A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Checkpoints for Progress In Reading & Writing for Families and Communities - February 1998

  Kindergarten Students

In kindergarten (children five and six years old), most children get better at reading and writing by speaking and getting to know the alphabet, sounds, and words. Undisplayed graphic
Reading
Your child...
* Understands that print goes from left to right.
* Knows the letters and sounds of the alphabet.
* Knows simple words like the, and, it, and is.
* Starts to read signs, food packages, and other everyday items.
* Likes being read to and has favorite books and stories.
Writing
Your child...
* Uses scribbling, pictures, and some letters and words to tell a story.
* Writes his or her own name and a few simple words.
* Tries to use letters and sounds he or she knows to start writing things such as lists and invitations.

How you can help...
  • Read out loud and talk or sign about stories every day.

  • Get your child a library card and go to the library regularly. Request songs and rhymes on tape.

  • Read and say or sign nursery rhymes and sing songs together.

  • Talk with your child's teacher often about your child's work.

  • Let your child see you reading for fun.
  • Take time each day to talk about school and share your day.

  • Have a writing supply box with crayons and paper.

  • Watch educational television programs that teach letter sounds and words. Limit other types of TV viewing.

  • Listen to your child. Ask your child to listen to others.

A child who has successfully mastered these skills will be able to understand the following excerpt when it is read aloud:

Kindergarten: Danny and the Dinosaur, by Sid Hoff
The dinosaur covered his eyes. All the children ran to hide. The dinosaur looked and looked but he couldn't find the children. "I give up," he said. Now it was the dinosaur's turn to hide. The children covered their eyes. The dinosaur hid behind a house. The children found him. He hid behind a sign. The children found him. He hid behind a big gas tank. The children found him again. They found him again and again and again.
Books to read at this level:*

Red Light, Green Light, by Margaret Wise Brown
Fox On Wheels, by Edward Marshall
Arthur's Reading Race, by Marc Brown
Nate the Great, by Marjorie Sharmat

* Books recommended by the American Library Association

Children Three and Four Years of Age Table of Contents Third Grade Students