (pp. 73-99). New York: Guilford.

Anderson, R. C., Hiebert, E. H., Scott, J. A., & Wilkinson, 1. A. G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The
report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education.

Bay Area Reading Task Force. (1997). A reading -writing -language source book for the primary grades. San
Francisco: University School Support for Education Reform.

Beck, I. (1998). Understanding beginning reading: A journey through teaching and research. In F. Lehr & J.
Osborn (Eds.), Literacy for all: Issues in teaching and learning (pp. 11-31). New York: Guilford

Carnine, D., Silbert, J., & Kameenui, E. J. (1997). Direct instruction reading (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Chard, D. J., Simmons, D. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1998). The primary role of word recognition in the reading
process: Curricular and instructional implications. In D. C. Simmons & E. J. Kameenui (Eds.), What reading
research tells us about children with diverse learning needs: The bases and the basics (pp. 169-181). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Ehri, L. C. (1998). Research on learning to read and spell: A personal-historical perspective. Scientific Studies
of Reading, 2, 97-114.

Ehri, L. C., & McCormick, S. (1998). Phases of word learning: Implications for instruction with delayed and
disabled readers. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 14, 135-163.

Gunn, B. K., Simmons, D. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1998). Emergent literacy: Synthesis of the research. In D. C.
Simmons (Ed.), What reading research tells us about children with diverse learning needs: The bases and
basics (pp. 19-50). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Hasbrouck, J. E., & Tindal, G. (1992). Curriculum-based oral reading fluency norms for students in grades 2
through 5. Teaching Exceptional Children, 24(3), 41-44.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1997, 20 U.S.C. §1401 et seq.

Juel, C. (1994). Learning to read and write in one elementary school. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Liberman, I. Y., & Shankweiler, D. (1985). Phonology and the problems of learning to read and write. Remedial
and Special Education, 6(6), 8-17.

-Liberman, I. Y ., Shankweiler, D., & Liberman, A. M. (199 1). The alphabetic principle and learning to read. In
D. Shankweiler & I. Y. Liberman (Eds.), Phonology and reading disabilities: Solving the reading puzzle (pp. 1-
33). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Lyon, R. (1998, April). Overview of reading and literacy initiatives. Paper presented at the meeting of the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Washington, DC.

Menyuk, P. (1988). Language development: Knowledge and use. Boston: Scott, Foresman.

O'Connor, R. E., Notari-Syverson, A., & Vadasy, P. F. (1996). Ladders to literacy: The effects of teacher-led
phonological activities for kindergarten children with and without disabilities. Exceptional Children, 63(l), 117-
130.

Perfetti, C. A., & Zhang, S. (1995). The universal word identification reflex. In D. L. Medin (Ed.), The
psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 33, pp. 159-189). San Diego: Academic.
Samuels, J. (1979). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 32, 403-408.

Smith, S. B., Simmons, D. C., Gleason, M. M., Kame'enui, E. J., Baker, S. K., Sprick, M., Gunn, B., Thomas, C.
L., Chard, D. J., Plasencia- Peinado, J., & Peinado, R. (in press). An analysis of phonological awareness
instruction in four kindergarten basal reading programs. Reading & Writing Quarterly.

Smith, S. B., Simmons, D. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1998). Phonological awareness: Synthesis of the research. In
D. C. Simmons (Ed.), What reading research tells us about children with diverse learning needs: The bases and
basics (pp. cvcv). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Snow, C., Bums, M., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.

Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the
acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-407.

Stein, M., Johnson, B., & Gutlohn, L. (1998). Analyzing beginning reading programs: The relationship between
decoding instruction and text. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Sulzby, E., & Teale, W. H. (199 1). Emergent literacy. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson
(Eds.), Handbook of Reading and Research (Vol. 2, pp. 727-757). New York: Longman.

Vandervelden, M., & Siegel, L. S. (1997). Phonological recoding and phoneme awareness in early literacy: A
developmental approach. Reading Research Quarterly, 30, 854-875.

Learning Disabilities Research & Practice A Publication of the Division for Learning Disabilities, Council for
Exceptional Children 14(2), 107-117 Copyright 1999, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

http://www.ldonline.org/article/6316?theme=print

©2015 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

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Ready for Kindergarten?

