Kindergarten Language Arts

Course of Study:

Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency Standard

Students in the primary grades learn to recognize and decode printed words, developing the skills that are the foundations for independent reading.  They discover the alphabetic principle (sound-symbol match) and learn to use it in figuring out new words.  They build a stock of sight words that helps them to read quickly and accurately with comprehension.  By the end of third grade, they demonstrate fluent oral reading, varying their intonation and timing as appropriate for the text.

Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency Benchmarks for Grades K-3

By the end of the K-3 program, students will be able to:

  1. Use letter-sound correspondence knowledge and structural analysis to decode words.
  2. Demonstrate fluent oral reading, using sight words and decoding skills, varying intonation and timing as appropriate for the text.

Kindergarten Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

  1. Read own first and last name
  2. Identify and complete rhyming words and patterns.
  3. Distinguish the number of syllables in words by using rhythmic clapping, snapping or counting.
  4. Distinguish and name all upper- and lower-case letters.
  5. Recognize, say and write the common sounds of letters.
  6. Distinguish letters from words by recognizing that words are separated by spaces.
  7. Hear and say separate phonemes in words, such as identifying the initial consonant sounds in a word, and blend phonemes to say words.
    1. identify the onset and rime in a single-syllable pronounced word*
  8. Read one-syllable and often heard words by sight.  (See kindergarten Sight Word list at end of kindergarten course of study.)
    1. point to a word in text and correctly read it*
    2. use knowledge of letter sounds to decode simple, single-syllable words*
    3. locate words on a word wall.*
  9. Reread stories independently or as a group, modeling patterns of changes of timing, voice and expression.
    1. read simple patterned and predictable text*
    2. read “emergently” a favorite story, recreating the words of the text with accuracy and fluent intonation. *
  10. Achieve the kindergarten DIBELS winter benchmark in Initial Sound Fluency and the spring benchmarks in Letter Naming Fluency, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency and Nonsense word fluency.*

Acquisition of Vocabulary Standard

Students acquire vocabulary through exposure to language-rich situations, such as reading books and other texts and conversing with adults and peers.  They use context clues, as well as direct explanations provided by others, to gain new words.  They learn to apply word analysis skills to build and extend their own vocabulary.  As students progress through the grades, they become more proficient in applying their knowledge of words (origins, parts, relationships, meanings) to acquire specialized vocabulary that aids comprehension.

Acquisition of Vocabulary Benchmarks Grades K-3

By the end of the K-3 program, students will be able to:

  1. Use context clues to determine the meaning of vocabulary.
  2. Read accurately high-frequency sight words.
  3. Apply structural analysis skills to build and extend vocabulary and to determine word meaning.
  4. Know the meaning of specialized vocabulary by applying knowledge of word parts, relationships and meanings.
  5. Use resources to determine the meanings of pronunciations of unknown words.

Kindergarten Acquisition of Vocabulary Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Contextual Understanding

  1. Understand new words from the context of conversations or from the use of pictures within a text.

Conceptual Understanding

  1. Recognize and understand words, signs and symbols seen in everyday life.
  2. Identify words in common categories, such as color words, number words and directional words.

Tools and Resources

  1. Determine the meaning of unknown words, with assistance, using a beginner’s dictionary.

Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Standard

Students develop and learn to apply strategies that help them to comprehend and interpret informational texts.  Reading and learning to read are problem solving processes that require strategies for the reader to make sense of written language and remain engaged in texts.  Beginners develop basic concepts about print (e.g., that print holds meaning) and how books work (e.g., text organization).  As strategic readers, students learn to analyze and evaluate texts to demonstrate their understanding of text.  Additionally, students learn to self-monitor their own comprehension by asking and answering questions about the text, self-correcting errors and assessing their own understanding.  They apply these strategies effectively to assigned and self-selected texts read in and out of the classroom.

