“Oh my dog is so sad, look at it has tears!”
Kindergarten writers and readers this week played word games and wrote and illustrated single sentence stories in their differentiated literacy groups. Foundational literacy in Kinder emphasizes understanding the main sound each letter makes, recognizing upper and lower case letters in many settings, letter formation, and “tapping out” the first of six syllable types. CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words create a predictable and successful place to start for early readers, who “tap out,” then blend the three sounds to read, and also substitute sounds to make new words. Students at this stage work to tap out words they see in print, but also use this strategy to go the other way, taking a word they hear and matching its parts to letters they know so they can write it in best-guess spelling.
In their three literacy groups, students get the “just right” practice they need to finish the year with a strong foundation. This week, I joined a group as they took turns swapping out letters from a word using letter magnets to make a new word, and identifying and reading “trick words” (a set of grade-level words that are common but can’t yet be decoded with the phonics rules students have learned). Then they wrote, following teacher dictation, and illustrated a story about a dog. Students laughed as they added flair to their sad, wet dog drawing, and invented backstories. “Look at this huge puddle! I want to write ‘puddle’ over here.”
Look at this huge puddle! I want to write ‘puddle’ over here.
Throughout these early years, students learn reading, writing, and spelling in the context of purposeful communication. They make signs for our playground and to “save” and label creations they have drawn or built during Explorations. They experience success and build confidence in whatever place they are on their reading journey, alongside caring adults who love word play and imagination as much as they do.