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/what-to-expect-grade/ready-
kindergarten

If your child's preschool years are coming to an end, your thoughts are probably turning toward kindergarten. But is
your child ready to move on to the "big" school? What skills do kindergarten teachers expect their new students to
have? To help answer those questions (and ease your mind), we've asked highly regarded kindergarten teachers from
around the country to share their insights on helping your child gain the right mix of kindergarten-readiness skills.

The skill sets they are looking for might surprise you. Because of the national focus on improving education and
meeting standards, you might think that it's most important for children to enter kindergarten knowing their ABCs,
numbers, shapes, and colors so they can keep up with the curriculum. While teachers would love children to come in
with some letter and number recognition, they don't want you to drill your kids on academic skills. There are equally
— if not more — important readiness skills that set the stage for your child's learning. Raising an eager learner is the
goal, and it can be achieved easily through play and day-to-day activities.

What follows are the top readiness skills that kindergarten teachers look for.
Enthusiasm Toward Learning
Solid Oral-Language Skills
The Ability to Listen
The Desire to Be Independent
The Ability to Play Well with Others
Strong Fine-Motor Skills
Basic Letter and Number Recognition
Enthusiasm Toward Learning
"I look for those qualities that prime children to be successful in school," says Kim Hughes. Does the child approach
learning enthusiastically? Is she eager to explore and discover? Does she ask questions, take initiative, and persist
when tasks are difficult?
"Parents can set aside a little time each day to investigate the world with their preschooler and answer those endless
questions," says Sandra Waite-Stupiansky. As you drive or walk along in the park, point out your child's
surroundings — the different trees or the various birds at the feeder. Demonstrate how things work. "You'll help
your child develop beginning science skills — the ability to form a hypothesis, test it out, and come up with new
questions and theories," Waite-Stupiansky explains. "The more kids notice, the more curious they'll become. And
we'll be building on that curiosity in kindergarten."

Solid Oral-Language Skills

"Children need wide background knowledge about their world and the words to go with it," says Lisa Mosier. "I
want to know where they've been and what they can talk about." You can help build language skills by taking your
child to many new places and giving him words and descriptions for what he is seeing. At the zoo, explain, "There's
a tiger. See how he has stripes and looks different from the lion?" Mosier says these experiences have a huge impact
on literacy. "If you're reading a book about zoo animals and it says 'Look at the tiger,' and you can't tell the
difference between a lion and a tiger, then you won't have the background knowledge to help you tackle the word.
When children come to words that they don't know, they won't be able to make a good guess because it isn't in their
vocabulary."
Research shows that one of the best predictors of later reading success is a well-developed oral vocabulary in
kindergarten. "PreK kids are learning vocabulary at the rate of five to six words a day," says Waite-Stupiansky. "It's
just amazing how they will retain words if you use them several times in context and conversation."

The Ability to Listen

Children's literature is a rich resource for expanding language. "We expect parents to be reading to kids every day,"
says Jayne C. Isaacs. "I can tell which children have been glued to the TV or computer for hours at a time. When we
read them a story and ask them to tell us in their own words what they liked or remembered, they're unable to do
so." Besides fostering vocabulary and comprehension, reading develops the attention skills necessary in a
kindergarten classroom. "Listening is a key part of school behavior," Isaacs notes. Students must be able to
concentrate on what the teacher is saying, listen carefully for directions, and tune in to the sounds in letters and
words.
"The more animated you are as you read, the better you'll focus your child's attention on what she's hearing," says
Armando Argandona. Use different voices for the characters. Promote critical thinking by asking questions like,
"Why do you think that happened?" and "How would you feel if that happened to you?" and "What do you think
will happen next?" Engage kids by inviting them to clap or stomp when they hear a rhyming word, and letting them
finish sentences in familiar stories. Books with rhyme and repetitive refrains (like those by Mother Goose and Dr.
Seuss) help kids predict what's coming and detect consonant sounds at the beginning and end of words, which
fosters phonemic awareness—the ability to hear and break down the subtle sounds in words. Your child won't be
able to read the word "cat" until she understands that it actually has three sounds: "cuh," "ah," and "tuh."

