Part of my structured literacy approach in the classroom is having students practice tracing letters. To become writers, my students need to learn how to form letters, and that can be hard work! Fine Motor Skills First, to be able to write, I ensure that my students have a lot of fine motor practice. I …
A solid understanding of short and long vowel sounds is important in building students’ reading and writing skills. Teaching Phonics Skills Kindergarten students need explicit and systematic instruction in phonics skills. It is one of the fundamental skills students need to be successful readers and writers. As I continue to teach my students letter sounds, …
I have come up with quick and easy kindergarten literacy activities that use simple letter cards to practise various skills with my students. These cost nothing to make – I just cut up pieces of paper and wrote on them with a Sharpie! I use the activities alongside my structured literacy routine to help reinforce …
Students can create their own no-prep sight word books to reinforce reading and writing the words they are learning. Teaching Sight Words This past year, I learned about the Heart Word method for teaching sight words. For students to automatically start reading them, I explicitly teach my students how to read them. This way, they …
Try these fun games and activities for kindergarten phonics practice and reinforce letter-sound knowledge. Importance of Phonics Learning to connect the written symbol (the letter) to its sound is one of the foundational skills that students need to become readers and writers. Phonics needs to be explicitly taught and practiced with students. I use a …
I Spy a Sound are fun and engaging phonics activities that you can use to work on letter sounds with your kindergarten students. This post contains affiliate links. I love finding new ways to engage students when they are learning a new skill! Phonics can become repetitive, so I was excited to play this I …
Switching up the traditional alphabet posters in your kindergarten classroom to a sound wall can greatly impact your students’ reading skills! This year, I am switching from using a word wall in my classroom to having a sound wall. I’ve done quite a bit of research lately on how to teach students fundamental reading skills. …
Plan and implement an effective kindergarten phonics routine to build the foundation of reading and writing skills for your students. I have learned over the years that my students need direct, explicit instruction in phonics. Without it, some of my students would not be able to connect the written symbol (the letter) and its spoken …
Plan and implement a developmentally appropriate program for literacy in kindergarten. Read about everything you need to know for this school year. Our young learners need planned, extensive and developmentally appropriate literacy instruction to become readers and writers. This is coupled with opportunities to use these skills through play during the school day. I recently …
Are you looking for back-to-school books for your kindergarten classroom library? I have a great list of great books to share with you! Last year, I wrote some blog posts about literacy and math books that are perfect for the beginning of the school year. Recently, I acquired some new picture books that I think …