Reading Process:  Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Benchmarks Grades K-3

By the end of the K-3 program, students will be able to:

  1. Establish a purpose for reading and use a range of reading comprehension strategies to understand literary passages and text.
  2. Make predictions from text clues and cite specific examples to support predictions.
  3. Draw conclusions from information in text.
  4. Apply reading skills and strategies to summarize and compare and contrast information in text, between text and across subject areas.
  5. Demonstrate comprehension by responding to questions (e.g., literal, informational and evaluative).
  6. Apply and adjust self-monitoring strategies to assess understanding of text.

Kindergarten Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Concepts of Print

  1. Demonstrate and understanding that print has meaning by explaining that text provides information or tells a story.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of the following:
    1. books are held right side up
    2. people read pages from front to back
    3. people read words from left to write and from top to bottom
    4. track visually and physically (with a finger or pointer) every word in a text*
    5. determine whether one is looking at the correct page of a text. *
  3. Know the difference between illustrations and print.

Comprehension Strategies

  1. Visualize the information in texts, and demonstrate this by drawing pictures, discussing images in texts or dictating simple descriptions.
  2. Utilize schema (background knowledge) to relate the text to self. *
  3. Predict what will happen next, using pictures and content as a guide.
  4. Compare information (e.g., recognize similarities) in texts using schema and experience.
  5. Recall information from a story by sequencing pictures and events.
  6. Answer literal and higher level questions to demonstrate comprehension of orally read grade-appropriate texts.

Self-Monitoring Strategies

  1. Monitor comprehension of orally read texts by asking and answering questions (e.g., why does a character act as he/she does), verbalizing a misunderstanding, or articulating a character’s motivation.

Independent Reading

  1. Identify favorite books and “read” them during independent reading time.
  2. Participate in shared oral reading (with a partner or an adult) at least twice a day.
  3. Engage with a variety of genre: literature (stories, plays, poems), functional texts (how-to books, signs, labels, messages) and informational texts (all-about books, attribute texts). *
  4. React to books read orally and articulate the reason for the response. *
  5. Relate contributions to what others have said during a book discussion. *
  6. Ask other students to clarify meaning in a book discussion. *
Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

Students gain knowledge from reading for purposes of learning about a subject, doing a job, making decisions and accomplishing a task.  Students need to apply the reading process to various types of informational texts, including essays, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, instruction manuals, consumer and workplace documents, reference materials, subtitles and visual aids, to make predictions and build text knowledge.  They learn to read diagrams, charts, graphs, maps and displays in text as sources of additional information, analyze it and draw inferences from it.  Strategic readers learn to recognize arguments, bias, stereotyping and propaganda in informational text sources.

Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text Benchmarks for Grades K-3

By the end of the K-3 program, students will be able to:

  1. Use text features and structures to organize content, draw conclusions and build text knowledge.
  2. Ask clarifying questions concerning essential elements of informational text.
  3. Identify the central ideas and supporting details of informational text.
  4. Use visual aids as sources to gain additional information from text.
  5. Evaluate two- and three-step directions for proper sequencing and completeness.

Kindergarten Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

  1. Use pictures and illustrations to aid comprehension.
  2. Identify and discuss the sequence of events in informational text.
  3. Tell the main idea of a selection that has been read aloud.
  4. Identify and discuss simple maps, charts and graphs.
  5. Follow simple directions.

Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard

Students enhance their understanding of the human story by reading literary texts that represent a variety of authors, cultures and eras.  They learn to apply the reading process to the various genres of literature, including fables, folk tales, short stories, novels, poetry and drama.  The demonstrate their comprehension by describing and discussing the elements of literature (e.g., setting, character and plot), analyzing the author’s use of language (e.g., word choice and figurative language), comparing and contrasting texts, inferring theme and meaning and responding to text in critical and creative ways.  Strategic readers learn to explain, analyze and critique literary text to achieve deep understanding.