Singing fosters pre-reading skills too. "Take turns substituting new sounds in nursery rhymes and songs," suggests
Mosier. For example, transform "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to "Dinkle Dinkle Dittle Dar" or "Zippety Doo Da" to
"Bibbety Boo Bah."
The Desire to Be Independent
Encouraging self-help skills is an important step to preparing your child for kindergarten. "It's amazing how many
kids come to kindergarten not knowing how to hang up a jacket," says Argandona. It might be quicker for you to do
it, but "independence is critical for helping your child adjust to school," he emphasizes. Teachers expect children to:
 Get coats on and off and hang them up
 Follow simple two-step instructions such as "take off your boots and put on your sneakers"
 Go to the bathroom and wash their hands
 Blow their nose and cover their mouth when they cough
 Fasten and unfasten simple buttons and snaps
 Eat neatly and pour into a cup
 Open up a juice box and get the straw in.
"Some children are so dependent on their parents that they expect the teacher to do these things for them," says
Hughes. "But when you have 20-plus kids in the room, it's hard to worry about wiping noses!" However, she notes
that tying shoes is a developmental skill that often doesn't come until the first grade. If kids can't yet tie their shoes,
Hughes suggests sending them in slip-ons or sneakers with Velcro fasteners.

The Ability to Play Well with Others

Your child will need your assistance refining essential social skills such as sharing, compromising, turn-taking, and
problem-solving. "Children are naturally egocentric at this age, and we don't expect them to be able to share
everything," says Waite-Stupiansky. "But by the time they reach kindergarten, they should be able to express their
feelings in words and begin to understand that two people can use the same thing at the same time."
If you and your child are building with blocks and he reaches for one you're using, Hughes suggests you first
encourage your child to ask, "May I have the block?" Then model sharing by saying something like, "I'm glad to
share my block with you." When you notice your child sharing with others, celebrate it by saying, "I'm so proud of
you. It's really hard to share your favorite doll, but you were able to do it. Good for you!"

On play dates and park outings, stay within earshot so you can help kids problem-solve when conflict occurs,
Hughes recommends. If your son gets in a power struggle over a toy and can't seem to work it out, step in and say,
"It looks like we're having a problem here. What can we do about it?" Encourage him to come up with possible
solutions, offering your own suggestions, if necessary. "Help kids understand the feelings of others," says Hughes. "I
want them to know when a friend is sad by looking at her face and seeing that her mouth is frowning or her eyes are
crying." This nurtures compassion and empathy, values that are prized by kindergarten teachers.

Strong Fine-Motor Skills

Your child's hands must be strong enough to master coloring, cutting, pasting, and holding a pencil — fine-motor
tasks that kids use every day in kindergarten. "By week one, we're already writing a letter of the alphabet," says
Argandona. "If kids can't hold the pencil correctly, they will fall behind."
To hold the pencil the right way, kids need to develop the small muscles in their palms and fingers. Hughes suggests
giving your child a pipe cleaner and some Cheerios (or similar, colorful cereal) to make bracelets. "It requires you to
pinch with your fingers," she explains, the same motion needed for grasping a pencil. Or ask your preschooler to
mist your houseplants with a spray bottle, an activity that boosts both writing and scissor skills. Scribbling in clay
with fingers is a fun alternative to doing it on paper and especially helpful for kids who are resistant to writing and
drawing. (A child can practice cutting the clay into small strips too.)
"Offer writing utensils in a variety of sizes and shapes," advises Hughes. "Some people think that fat pencils are
easier to hold, but that's not always true. For a child with weak hands, a smaller, shorter pencil might be easier to
manage."

Basic Letter and Number Recognition

Kindergarten teachers believe that it is their responsibility to teach kids letter sounds and how to write, but they do
hope incoming students can recognize most letters by sight. They also hope children can count to 10, identify
numbers 1 to 5, and know some shapes and colors.
But teachers don't want you to quiz your child or use workbooks, flashcards, or phonics kits. "So much learning can
happen without quizzing or sitting down with a pencil," says Isaacs. The lessons unfold naturally as you and your
child sort Legos by color or shape. Your daughter practices counting as she doles out pretend cookies for the dolls in
her tea party. Your son builds letter recognition while scrambling alphabet magnets on the fridge.

"Every outing is a spontaneous opportunity to learn," Isaacs adds. Play guessing games like, "I spy with my little eye
something with the number 3."

Teach by "immersion" and "show kids how letters are all around us," says Mosier. "Say, 'Hey, that spells K-Mart.
Let's spell it together. K-M-A-R-T.'" Point out objects that contain the letters in your child's name.

