Reading/English Language Arts in Prekindergarten
Prekindergarten children show new language skills. They start conversations and participate in class discussions. They learn new words and use words to add detail to what they say.
During prekindergarten, children start to connect spoken words to words on a page. They are aware that words are made up of sounds, that sounds go together to form words, and that letters represent specific sounds. They know some of the alphabet, including letters in their own names.
They also understand that words and pictures give information. They use the pictures as clues to what the words mean. As they listen to stories, children can predict what will happen, retell stories in their own words, and tell stories they have made up.
TOPICS COVERED
Reading/English language arts standards cover the following eight topics, or strands.
Expectations for what a child should be able to do increase from one grade to the next.
• Using and understanding spoken words (Language Development)
• Moving from spoken language to print (Beginning Reading)
• Getting facts from books and other writing (Informational Text)
• Learning from and enjoying stories, poems, and plays (Literary Text)
• Using materials to find out information (Research)
• Using written words to share information, ideas, and feelings (Writing)
• Obtaining information from television, film, Internet, or videos (Media)
• Knowing how to spell and use grammar correctly (English Language Conventions)
WHAT YOUR CHILD SHOULD KNOW
BY THE END OF PREKINDERGARTEN, YOUR CHILD SHOULD KNOW AND BE ABLE TO PERFORM THESE SKILLS:
1. Start or continue conversations. For example, can talk with the teacher about a trip to the fire station and ask whether the class will be able to go again.
2. Use words to describe objects, actions, and feelings. For example, can say, “She is upset” when he/she sees a child crying.
3. Know that spoken words can be written and read and that written words can be spoken aloud. For example, look at a menu and ask, “Which word says pancakes?”
4. Identify different parts of a book (for example, front cover, back cover, title page) and the information found there.
5. Know letters in his/her own name and in familiar words. For example, point to an M and say, “This is for mommy.”
6. Use books and other printed materials to find information. For example, “The bus with the A on it goes to my grandma’s house.”
7. Relate book experiences to his/her own life. For example, look at a book about dogs and say, “I have a dog just like this one. His name is Mack.”
8. Use adults as resources to answer questions or clarify information. For example, ask a parent, “Please help me write my name?”
9. Make clear attempts to convey a message in writing. For example, ask, “How do I write Dear Auntie?”
10. Use knowledge of phonics and sounds of letters to spell words.
11. Print his/her own name. For example, write his/her name on a drawing.
12. Your child's Learning Activities
HOME ACTIVITIES
1. Read to your child. At the end of the story talk about favorite parts. Ask what your child liked about the story. Introduce new words as you talk.
2. Sing with your child the ABC song and other songs that emphasize rhyme, such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “This Old Man.”
3. Help your child find words that rhyme, such as cat, fat, hat, mat.
4. Each day, pick a “word of the day” that starts with a different letter. Find other words that start with that letter.
5. Provide your child with different types of crayons, pencils, and magic markers to use for drawing and writing.
Pre-Kindergarten Reading Course Outline
Preschool Vocabulary
The
Smallest Object -
letter Z, zebra. zipper, zucchini
The
Smallest Object -
letter Y, yo-yo, yarn, yak
The
Smallest Object -
letter X, x-ray, xylophone
The
Smallest Object -
letter W, wagon, wheel, walrus, whale
The
Smallest Object -
letter V, vulture, volcano, vest, violin
The
Smallest Object -
letter U theme, unicorn, umbrella
The
Smallest Object -
letter T, tree, tent, tooth, truck
The
Smallest Object -
letter S, seal, saw, strawberry, screwdriver
The
Smallest Object -
letter R, rainbow, rake, raccoon, rhinoceros
The
Smallest Object -
letter Q, quilt, quarter, queen, quail
The
Smallest Object -
letter P, pail, pig, purse, pencil
The
Smallest Object -
letter O, octopus, olive, ostrich, owl
The
Smallest Object -
letter N, nest, nail, needle, note
The
Smallest Object -
letter M, mitten, moose, mouse, moon
The
Smallest Object -
letter L, lobster, lock, lamp, lion
The
Smallest Object -
letter K, kite, kangaroo, knot, key
The
Smallest Object -
letter J, jug, jar, jet, Jack-in-the-box
The
Smallest Object -
letter I, igloo, ice cream, iguana, ice skate
The
Smallest Object -
letter H, hat, house, horse, hammer
The
Smallest Object -
letter G, giraffe, guitar, ghost, goat
The
Smallest Object -
letter F, flower, frog, fan, fish
The
Smallest Object -
letter E, eye, Elephant, egg, eel
The
Smallest Object -
letter D, dog, dinosaur, drum, duck
The
Smallest Object -
letter C, cat, caterpillar, cake, coyote
