Reading Curriculum

          

Kindergarten students are busy learning the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.  Each day, the students are involved in many exciting, hands-on activities designed to strengthen literacy skills and promote a love for reading.  To extend this learning to your home, your child will participate in two special homework programs: LETTER BAGS and LITERACY BAGS.  Letter Bags Letter bags will begin coming home weekly, beginning around the third week of school.  Your child should be able to tell you the letters of the week that we are studying at school. (You can always check this website if you need a reminder!)  Please help your child find a household item that begins with our letter(s) of the week.  There are just a few important guidelines; please do not send in food items, and be sure that the objects are small enough to fit inside the letter bag.  When your child brings the bag to school, he/she will give the class some clues as to what is in the bag.  This is a fun weekly activity, and I am sure you and your child will have fun hunting for objects to share with the class.  Literacy Bags Literacy bags are themed bags that your child will bring home on Monday evenings beginning in October.  You will have two nights to keep the bag at home and complete the enclosed activities together.  The themes of these bags range greatly-from letter sounds and gardening to studying the human heart! The activities are designed for kindergarten students and their parents to do together.  Some of the books included will be for you to read to your child, and other times your child may be able to read the books to you.  All bags include detailed instructions and a bag inventory.  Before returning the bag to school, please check to be sure that all materials are inside.  Parents were asked to sign a Literacy Bag Contract at Open House agreeing to replace any items that are lost or damaged.  Thank you for supervising your child with the bags and taking care of them so that they can be used by my students for years to come! Things you can do at home to help your child with Reading: Make time to read to your child EVERY day for at least 15 minutes. Visit the library and help your child select stories to read together.  Rhyming books and books with repetitive texts are popular with kindergarten students.  Our school library is available for parents to check out books to read at home.  Hours are from 7:45-2:00pm.  Please visit! Have your child retell a story after you read it. Ask questions in the middle of a story and at the end to gauge your child's comprehension. Make or buy a set of alphabet cards.  Have your child tell you the letters and their sounds. Use simple magnetic letters to have your child spell out words on your refrigerator. Practice the kindergarten sight words with your child each week.  Make copies of the sight words and create a memory or matching game.  Give your child a marker or hi-lighter and have him/her search the front page of a newspaper looking for sight words.   Back Home