| A primary focus during the kindergarten year is literacy development.
Teachers recognize that all children entering kindergarten are at various
stages in their literacy development. To accommodate these differences,
the kindergarten program offers a balanced literacy program for young children.
A balanced literacy program includes rich language experiences involving
speaking and writing, and instruction in reading skills and strategies.
An overview of the kindergarten literacy program is provided below. Together,
these activities allow for a variety of interactive and independent reading
and writing experiences to occur.
Reading Aloud to Children Besides giving children a pleasurable experience, reading aloud introduces
them to basic reading concepts, allows children to hear the sound of rich
language and to internalize language patterns. Students develop listening
comprehension and a more extensive vocabulary.
Shared Reading This is an interactive process used with the whole class. As the teacher reads a story, children join in on phrases or words that they know. During subsequent rereadings, children read more and more of the text, until they are able to read the story independently. Shared reading is an opportunity for the teacher to model conventions of print and the use of reading strategies. Guided Reading In kindergarten, the definition of reading encompasses a wide variety of behaviors. For example, some kindergarten children may require teacher support to read stories with predictable text, while others will read simple texts independently. At the same time, there may be children who are beginning to recognize letters of the alphabet. Guided reading provides an opportunity to teach children the variety of reading strategies they need in order to become fluent, independent readers. The teacher works with small groups of students who are similar in their reading development or have a similar need for a particular concept or skill. These groups are flexible and change according to the students' needs and progress. The goal of guided reading is to help readers develop and use effective strategies for understanding increasingly difficult levels of text. During guided reading, the teacher monitors and evaluates each child's progress. Independent Reading Because children learn to read by reading, they need plenty of opportunities to read independently. Sufficient time and appropriate materials are critical to develop and strengthen reading abilities. Writing Research in language development has shown that growth in reading and writing is interdependent; opportunities to write increase ability to read, and vice versa. Kindergarten children participate in various writing activities such as interactive writing and journal writing. Young children learn to write much as they learned to talk. Even though
toddlers make many "mistakes" or approximations in speech, parents enjoy
the conversations and encourage the child to talk, knowing that speech
develops by talking. In kindergarten, writing is approached in much
the same way. Teachers accept children’s approximations of spellings.
Just as parents are proud of a child’s every attempt to say words, teachers
praise young writer’s efforts at writing. They allow much practice by
encouraging very young children to use written language for real purposes:
phone messages, shopping lists, labels, and stories. Your child’s written
stories may contain examples of spelling approximations (temporary phonetic
spelling). For example, a child might write "love" as "luv", because
that’s the way it sounds. Teachers model correct spelling, and children
gradually incorporate conventional or standard spelling into their writing.
Be assured, however, that your child will progress to age-appropriate
conventional spelling. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills In Kindergarten language arts, your child will learn: LISTENING/SPEAKING. Students: READING Students: WRITING Students: NOTE: Students of limited English proficiency (LEP) enrolled in
Spanish Language Arts
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