CDSD Kindergarten Family Letter
Reading, Writing, Listening, & Speaking
Unit 2: Reading and Writing Stories
Key Learning:
Good writers use parts of a story to tell stories that makes sense.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING:
- listen when someone is speaking.
- speak clearly and loudly enough to be understood.
- express her thoughts, ideas, and feelings clearly.
- engage in turn-taking in conversations.
- use age-appropriate grammar when speaking.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Give your child simple one to two step directions to follow. Have your child restate the directions before she completes them.
- Play listening games such as, Simon Says.
- Engage your child in conversations about topics she is interested in.
- Provide times when you and your child can share stories.
- Encourage the use of appropriate volume and pacing.
- Rephrase her sentence structure or grammar by repeating the sentence properly.
UNDERSTANDING HOW BOOKS WORK:
- handle books appropriately.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- When reading a book to your child, discuss book handling skills (where to start reading, how to turn one page at a time, etc.).
HEARING SOUNDS IN WORDS:
- say two words that rhyme.
- identify the first sound (not the letter name) in a spoken word.
- identify the last sound (not the letter name) in a spoken word.
- after hearing two word parts, put them together to say one word (Parent Tip: / / around a letter indicates a letter's sound, not the name. /b/ + /ug/ = bug)
- after hearing a word, break it apart to say two word parts. (bug = /b/ + /ug/)
- after hearing two letter sounds, put them together to say one word. ( /b/ + /e/ = be )
- after hearing a word with two sounds, break it apart into the two sounds. (be = /b/ + /e/)
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Have your child match pictures of rhyming words.
- Read books that have many rhyming words in them. Ask your child to repeat the words that rhyme.
- Read nursery rhymes to your child.
- See the video below.
LETTER KNOWLEDGE:
- recognize and name the following letters: G, g, R, r, D, d, O, o, X, x, J, j, E, e, H, h, K, k, U, u, L, l, W, w, V, v, Z, z, Y, y, Q, & q.
- when shown one of the consonants listed above, make its most common sound.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Place magnetic letters on the refrigerator. Ask your child to name the letters or make the sounds of the letters.
- Have your child sort and name magnetic letters or letters you have written on small pieces of paper.
- Use a computer to print out letters written in different fonts. Have your child sort the letters.
- Write each letter on a different sticky note. Stick the letters on the walls in your child's bedroom. Give your child a flashlight and turn off the lights. Name a letter or make the sound of a letter and have your child shine the light on the letter.
- Put some sugar, sand, shaving cream on a cookie sheet or plate. Have your child use his finger to "write" letters. Have him name the letter or sound while he "writes" it.
- Write your child's name in front of him. Saying each letter as you write it. Have him trace over each letter saying the name of each letter with you as he writes it.
READING WORDS:
- read these words in a snap: I, see, a the, like, and, we, to
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Have your child build the words with magnetic letters or letter tiles.
- Write each word on a different sticky note. Stick the words on the walls in your child's bedroom. Give your child a flashlight and turn off the lights. Say a word or make and have your child shine the light on the word. Let your child tell you a word to find.
- Put some sugar, sand, shaving cream on a cookie sheet or plate. Have your child use his finger to "write" the words. Have him name each letter while he "writes" the word.
- Give your child a cup of water and a paint brush. Have your child use the water and paintbrush to write each word on the sidewalk. He should say each letter as he writes the word.
UNDERSTANDING STORIES:
- categorize books as fiction (make believe) and not fiction (real).
- identify the characters, setting (time and place), and events in a story.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Read to your child daily!
- When reading to your child, identify if the book is fiction or not fiction and explain why.
- Give your child some books and have her pull out the ones that are fiction.
- Have your child organize the books on her bookshelf by grouping all the fiction books together and the not fiction books together.
- When reading to your child, discuss who the characters are, where and when the story happens and what happens in the story.
WRITING PERSONAL NARRATIVES (True Stories about Me):
- tell about a true event in her life by drawing it or telling an adult what words to write. (e.g., a birthday party, going on a trip, soccer game, or first day of school)
- make a drawing of who the story is about and where it happens.
- make drawings to show three events in order (first, next, last).
- use speech bubbles and thought bubbles to show thoughts and feelings of characters in the stories.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME:
- Tell stories to your child about events that happened to you when you were her age.
- Encourage your child to tell stories to you.
- Show your child how you can tell a story by drawing pictures.
- Encourage your child to take risks when drawing. (Child: "I don't know how to draw an elephant." Mom: "Do your best. You can do it!")
- Have your child label people, animals, and things in her pictures with your help.
- Ask your child questions that will bring out more details in the story. Encourage her to add these details to her drawings.
- Provide your child with different materials (crayons, markers, paint, etc.) to create her stories.
WORDS TO KNOW
- character: the person or animal who acts out the story
- detail: a small bit of information that tells or shows more about something
- event: something that happens in a story
- fiction: a made up story; sometimes it seems like it could really happen
- label: a word that names something in a picture
- setting: the time and place a story happens
- speech bubble: a cloud over a character's head that shows what he is saying
- story: a text that uses characters, settings, and events to tell what happens
- thought bubble: a cloud over a character's head that shows what she is thinking
- word: a group of letters that are put in a certain order to mean something
MORE WAYS TO HELP AT HOME
ONLINE RESOURCES
THE BEST APPS FOR IPHONE, IPADS, AND ANDROID DEVICES
Alphabetic
Skill: Print Awareness
Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Price: $1.99
Alphabetic makes identifying letters a game for your child as she has to search for letters A through Z as she spins around on the screen and before time runs out.
Alphabetical Order
Device: iPad
Price. $0.99
Alphabetical Order challenges children to put the letters in order as well as match upper and lower case letters, and to match the letters to their sounds.
Intro to Letters
Devices: iPad, iPhone, i Pod Touch
Price: $4.99
Intro to Letters helps children read and write letters A - Z in both capital and lowercase letters through flashcards, while soundcards let your child record and listen to himself as he practices saying each letter.
Kindy Language
Devices: iPad, iPhone, i Pod Touch
Price: $3.99
Alphabet activities and games that build visual and sound discrimination, capital and lower case letter recognition and alphabetical order knowledge.
iWriteWords
Devices: iPad, iPhone, i Pod Touch
Price: $2.99
Letter and number tracing for beginners with a numbered connect-the-dots method.
Superhero Comic Book Maker
Devices: iPad, iPhone, i Pod Touch
Price: FREE
Create personalized animated comic books featuring monsters and superheroes, narrating the story using the self-record feature. Helps kids practice storytelling and learn to make digital creations.
Writing Wizard
Devices: iPad, iPhone, i Pod Touch
Price: FREE
Create personalized animated comic books featuring monsters and superheroes, narrating the story using the self-record feature. Helps kids practice storytelling and learn to make digital creations.