The Kindergarten curriculum provides students with exposure to a variety of fields of inquiry. Below is a sample week of literacy activities in Kindergarten. Exact activities vary from school to school and these activities complement work in other subjects. For a complete Kindergarten curriculum, please visit the Curriculum and Instruction website.
Kindergarten: Week at a Glance Model
Day 1 — Phonemic Awareness Lesson
WHOLE GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Daily phonemic awareness lesson: beginning sounds
- Introduce Alphafriends using picture cards, riddles, CD, and Alphafolder
TEACHER-LED SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Using picture cards, listen for beginning sound and compare sounds
- Place picture cards under Alphafriends with same beginning sound
INDEPENDENT AND SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Children work in partner ships in Phonics Center
- Children categorize picture cards by beginning sounds
Day 2 — Phonics and High-Frequency Words Lesson
WHOLE GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Daily phonemic awareness lesson
- Initial consonant lesson: teach letter name and sound
- Students think of other words with same initial sound and teacher lists on board
- Introduce high-frequency word and review high-frequency words on word wall
TEACHER-LED SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Compare initial consonant sound and other sounds using Alphafriend card, letter card, and picture cards (sort pictures according to initial sound)
- Children practice writing letter on white boards
- Use word cards, picture cards, and punctuation cards to build sentences
INDEPENDENT AND SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Children work in Phonics Center
- Children practice writing letters they learned
Days 3–4 — Phonics Review Lessons
WHOLE GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Daily phonemic awareness lesson
- Review letter/sound from Day 2 and other needed sounds
TEACHER-LED SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Give each child a picture card related to the week’s sound (or review sounds) and have child name picture card and beginning sound
- Use Phonics Library Book for oral language development, retelling, fluency, and phonics practice
INDEPENDENT AND SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Children practice writing the letter that matches the sound
- Children read Phonics Library Book to partners
- Using Phonics Library BLM, children highlight words containing the week’s sound
- Children work in Phonics Center
Day 5 — Review and Reteach Phonics and High-Frequency Word Lessons
WHOLE GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Daily phonemic awareness lesson
- Review new initial consonant
- Review previous sounds and letter names
- Review high frequency words
TEACHER-LED SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Children use word cards, picture cards, and punctuation cards to build sentences
- Dictate sounds to children and have them write sounds on white boards
INDEPENDENT AND SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
- Children create a list of words that begin with the week’s letter
- Children practice writing sentences with this week’s high-frequency words
- Children work in Phonics Center
