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Language is all around children. In PreK, we are immersed in language development! Children begin to learn oral language through imitating parents and other family members. When children attempt to speak and experiment with language, children are rewarded and encouraged to continue to use and play with language. To be able to learn language, children need to practice all the time. When learning to talk, children need to be involved and interact with others. The learning of oral language provides a foundation for the learning of reading and writing.
- Letters of the Alphabet
- Activities for Letters of the Alphabet
- Book and Print Awareness
- Activities for Book and Print Awareness
- Literature
- Sight Words
- List of Sight Words
- Activities for Sight Words
- Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
- Activities for Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
Letters of the Alphabet Each theme, the class learns five to six letters, these letters are not
taught in alphabetic order. When writing the letters, the
teachers find that it is easier to first introduce the straight line letters
(Ll, Tt, F, E, Ii, and H). Next, the children do the curved letters (Cc,
Jj, Oo, Ss, f, e, g, q, and Uu). Then, the class combines the curved and
straight lines (G, Q, Pp, Bb, n, m, Dd, Rr, a, and h). Finally, the
children finish with slanted letters (A, Kk, M, N, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz).
For each uppercase and lowercase letter, the class forms the letter by
using popsicle sticks or pipe cleaners. Then, the children write the
letter. Next, the class looks at pictures that start with the letter and
hear the sound for the letter. Finally, the children discover if the letter
is in their name or if the children can locate it around the room.
Activities for Letters of the Alphabet 1. Rainbow Writing - Encourage your child to practice writing the letters.
First, write the letter on an 8 � x 11 piece of paper. Make the letter
as big as the paper. Show your child how to trace the letter with
different color crayons.
2. When reviewing letters with your child, show your child the letters that
are in his/her name or that are in a relative or a friend�s name.
3. Extra! Extra! - Write a letter (uppercase or lowercase) on an 8 � x 11
piece of paper. Help your child find the same letter in magazines or
newspapers. Tell your child to cut the letter out of the newspaper or
magazine and glue the letter on to the piece of paper. Explain to your
child how some of the letters may look a little different because of the
different types of font. Explain that people write letters differently.
4. Memory Game- Write the letters (uppercase and lowercase) on note
cards. For each uppercase and lowercase letter, you should make two
cards. Use five pairs of cards at a time. Add a new set of letters to
challenge your child. Do not exceed ten pairs of cards. If your child
can easily identify a letter remove the set of cards and replace the
cards with another set. Put the cards in the middle of you and your
child either on a table or on the floor. Your child needs to turn a
card over and say the letter. Ask your child to do the same thing with
another card. If the cards match, he/she gets to keep the cards. If
the cards do not match, he/she must turn the cards back over. The game
continues with the other player.
5. Hide and Seek - Write each uppercase and lowercase letter of the
alphabet on a note card. Take five letter cards. Hide the cards in one
room in your house. Tell your child to look for the cards. As your
child finds the cards, he/she must say the letter.
6. Jump On It! - Make two sets of letter cards (uppercase and lowercase)
with note cards. Lay ten cards of one set on the floor leaving space
between the cards. The cards need to be facing up. Put the same ten
cards from the other set in a stack facing down. Tell your child to
turn over the first card and say the letter. Your child needs to find
the same letter on the cards on the floor. Then, your child will jump
on to that card. Put the card that you are holding in the discard
pile. Instruct your child to continue with the other cards.
Book and Print Awareness During each theme, the children learn a different concept about books
or the writing process. The class begins by discussing the parts of the
book and the purpose of each part. The children explore the pictures and
words on the page and begin to understand what to do on each page when
adults read. Finally, the children end the year by beginning to write their
own stories.
Activities for Book and Print Awareness 1. Read, Read, Read! - Encourage your child to tell you a story while
looking at the pictures in a book. Be a role model. Your child can
catch you reading whether it is a book, newspaper, or magazine.
2. Where Is? - While reading to your child, encourage them to tell you
where the front cover, back cover, and the spine are located. Tell your
child the names of the author and the illustrator of the book. Remind
your child that the author writes the words and the illustrator draws
the pictures. While reading, point to each word as you say the word.
3. I Can Read - While your child is telling you a story by looking at
the pages, remind your child to turn the pages one at a time and ask
your child to point to the words while he/she reads.
