Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition
This unit consists of 3 sub-units designed to provide students with basic foundational skills for word work, closely following the Next Generation Foundation Skills standards. The first part focuses on print concepts, the second on phonological awareness and the third on phonics and word recognition. It is essential that a word-work curriculum closely aligns/integrates with reading and writing instruction, supporting how students develop as writers, readers, speakers, and listeners. Additionally, in keeping with the recommendations of the Next Generation Learning Standards, it is important that kindergarten units are developmentally appropriate, with play and hands-on learning underpinning all instruction.
Each sub-unit is designed with an intentional progression with a recommended sequence of lessons. However, teachers are encouraged to use the 3 sub-units in an integrated and flexible manner, to best support Language Arts in the classroom.
Note: The foundational skills are not an end in and of themselves; rather, they are essential and vital components of effective reading instruction designed to develop capable readers with the ability to comprehend texts across a range of types and disciplines. Responsive practitioners need to develop a deep understanding and working knowledge of foundational literacy processes. The standards, along with the 3 sub-units’ guiding questions and learning targets, can provide the direction and support to assist students in learning the foundational skills.
As always, assess students’ with developmentally appropriate tools that help to inform instructional planning. Learners who lack literacy experiences before they enter school often require a more explicit, structured, and targeted approach to the foundational skills. Teachers will find the specific progressions for instruction in each of the K foundational sub-units. Learners who enter kindergarten with more robust literacy experiences will require a more flexible and eclectic approach to instruction. Teachers are encouraged to use the progressions in this unit to meet the students’ strengths and needs.
Essential Outcomes
Reading Foundations – Print Concepts
- KRF1b: Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
- KRF1d: Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Reading Foundations – Phonological Awareness
- KRF2: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
- KRF2a: Recognize and produce spoken rhyming words.
- KRF2b: Blend and segment syllables in spoken words.
- KRF2c: Blend and segment onsets and rimes of spoken words.
- KRF2d: Blend and segment individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken one-syllable words.
- KRF2e: Create new words by manipulating the phonemes orally in one-syllable words.
Reading Foundations – Phonics and Word Recognition
- KRF3: Know and apply phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- KRF3a: Demonstrate one-to-one letter sound correspondence by producing the primary sound or most frequent sound for each consonant.
- KRF3b: Decode short vowel sounds with common spellings.
- KRF3c: Decode some regularly spelled one syllable words.
- KRF3d: Read common high-frequency words by sight.
Download the complete Kindergarten ELA Reading Foundations framework to customize for your own planning.