Kindergarten Language Arts

Scope & Sequence : Scope & Sequence documents describe what is covered in a course (the scope) and also the order in which topics are covered (the sequence). These documents list instructional objectives and skills to be mastered. K¹² Scope & Sequence documents for each course include:

Course Overview

In this course, students get structured lessons on readiness skills through emphasis on phonics, language skills, and literature to help develop comprehension, build vocabulary, and promote a lifelong interest in reading.

PHONICS
PhonicsWorks prepares your student to become an independent reader through systematic, multisensory instruction in phonemic awareness and decoding skills, using a kit of magnetized letter tiles and a variety of games and activities. Handwriting Without Tears provides gentle instruction to help your student print letters correctly.

LITERATURE
Plenty of read-aloud literature kindles the imagination while building comprehension and vocabulary. The emphasis is on classic literature—fairy tales, fables, folktales, poems—including many works that embody exemplary virtues, such as “The Frog Prince,” “Beauty and the Beast,” The Velveteen Rabbit, and tales by Beatrix Potter.

Course Outline

PHONICS

Phonological Awareness

  • Introduction to Basic Phonics
  • Sounds for a, t, s, m, b, f, c, h, and j
  • a, t, s, m, b, f, c, h, j, l, n, p, and r
  • o, d, g, k, and v
  • Getting Stronger with Short a and Short o
  • Short i
  • Getting Stronger with Short a, i, and o
  • Short u
  • Getting Stronger with Short a, i, o, and u

Building on the Basics
  • Sounds for y and Short e
  • Getting Stronger with Short a, e, i, o, and u
  • Short Vowels
  • Getting Stronger with Short Vowel Knowledge
  • sh and th
  • Getting Stronger with Vowels and Digraphs
  • wh and ch
  • Getting Stronger with Letter Sounds

Adding to the Basics
  • tch and ck
  • Getting Stronger with sh, th, ch, wh, ck, and tch
  • Digraphs and Trigraphs
  • Getting Stronger with Digraphs and Trigraphs
  • Capitalization and Punctuation
  • Sounds and Sentences
  • s and es
  • Review 2-Letter Sounds and Short Vowels

Applying the Basics
  • ff, ll, ss, zz, and –all
  • Compound Words
  • Review
  • Applying Knowledge

HANDWRITING
  • Hold pencil correctly
  • Write each uppercase letter correctly on wide-line paper
  • Write each lowercase letter correctly on wide-line paper
  • Space letters, words, and sentences correctly
  • Copy short sentences correctly

LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE SKILLS

Readiness/Poetry/Games
  • Listen and respond to poetry and nursery rhymes
  • Identify, classify, and categorize colors and shapes
  • Recognize community helpers and their jobs
  • Sequence events in a story or rhyme
  • Recognize and correctly use position words

Read Aloud
  • Listen and respond to various types of literature
  • Identify favorite books and stories
  • Discuss characters, actions, and conflict
  • Retell stories in proper sequence using complete sentences and proper grammar
  • Ask and respond to questions about the text
  • Predict what will happen next in stories
  • Relate stories to personal experience
  • Create and dictate stories and responses to literature
  • Share work with others

Junior Great Books
  • Listen attentively for different ideas and details
  • Support an opinion with reasoning and evidence, citing specific passages from the text
  • Develop habits of analytical thinking: identify problems, use inference, ask pertinent questions, and draw conclusions
  • Build vocabulary through exposure to rich literary language
  • Understand and appreciate literature through writing, dramatization, and art activities


Lesson Time and Scheduling

Total Lessons: 180

Lesson Time: 120 minutes
You might choose to split the lessons into smaller segments and provide breaks for your child as needed. The online lesson tracking system allows you to pick up wherever you left off in any given lesson.

Materials

Standard Curriculum Items

  • Handwriting Grade K Teacher's Guide
  • Slate Chalkboard
  • Printed Alphabet Desk Strips
  • Wide Double Line Paper
  • Junior Great Books, Dragon Series, Vol. 1-3
  • Junior Great Books, Sailing Ship Series, Vol. 1-3
  • The Rooster Crows— A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles, by Maud and Miska Petersham
  • The Random House Book of Fairy Tales, adapted by Amy Ehrlich
  • Rhyme Time, by Tomie dePaola
  • Letters and Numbers for Me, 2008 edition


Basic Phonics Kit
  • Beginning Phonics Flash Cards
  • Dry Board Eraser
  • Black Dry-Erase Marker
  • Blue Dry-Erase Marker
  • Magnetic Board (new version)
  • Phonics Reader, Volumes 1-9
  • Small Dry Erase Board
  • Phonics Basic 3-Ring Binder
  • Magnetic Pages with Basic Tile Set
  • Folding Magnetic Board
  • Phonics DVD

Additional Items
  • A Story, a Story by Gail Haley (Simon & Schuster, 1977)
  • The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (Viking reissue edition, 1984), or these separate titles: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, and The Tale of Flopsy Bunnies
  • The Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall (Penguin, 1983)
  • The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (William Morrow, 1978)
  • Tom Thumb by Richard Jesse Watson (Harcourt Brace, 1993)
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams (William Morrow, 1984)
  • The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (1942; Harper Collins, 1977)
  • Millions of Cats by Wanda Gáag (Paper Star reissue edition, 1996)
  • Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel (Henry Holt, 1989)
  • Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (1939; Houghton Mifflin, 1977)
  • Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (1941; Penguin reprinted, 1998
  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Penguin, 1976)
  • Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (1940; Harper Trophy reissue edition, 1987)

NOTE: List subject to change