Reading Applications: Literary Text Benchmarks for Grades K-3

By the end of the K-3 program, students will be able to:

  1. Compare and contrast plot across literary works.
  2. Use supporting details to identify and describe main ideas, characters and setting.
  3. Recognize the defining characteristics and features of literary forms and genres.
  4. Explain how an author’s word choice and use of methods influences the reader.
  5. Identify the theme of a literary text.

Kindergarten Reading Applications: Literary Text Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

  1. Identify favorite books and stories.
  2. Identify the characters and setting in a story.
  3. Retell or re-enact a story that has been heard.
  4. Distinguish between fantasy and reality.
  5. Recognize predictable patterns in stories.
  6. Compare and contrast plots across literary works. *
  7. Recognize the characteristics and features of different forms and genres (e.g., poems, songs, nursery rhymes, stories). *

Writing Process Standard

Students’ writing develops when they regularly engage in the major phases of the writing process.  The writing process includes the phases of prewriting, drafting, revising and editing and publishing.  They learn to plan their writing for different purposes and audiences.  They learn to apply their writing skills in increasingly sophisticated ways to create and produce compositions that reflect effective word and grammatical choices.  Students develop revision strategies to improve the content, organization and language of their writing.  Students also develop editing skills to improve writing conventions.

Writing Process Benchmarks for Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

  1. Generate ideas for written compositions.
  2. Develop audience and purpose for self-selected and assigned writing tasks.
  3. Use organizers to clarify ideas for writing assignments.
  4. Use revision strategies and resources to improve ideas and content, organization, word choice and detail.
  5. Edit to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage.
  6. Apply tools to judge the quality of writing.
  7. Publish writing samples for display or sharing with others, using techniques such as electronic resources and graphics.

Kindergarten Writing Process Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Prewriting

  1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others (e.g., brainstorming).
  2. Choose a topic for writing.
  3. Determine audience.

Drafting, Editing, and Revising

  1. Generate text through the following means:
    1. drawings and scribbles
    2. stringing letters
    3. initial consonant representation
    4. final consonant representation
    5. words.
  2. Organize and group related ideas (e.g., graphic organizers such as T-charts, webbing, KWL chart, Beginning-Middle-End chart)
  3. Participate in shared and interactive writing. *
  4. Write from left to right and top to bottom.
  5. Use correct sentence structures when expressing thoughts and ideas.
  6. Reread own writing (e.g., pause voluntarily in the midst of writing to reread what they have written).
  7. Make choices about the best word to convey meaning. *
  8. Edit own writing for meaning (e.g., voice-print pairing)*
  9. Maintain focus and exclude extraneous information when prompted. *
  10. Use resources (e.g., a word wall) to enhance vocabulary.

Publishing

  1. Independently create text with words a knowledgeable adult can decipher. *
  2. Rewrite and illustrate writing samples for display and for sharing with others.

Writing Applications Standard

Students need to understand that various types of writing require different language, formatting and special vocabulary.  Writing serves many purposes across the curriculum and takes various forms.  Beginning writers learn about the various purposes of writing; they attempt and use a small range of familiar forms (e.g., letters).  Developing writers are able to select text forms to suit purpose and audience.  They can explain why some text forms are more suited to a purpose than others and begin to use content-specific vocabulary to achieve their communication goals.  Proficient writers control effectively the language and structural features of a large repertoire of text forms.  They deliberately choose vocabulary to enhance text and structure their writing according to audience and purpose.

Writing Applications Benchmarks for Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

A.     Compose writings that convey a clear message and include well-chosen details.

B.     Write responses to literature that demonstrate an understanding of a literary work.

C.     Write friendly letters and invitations complete with date, salutation, body, closing and signature.

Kindergarten Writing Applications Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

1.      Dictate or write simple stories, using letters, word or pictures.

2.      Name or label objects or places.

3.      Write from left to write and top to bottom.

4.      Dictate or write informal writings for various purposes.

5.      Produce a narrative of one or more events, sequenced in time. *

6.      Include in a narrative, gestures, drawings and/or intonation that support the meaning of the text. *

7.      Write friendly letters with salutation, body, closing, and signature (e.g., whole class thank-you letter, individual letters at writing center).

