Department of Defense Education Activity Curriculum
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kindergarten page
Reading and Writing
| Reading

Children match sounds to letters and make meaning of written words.

In kindergarten, children will learn phonetic awareness, i.e., the ability to hear and say the separate sounds (phonemes) in words.

 
You can help by having your child
| | | Recognize and name most letters of the alphabet.
  |   Recognize and say the common sounds of most letters, and write the letter that goes with a spoken sound.
  |   Tell the beginning and ending sounds of words, such as the d and g sounds in dog.
  |   Use his knowledge of sounds to write a word (e.g., c-a-t = cat).
  |   Make up words that rhyme (e.g., cat and hat).
  |   Blend sounds together to say a whole word (e.g., b and ack together to say back).
  |   Read simple picture-word books.
  |   Read approximately 20 simple, high frequency "sight words" (e.g., the, and).
  |   Understand stories heard or read by retelling you the story.
  |   Express thoughts and feelings by writing or drawing in a daily journal, or by writing stories or letters.


 

Children read books-either independently or with assistance-every day.

It is essential to establish good reading habits at an early age. Children will be encouraged to read when they see their parents or others in their homes regularly enjoying newspapers, magazines, and books.

 
You can help by having your child
| | | Listen to you read aloud to him each day.
  |   Read with you each night for 15 to 20 minutes.
  |   Hold a book right side up, and turn the pages in the correct direction
  |   Follow the text with his finger, pointing to the word that is being read.
  |   Discuss and identify characters and the roles they play in a story.
  |   Use new vocabulary learned from stories and books.


  Writing

Children write every day, choosing and developing their own topics.

At this level, children will use different means to express themselves. They may use drawings, letter strings,"scribbles" and letter and word approximations. Kindergartners freely write in whatever manner they can, showing little or no concern for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. As a result, most of their writing is readable only by themselves-but nonetheless, it is a wonderful and essential step in their ability to gain mastery of writing skills.

 
You can help by having your child
| | | Write his name.
  |   Write the letters of the alphabet.
  |   Write a letter that goes with a spoken sound.
  |   Write a word by blending sounds together (e.g., b-a-t = bat).
  |   Write a simple sentence. [Note: Children at this level generally write words the way they sound, so words may be misspelled.]
  |   Make an attempt to read his own writing back to you.