Most important, always keep the focus on fun. "Relax, and enjoy your children," Mosier says. "Read, play, and go
places. And talk the whole time you're doing it!"

Meet the Teachers

Armando Argandona has been teaching for 25 years. He is president-elect of the California Kindergarten
Association and a master teacher for California State University at Domingus Hills. He teaches kindergarten at the
Ford Boulevard School in East Los Angeles, CA.
Kim Hughes has been teaching PreK and kindergarten for 21 years. She serves on the Governing Board of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children and is a PreK/kindergarten teacher at Project
Enlightenment, in Raleigh, NC.
Jayne C. Isaacs has been teaching kindergarten for 35 years and has served on her school district's Diversity
Committee and Early Intervention Committee. She teaches kindergarten at the Great Plain School in Danbury, CT.
Lisa Mosier has been teaching 4- and 5-year-olds for 21 years. She received an award from the National Center for
Learning Disabilities and currently teaches at the Frances Starms Early Childhood Center in Milwaukee, WI.
Sandra Waite-Stupiansky has taught kindergarten for the last 8 of her 27 years as a teacher. She is co-author of
several Scholastic Learning Through Play books and teaches kindergarten at Edinboro University's Miller
Laboratory School in Edinboro, PA.

10 Kindergarten Readiness Skills Your Child Needs

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/kindergarten-readiness-secrets/

By Traci Geiser
Updated on Jul 30, 2013

What do teachers really want your child to know on the first day of
kindergarten? Kindergarten is changing and parents are feeling pressure to
prepare their children for their first school experience. But while some may fret
that reading and doing addition are prerequisites for kindergarten these days,
 your child likely possesses many of the skills she needs to be successful as
she begins school.

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“Some of the things I would like my kids to know coming into kindergarten are
their letters and some sounds, recognition of numbers 1-10, be able to write
and recognize their name and be able to cut with scissors,” says kindergarten
teacher Nicole Barton. “It is also important for them to be able to follow
directions and to have the ability to express their feelings.”
Here are the 10 kindergarten readiness skills to focus on as you work with
your child. Don't be concerned if she does not have them all down before the
first day of kindergarten, as she will continue to work on them throughout the
year. Try a few activities listed for the skills your child might need to work on a
bit more before she starts school.
1. Writing

 Help your child practice writing letters, especially the letters in her name.
 Teach your child how to write her name with an uppercase first letter and the
remaining letters in lowercase.
 Write in shaving cream in the bathtub, salt or sugar in a cake pan or in finger
paint to make practicing more fun and multisensory.

2. Letter Recognition

 Play games to help your child recognize some letters of the alphabet.
 Play hide and seek with refrigerator magnets.
 Rather than drilling your child with flashcards, use them to play a game of
alphabet go fish.

3. Beginning Sounds

 Make your child aware of the sound that each letter makes.
 Find items around the house that begin with the same sound and identify the
letter that makes each sound.
 Overemphasize the first sound in words to help your child hear the individual
sounds in words.

4. Number Recognition and Counting

 Count throughout the day (for example, the crackers she is eating for snack or
the socks in that you take out of the dryer).
 Point out numbers you see in your environment and have your child name
them (for example, the numbers found on food boxes or street signs).

5. Shapes and Colors

 If your child is having trouble recognizing certain colors, you might add a little
food coloring to cookie dough, milk or vanilla pudding to emphasize those
colors.
 Help your child recognize more difficult shapes such as diamonds and
rectangles by showing her how to draw them on paper and cut them out.
 Play games in which your child finds objects of particular colors and shapes
around the house or in the neighborhood as you drive.

6. Fine Motor Skills

 Give your child several different writing options (colored pencils, crayons or
markers) to help keep her interested in writing and drawing.
 Playing with play dough is a fun way to strengthen the muscles of the hand
that will be used for writing.

7. Cutting

 Purchase a good pair of child-safe scissors and let your child practice.
 Give her old magazines or newspapers to cut up, or allow her to make a
collage of the things she likes by cutting them from magazines and gluing
them to a piece of paper.
 Cutting play dough is also fun for children.

8. Reading Readiness

 Run your finger under the words as you read to your child to help her learn
that words go from left to right and top to bottom.
 Play games with rhyming words to help your child hear similar sounds in
words. For example, as you are going up the stairs, name one word that
rhymes with cat for each step as you go up.