Writing Conventions Standard

Students learn to master writing conventions through exposure to good models and opportunities for practice.  Writing conventions include spelling, punctuation, grammar and other conventions associated with forms of written text.  They learn the purpose of punctuation: to clarify sentence meaning and help readers know how writing might sound aloud.  They develop and extend their understanding of the spelling system, using a range of strategies for spelling words correctly and using newly learned vocabulary in their writing.  They grow more skillful at using the grammatical structures of English to effectively communicate ideas in writing and to express themselves.

Writing Conventions Benchmarks for the K-2 Program

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

A.     Print legibly using appropriate spacing.

B.     Spell grade-appropriate words correctly.

C.     Use conventions of punctuation and capitalization in written work.

D.     Use grammatical structures in written work.

Kindergarten Writing Conventions Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Handwriting

1.      Legibly print capital and lowercase letters, correctly spacing letters.

2.      Leave spaces between words when writing.

Spelling

3.      Show characteristics of early letter name-alphabetic spelling.

4.      Use some end consonant sounds when writing.

Punctuation and Capitalization

5.      Place punctuation marks at the ends of sentences.

Research Standard

Students define and investigate self-selected or assigned issues, topics and problems.  They locate, select and make use of relevant information from a variety of media, reference and technological sources.  Students use an appropriate form to communicate findings.

Research Standard Benchmarks for Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

A.     Generate questions for investigation and gather information from a variety of sources.

B.     Retell important details and findings.

Kindergarten Research Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

1.      Ask questions about a topic being studied or an area of interest.

2.      Use books or observations to gather information, with teacher assistance, to explain a topic or unit of study.

3.      Recall information about a topic, with teacher assistance.

4.      Share findings visually or orally.

Communications:  Oral and Visual Standard

Students learn to communicate effectively through exposure to good models and opportunities for practice.  By speaking, listening and providing and interpreting visual images, they learn to apply their communication skills in increasingly sophisticated ways.  Students learn to deliver presentations that effectively control language and deliberately choose vocabulary to clarify points and adjust presentations according to audience and purpose.

Communications: Oral and Visual Benchmarks for Grades K-2

By the end of the K-2 program, students will be able to:

A.     Use active listening strategies to identify the main idea and to gain information from oral presentations.

B.     Connect prior experiences, insights and ideas to those of a speaker.

C.     Follow multi-step directions.

D.     Speak clearly and at an appropriate pace and volume.

E.      Deliver a variety of presentations that include relevant information and a clear sense of purpose.

Kindergarten Communication: Oral and Visual Indicators

By the end of kindergarten, students will be able to:

Listening and Viewing

1.      Listen attentively to speakers, stories, poems and songs by:

a.      focusing on the speaker

b.      making eye contact with the speaker

c.      keeping one’s hands and feet to oneself

d.      being quiet until it is appropriate to speak.

2.      Connect what is heard with prior knowledge and experience.

3.      Follow simple oral directions.

Speaking Skills and Strategies

4.      Speak clearly and understandable.

Speaking Applications

5.      Deliver informal descriptive or informational presentations about ideas of experiences in logical order with a beginning, middle and end.

6.      Recite short poems, songs, and nursery rhymes.

7.      Retell a story, using own words. *

8.      Share a personal experience with the class. *

40 KINDERGARTEN HIGH-FREQUENCY WORDS

 FAMILIES

a                                  me                                you                              

am                                my                                                                    in

and                                                                   red                               is

at                                 no                                blue                              it

                                    not                               green                           

be                                                                    yellow                          he

                                    see                               orange                          me

can                               she                               purple                           she

come                                                                black                            we

                                    that                               brown

did                               the                                white                            that

do                                this                                                                   the

                                                                                                            this

get                                up                                                                                           

go

 

he                                 we

                                    what

I                                   will

in

is

it

 

 

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