Kindergarten Units (Based upon Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework):
Phonemic Awareness – There are at least 44 phonemes (or uniquely different sounds) that are used in the English language. Here is a guide to the phonemes (which I referred to extensively, when setting up the structure below).
- Begin with teaching the name of the letter, before teaching students the sound associated with each letter.
- Alphabet songs for letter names – various songs
- Elmo’s Amazing Alphabet Race – video
- Next, teach the sounds of the consonants. Consonants are letters whose sounds require that your mouth is partially or fully blocked, and CANNOT be made louder or quieter (For a review & examples of teachers in classrooms). The letters bdpq (circle & line), hncu (arches), mwvy (angled lines), gj (tails), jil (narrow), and even capital E and the number 3, can all be challenging for new learners of letters, but particularly so for dyslexic learners. Letters can also be difficult to learn, because each letter can take on so many shapes from the difference between capital and lowercase letter, to the variations of nearly limitless font styles.
- Sound = /b/; letter = b; example = bug
- Sound = /d/; letter = d; example = dad
- Sound = /f/; letter = f; example = fan
- Sound = /g/; letter = g; example = gas
- Sound = /h/; letter = h; example = hop
- Sound = /j/; letter = j, g; example = jam, giraffe
- Sound = /k/; letter = c or k; example = cat, kit
- Sound = /l/; letter = l; example = live
- Sound = /m/; letter = m; example = mud
- Sound = /n/; letter = n; example = net
- Sound = /p/; letter = p; example = pin
- Q is rarely used without u (listed under 1st grade learning targets
- Sound = /r/; letter = r; example = run
- Sound = /s/; letter = s, c; example = sit, circle
- Sound = /t/; letter = t; example = tip
- Sound = /v/; letter = v; example = vine
- Sound = /w/; letter = w; example = wit
- Sound = /y/; letter = i, j (typically the word originates from another language), y; example = onion, Johann, yes
- Sound = /z/; letter = s, x, z; example = his, xylophone, zoo
- Then teach the short & long vowel sounds (the vowels are a,e,i,o,u, and sometimes w & y. Vowels are letters whose sounds require that your mouth to be open, unblocked, and can be made louder or quieter (For a review & examples of teachers in classrooms). I put these after, consonants because vowels and digraphs are typically more difficult for dyslexic students to learn, than consonants, as they frequently get interchanged (tips for helping dyslexic students with vowels).
- a – Crazy Stir Fry – a
- e – Monster Treasure Hunt – e, E Eats Everything
- i – Monster Treasure Hunt – i, Soak up the Sun, I is for Instruments
- o – Monster Treasure Hunt – o, The Letter O,
- o changes to a u sound – Professors V N TH
- u – What Makes U Useful, U Really got a Hold on Me
- y (semi-vowel) – The 3 Sounds of Y, Don’t Know Y
- w (semi-vowel) – W can be a Vowel (long & drawn out, but informative, more for adult understanding)
- Short Vowel Activities
- Review Alphabet
- Alphabet BINGO – Game
- Monster Mansion Match – Game
- Teach Your Monster To Read – Game (early levels)
- BDPQ Bandit – Game
- Sight Word Games – Games (these can also be used to practice letter recognition)
Phonics (Focuses on writing print vs. phonemic awareness which focuses on sounds)
- Sound-symbol relationships
- Letter Shapes – Video to see letters drawn
- Sky Writer – Handwriting Game
- Alphabet Bubble – Game (recognizing the first letter of a word)
- Decode shorter words
Vocabulary
- Content of vocabulary instruction is from books and other curriculum materials teachers read to students
- Sight Words Teaching Strategies
- Fry Sight Word List (a list of the top 1,000 most commonly used words in literature)
Comprehension
- Listening comprehension