9. Attention and Following Directions

 Read lots of stories with your child and work up to reading longer chapter
books, one chapter each night or as long as she remains interested and
focused.
 Give your child two and three step directions. For example: "put on your
pajamas, brush your teeth and pick a book to read."
 Play Simon Says with two or three step directions. For example: "Simon Says
jump up and down and shout hooray."

10. Social Skills

 Give your children opportunities to interact with other children in preschool,

church or social groups or play dates.
 Teach your child how to express her feelings if she doesn’t like something.
 Role-play different situations she might experience on the playground or at
school. Help her find solutions for typical problems she might encounter.

Chances are you're already practicing many of these skills your child will need
for kindergarten. Remember to keep it fun and don’t make it stressful for you
or your child. With just a little fun practice, your child will be prepared for her
elementary school debut!
 What is a research-based
intervention for a kindergarten
student having difficulty with
letter and sound recognition?
Generally, research supports direct, systematic teaching of the links between sounds and symbols along
with practice in text and listening comprehension skills. Phonemic awareness, the ability to detect the
smallest units of sound in a language, is necessary for word recognition and spelling.
The following ideas for strengthening these skills are from Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language
Skills by Judith Birsh:
Phonemic Awareness:
· Rhyming activities like reading rhyming books and calling attention to the rhyming words; odd-man-out
(man, foot, pan -which word does NOT rhyme?)
· Partial phoneme segmentation (map – m-ap – what’s the first sound?)
· Full phoneme segmentation (map – m-a-p, how many sounds?)
· Phoneme manipulation (“seat” – say “seat” without the /s/ - “eat.”)
Alphabet Knowledge and Letter Recognition:
· Multisensory teaching – use manipulative letters and other materials sand, carpet squares etc.
· Sing the alphabet to different tunes (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Mary Had a Little Lamb,
etc.)
· Match manipulative letters to corresponding letter shapes on a mat.
· Sequence manipulative letters on an alphabet arc, always ending with touching and saying letters.
· Use a mirror for discovering the difference in vowel and consonant letters (vowels open the mouth and
are “ voiced” – consonants close the mouth and can be voiced or unvoiced)
· Missing letter cards – on each card is printed a short series with missing letter (a-b__, h-i__, x-y__)
· Random placing of letters – choose letter from a pile, name it, place it on alphabet arc.
· Alphabet Battle – each has a set of letters in container. Each draw a letter, name it, and place it in the
center. The one with the letter closest to A keeps both letters. Play continues till all letters are used, and
then count to discover the winner.
· Rapid Word recognition chart (6 squares across, 6 squares down – print 6 letters that need practice across
the top row, and mix them up on subsequent rows. Student touches and says each letter on the chart as
fast as possible so as to increase the number of readings within one minute.
Letter – Sound Correspondence:
· Introduce letter sounds in a multisensory way – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic (touch).
· Use a key word for each letter sound.
· When introducing a letter sound, allow child to watch in a mirror, observing if the sound is open (mouth
open), voiced or unvoiced (vocal cords active or not), or blocked by the tongue, teeth or lips.
· When some letters are learned blend sounds to make words(at Neuhaus we teach certain letters first – i, t,
p, s, n, and right away words can be formed: it, pin, nip, sit, sin, in, sip, tip, snip, spit).
· Play with sounds using letter tiles – say the sounds slowly, moving letter tiles closer till sounds blend,
manipulate letter sounds using letter tiles to make new words (t-a-n, “take away the /t/ and replace it with
/m/ - what’s the word?”).
These are just some of many ideas, but possibly these ideas will help you invent or become aware of
more. If you are interested, one of our classes that addresses these teaching skills, Reading Readiness, is
offered online. Read about it here, and register online for a convenient class time
through www.neuhaus.org. There are classroom videos that you can view
on www.readingteachersnetwork.org showing how teachers encourage phonemic awareness and foster the
growth of letter-sound knowledge. Here are a couple:
http://library.readingteachersnetwork.org/class-room-videos/letter-recognition-chart
http://library.readingteachersnetwork.org/class-room-videos/phonemic-awareness
Topics: Ask an Expert - All, Ask an Expert - Preschool and Beginning Reading