4. I Can Make a Book - Encourage your child to be the author and the
illustrator of a book. Encourage your child think of an idea for
his/her book. Tell your child to draw the pictures for the book. Then,
the child will write the words (may be composed of random letters) to
match the picture. Encourage your child to share his/her story with a
relative or friend.
5. I am the Teacher - Make a mistake while you are reading. Start to
read the book upside down or backwards. Turn several pages at a time.
Look at the picture and tell a story that does not match. The children
love to be the teacher. Your child can tell you what you are doing
wrong.
6. How To Read - We learn how to read the words on a page by following
the rules of the poem:
We read from top to bottom,
From left to right,
Return sweep,
Read to the end alright!
7. Trip to the Library - Visit the library. Visit the library on the
internet. Go to the Websites section from the Homepage.
8. Write! Write! Write! - Encourage and provide time for your child to draw
and write. Give your child different writing tools such as markers,
crayons, pencils, and pens. Give your child different types of paper
such as computer paper, note cards, decorative note pads, and
construction paper.
9. Literature Rich Environment -
a. Provide space for books and magazines for your child in your home.
b. Provide opportunities for your child to catch you reading and
writing.
c. Explain to your child what you are reading and writing.
d. Provide dress up clothes, puppets, and dolls and encourage your
child to tell his/her own stories or to act out a story.
e. Share different written documents with your child such as bills,
cards, letters, and lists for shopping, mail, and advertisements.
10. Be My Audience - Encourage your child to read a book that has been read
to your child many times. You can be the listener.
11. What Happened? - Encourage your child to tell the events of a story
that happened to him/her. Use pictures of the events to help your
child when telling the events of the story.
12. Label the Room - Use note cards and write down the name of objects in
your house. Put the note cards next to the object. Point to the word
and the object and tell your child what the card says. Label simple
items such as the door, window, wall, and sink.
13. Read Your World - Point out words and read the words to your child that
are in your environment. Point out words on street signs, menus,
posters on buses, and food containers.
14. Write What I Say - While a child is telling a story, write down what
the child says without changing the grammar. When you write down what
the child says, children will make the connection between speaking and
the written language.
Literature We love to read in Pre-K! The teachers become role models by
demonstrating how to read and by sharing good children�s books. If you need
some ideas for good literature that is related to the themes that we are
discussing, visit the theme section of this webpage. Under each section are
recommended books.
I always teach the children if they are trying to locate the story
elements, they should ask themselves these questions as they are reading (I
dramatize the cue word-the one in quotes...)
1. Who is the character in the story? ("WHOOOO?")
What does the character do? How does the character feel?
Which character would you like to be?
2. What is the setting of the story? ("WHERE????....")
3. Tell the events or the things that happened in the story? ("WHAT
HAPPENED?..")
5. Can the story really happen("non-fiction") or is it a pretend story
("fiction")?
Sight Words Each theme, your child is exposed to a new sight word. By the end of
the year, each child will be expected to recall at least 12 sight words.
Sight words are words that are commonly found when children read and write.
As
teachers, we encourage the child to be able to quickly and easily recognize
the parts of the word in order to be able to read the word when the child
sees it in print.
List of Sight Words I can see will me
you the read we at
and play
Activities for Sight Words 1. You will want to write the words down on index cards and put them up on
the refrigerator, or post them where your child does homework. Any time that
you make a �game� out of reading the words, you are making it fun for your
child. You can use magnetic letters where you post the words, and encourage
your child to build the words from individual letters.
2. Secret Word - Write one of the sight words on a note card or piece of
paper with spaces between the letters. Cut the word apart in between
the letters. Put the letters in an envelope. Write the sight word on
the front of the envelope. Tell your child to take the strips of paper
out of the envelope and ask your child to put the letters in order to
spell the sight word. Your child can use the word on the envelope to
help put the letters in order. Ask your child to read the sight word.
3. Extra! Extra! - Write a sight word on an 8 � x 11 piece of paper. Help
your child find the sight word in magazines or newspapers. Instruct
your child to cut the word out and glue it on to the piece of paper.
Explain to your child how some of the words may look a little different
because of the different types of font. Explain that people write
letters differently.
