Kindergarten Reading Program

We believe that children learn to read by reading. To achieve that goal, we use a combination of whole language, phonics, thematic units, shared reading, and individual reading.

Our reading program provides the foundation for our monthly units. With it, we use a whole language approach to learn comprehension, sight vocabulary, capitalization, and punctuation, as well as other grammar skills. Phonics tie in naturally with these lessons.

We employ a letter of the week, emphasizing its sound(s). We encourage the children to say it, write it, and find words in their vocabularies which start with that letter. We work on the multiple sounds made by the vowels and practice with rhyming word families.

One way to tie all this together is through "Daily News," a daily recording of the date, the weather, and an event in one of the student's lives. The repetition reinforces skills and eventually leads us to activities in editing or finding our mistakes.

We also make daily entries in journals to encourage writing skills. These entries are then shared with the class.

Through our Big Books, we have shared reading that encourages memorization of the text, sight vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar skills. We encourage the children to extend and innovate the text to make it their own. We try to provide reading opportunities all around the room with poems, posters, and songs.

We offer fiction and non-fiction reading materials. These materials are rotated frequently in the reading loft as well as in the other centers in the room.

We surround the students with reading opportunities to give them a reason to learn to read and be enthusiastic about that ability.