The
Smallest Object -
letter B, bee, balloon, ball, bat
The
Smallest Object -
letter A, apple, ant, alligator, acorn
The
Largest Objects -
letter Z, zebra, zipper, zucchini
The
Largest Objects -
letter Y, yo-yo, yarn, yak
The
Largest Objects -
letter X, x-ray, xylophone
The
Largest Objects -
letter wagon, wheel, walrus, whale
The
Largest Objects -
letter V, vulture, volcano, vest, violin
The
Largest Objects -
letter U, unicorn, umbrella
The
Largest Objects -
letter T, tree, tent, tooth, truck
The
Largest Objects -
letter S, seal, saw, strawberry, screwdriver
The
Largest Objects -
letter R, rainbow, rake, raccoon, rhinoceros
The
Largest Objects -
letter Q, quilt, quarter, queen, quail
The
Largest Objects -
letter P, pail, pig, purse, pencil
The
Largest Objects -
letter O, octopus, olive, ostrich, owl
The
Largest Objects -
letter N, nest, nail, needle, note
The
Largest Objects -
letter M, mitten, moose, mouse, moon
The
Largest Objects -
letter L, lobster, lock, lamp, lion
The
Largest Objects -
letter K, kite, kangaroo, knot, key
The
Largest Objects -
letter J, jug, jar, jet, Jack-in-the-box
The
Largest Objects -
letter I, igloo, ice cream, iguana, ice skate
The
Largest Objects -
letter H, hat, house, horse, hammer
The
Largest Objects -
letter G, giraffe, guitar, ghost, goat
The
Largest Objects -
letter F, flower, frog, fan, fish
The
Largest Objects -
letter E, eye, Elephant, egg, eel
The
Largest Objects -
letter D , dog, dinosaur, drum, duck
The
Largest Objects -
letter C , cat, caterpillar, cake, coyote
The
Largest Objects -
letter B, bee, balloon, ball, bat
The
Largest Objects -
letter A, apple, ant, alligator, acorn
Preschool Thinking Skills Worksheets
What
Do Animals Eat? -
draw a line between the animals and what they eat
Match
the Frogs -
draw a line between the matching frogs
Missing
Shoes -
match people to their shoes
Winter
or Summer -
cut and paste pictures in appropriate season
Different
Weather -
draw an X on the picture that does not belong in each group
All
Kinds of Weather
-match
the children to the weather
Find
the Real Mother Goose
-
find and color the Mother Goose that is different from the
others
Healthy
Foods -
color the healthy fruits and vegetables in each row
Playing
at the Park -
complete the picture with you and your friends playing at the
park
What
Does Not Belong #2
-
put an X on the picture that does not belong with each group
What
Does Not Belong #3
-
circle the picture that does not belong in the group
Farm
Animal Match -
match the farm animals to their shadows
Match
the Leaves -
draw a line between the leaves that match
What
Goes Together -
draw a line between the pictures that are related
Preschool Letter Worksheets
Ocean
Letter Match -
beginning sounds, letters c, f, l, s, and w
Farm
Animal Letter Match
-
beginning sounds, letters c, d, g, p, and r
Halloween
Letter Match -
beginning sounds, letters b, c, g, s, and w
Ant
to Apple Maze -
Words that begin with /a/, tracing letters.
C
is for Car -
tracing and printing letter C
B
is for Boat -
tracing and printing letter B
Letter
Concepts -
visual differentiating, recognizing upper case letters in a group, 5
worksheets.
Letter
Concepts -
visual differentiating, recognizing lower case letters in a group, 5
worksheets.
ABC
Practice -
very basic intro to the alphabet, upper and lower case alphabet,
color recognition, and fine motor skills are reinforced, 26
worksheets.
ABC
Maze #2 -
lower case letters from a-z
ABC
Maze -
go through the maze in alphabetical order
Beginning
Sound of /V/ -
practice printing letter V, pictures that begin with V
Beginning
Sound T -
practice printing the letter T, pictures that begin with T
Beginning
Sound S -
practice printing the letter S, pictures begin with S.
Beginning
Sound Qu -
practice printing the letters Q and u, which pictures begin with
/qu/.
Beginning
Sound P -
practice printing the letter P, which pictures begin with
/P/
Beginning
Sound M -
practice printing the letter M, which pictures begin with /M/
Beginning
Sound D -
practice printing the letter D, which pictures begin with
/D/
Beginning
Sound B -
practice printing the letter B, which pictures begin with
/B/
Beginning
Consonants #2 -
circle the picture that has the same beginning consonant as the first
picture in each row.
Beginning
Consonants -
circle the picture that has the same beginning consonant as the first
picture in each row, letters t, l, b, and p.
Miscellaneous Word Search Puzzles
Broccoli
Bill -
vegetable word search puzzle
Toy
Word Search Puzzle
Airport
Word Search
Clothing
That Begins With Letter S
-
word search puzzle
Construction
Equipment -
word search puzzle
Boat
Word Search
Colors
Word Search -
puzzle and alphabetize
Carpenter
Tool -
word search puzzle
More English worksheets for you to choose from
English
worksheets page 1 - Alphabetizing,
Rhyming,
and English
Word Searches
English
worksheets page 2 - Dictionary
Skills,
Vocabulary,
and Miscellaneous
English
worksheets page 3 - Phonics,
Reading
Readiness and
Reading
Comprehension
English
worksheets page 4 - Grammar
and Mechanics