All About the Alphabet
The ABC’s are the first step to learning how to read and will likely be one of the first skills your child nails down. Help them along by singing the song as often as possible (even if you get sick of it).
Reading Readiness
Armed with the basics of the alphabet, your kindergartener is now ready to read books. It’s okay if there are very few words in them. Simply exposing your child to books will help foster a love of reading from an early age.
Recite the alphabet in orderRecognize and name all the letters of the alphabet, both upper and lower case, in random order. They should be able to recognize stand-alone letters and letters in words. Know the sounds corresponding to each letter of the alphabet
Reading Skills
Once kindergarteners understand the bare-bones basics of books and initial sounds, they will work to string sounds together and read basic three- to five-letter words and, eventually, sentences.
Identify the front, back, title, author, and illustrator of a bookUnderstand what both the author and illustrator doUnderstand the difference between fiction and nonfictionName and imitate the sound heard at the beginning and ending of wordsBlend consonant-vowel-consonant sounds orally to make words (h-a-t = hat; m-e-n= men)Distinguish letters from words and words from sentencesIndicate where a sentence starts and endsCount the number of sounds in a syllable and the number of syllables in a wordRecognize and use rhyming words
Writing Skills
Once your child has the basics of the alphabet down, they’ll also be able to write. Spelling their name for the first time will be an exciting moment.
Use left to right and top to bottom motion when readingRead one syllable words (i.e. cat) and recognize common and color words (I, the, red, blue) by sightUse picture clues to readMake predictionsIdentify the characters, setting, and the main idea of a storyUnderstand the simple structure of stories (beginning, middle, and end)Retell a story with details
A Word From Verywell
These are the skills that are generally taught in schools. It’s good to check with the school your child will attend to know exactly what they will be teaching.
Write all of the letters of the alphabet in both upper and lowercaseCorrectly write first and last namePrint correct letter symbols to correspond with picturesWrite and correctly spell some simple consonant-vowel-consonant words (i.e., cat)Write longer words spelled the way they sound (phonetically)Write from left to right and from top to bottomUse writing (letters, pictures, and words) to express own meaningWrite simple sentences, showing the spacing between words
If your child has already mastered most or even many of these skills, you might want to find out what kind of services, if any, the school provides for children who need advanced instruction. If your child has already reached these and many or most of the other kindergarten curriculum goals, you might even check to see if the school will allow your child to skip kindergarten and start school in first grade.