4. Memory Game - Write the sight words on note cards. For each sight
word, you should make two cards. Put the cards in the middle of you and
your child either on a table or on the floor. Your child needs to turn
a card over and read the sight word. Tell your child to do the same
thing with another card. If the cards match, he/she gets to keep the
cards. If the cards do not match, he/she must turn the cards back
over. The partner will follow the same steps to continue the game.
4. Hide and Seek - Take five sight word cards. Hide the cards in one room
in your house. Tell your child to look for the words. As your child
finds the words, he/she must read the sight word.
5. Jump On It! - Make two sets of sight word cards with note cards. Lay
one set of cards on the floor leaving space between the cards. The
cards need to be facing up. Put the other set of cards in a stack
facing down. Tell your child to turn over the first card and read the
sight word. Your child needs to find the same word on the cards on the
floor. Then, your child will jump on to that card. Put the card that
you are holding in the discard pile. Encourage your child to continue
with the other cards.
6. Rainbow Sight Words - Write a sight word on an 8 � x 11 piece of paper
in large letters. Show your child how to turn the sight word into a
rainbow by tracing the word with different color crayons. Encourage
your child to trace the sight word with red, then blue, and so on. We
also use the computer to practice writing sight words with different color
text. You can use �Paint�, it is available on all computers. If you go to
the Start Menu, then Programs, then Accessories, then Paint.
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Phonological and phonemic awareness gives children the opportunity to
hear, distinguish, and play with sounds in the environment and in words. By
hearing, distinguishing, and playing with sounds, children will be working
with beginning strategies for reading and writing. During instruction, the
children begin the year by listening to sounds and telling what makes the
sound. The class continues by telling if the sounds are the same or
different and by repeating a series of sounds. Next, the children identify
the same sounds in rhyming words.
The children work on sentence building by counting how many words are
in a sentence. Also, the children repeat sentences. To encourage reading
strategies, students listen to segmented words (ex: c----at) and tell the
whole word. Also, the students begin to hear a whole word and break the
word into syllables.
Activities for Phonological and Phonemic Awareness 1. Listen to the Sound - While outside, tell your child to listen for
different sounds. Ask your child to tell you what events happen around
that sound. For example, your child hears a fire truck siren. Ask your
child to tell you why the fire truck siren is going off. What is
happening? What will the firefighters do?
2. Whisper Game- (play this with the family) Whisper a secret word to the
child, only break it apart phonetically (ex. C-a t or b-oo-k) They pass
the �secret� on until it goes all the way around the family. REMIND THEM TO
SPEAK SLOWLY AND CLEARLY. The last person repeats the sounds, and then
blends them to make the word. We pretend that it is our secret language�it
is a really tough skill, but will pay off in dividends when the children are
learning to read.
3. Sound Eggs - Collect six or eight plastic eggs. Take two eggs and put
the same item in each egg such as dried beans, rice, coins, or jingle
bells. Close the eggs and tape them shut. Continue with the other
eggs. Encourage your child shake and listen to each egg to try and find
the two eggs that make the same sound.
3. Guess Who�s Talking? - Ask family members or friends to record a message
on a tape player. Play the tape for your child and ask your child to
guess who recorded the message. You can also do this with a blindfold,
or have the other players come up behind the child and say, "Howdy Partner!"
4. Echo - Ask your child to repeat what you say. Use sight words by
saying �you the will.� You can also use sounds of letters (g-h-r).
Encourage your child to repeat what you say. Your child can be the
teacher and make the sounds or say sight words and you repeat what your
child says.
5. Rhyme Time - Read books that contain rhyming words. When reading the
book, be sure to exaggerate the rhyming words by saying them louder or
by stretching out the rhyming part of each word (ex: c-aaattt and
b-aaattt).
6. Rhyme That Word - Give your child a simple word (ex: cat, ball, hop,
dog, lip, man) and encourage your child to tell you a rhyming word. The
word can be a real word (cat~bat) or it can be a made up word
(ball~nall).
7. Count It - Say a sentence with three to five words to your child.
Instruct your child to count the words by putting up a finger for each
word that you say. Then, ask your child to count his/her fingers.
8. Finish It - Start a sentence by saying �I see� or �She will go.�
Encourage your child to repeat the beginning of the sentence and finish
the sentence. For example, your child will say �I see a blue ball.�
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