The Connection between
Kindergarten Reading and
Writing
By: Brittany Jacobs
Reading Expectations
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1st nine weeks - learning some letters and letters sounds; able to
listen to a story and remember important details; no grade is
assigned.
2nd nine weeks - learning 10-26 upper and lowercase letters;
concepts of print; clap syllables in words; put some beginning
sounds in writing.
3rd nine weeks - more than 10 upper and lowercase letters (know
more than 2nd nine weeks); more than 10 letter sounds; continue
concepts of print (know more than last nine weeks); can use
strategies to help with beginning reading skills.
4th nine weeks - all letter names and sounds; beginning to read
books; concepts of print in writing; begin to demonstrate
comprehension through use of strategies (picture walk and making
predictions).
Link to Florida’s Sunshine State Standards for Kindergarten
Reader’s Workshop
• A daily block of instructional time
including:
– Read Alouds (teacher directed)
– Shared Reading (teacher & student)
– Reading Groups & Literacy Centers
– Independent Reading
The Scholastic Website has book lists for each
grade level and also has books you can purchase to
expand your home library.
Reading Strategies
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Look at Picture
Skip and then go back and read
Get your mouth ready
Reread-go back and read again
Chunk it
• Think-
Does it look right?
Does it sound right?
Does it make sense?
Reading Sight Words
 Sight words are words that are most
commonly used in a wide variety of texts.
These words do not follow conventional
rules and must be learned to help with
reading fluency.
(i.e., know, the, they, is, was, do, of,
from, what, said, my, could)
 Sight words are practiced in the
classroom, in reading groups, for
homework, and in writing workshop.
Sight Word List
Sight Word Flash Cards
Learning Letters & Words at Home
Here are some creative ways to engage your
child in practicing letters, letters sounds,
and sight words:
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Write in sand, shaving cream, paint, Magna-Doodle, etc.
Circle or cut out words in newspaper or magazines
Make words with Play-Doh
Use magnetic letters (match, sort, and search for letters,
and make words)
Go Fish with letters and words
Memory Game (letters and words)
Bingo
Scrabble
Letter Assessment Checklist
Rainbow Write
www.starfall.com is a great website for
children to learn letter and sounds as well as
practice reading online books.
Reading Help At Home
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Read nightly with your child
Become a reader yourself
Practice letter and letter sounds
Post and practice sight words in a visible
location
Sing familiar rhymes and songs
Go to the public library
Play word games (orally and written)
Create an I CAN READ book of
Environmental Print
Use this template to make an I Can Read
book at home.
How Are Reading & Writing
Connected?
The areas of reading and writing both
involve the knowledge of letter
recognition, letter sounds, letter
formation, and the ability to hear sounds
in a word. Without one, the other is not
possible. Inventive spelling is a necessary
step to having a successful writer.
Students that can identify letters and
their corresponding sounds then have the
beginning tools to write.
A Note To Parents
Dear Parents,
Sumtimz the way werds sound iz not the way thay
luk. Yung readers and writers need tim to focus on
the mesaj and wil spel werds using the soundz thay
hear. Az thay becum awair of convintinal speling u wil
begn to see the chanj.
So plez don’t spel werds for thim and let thim do
the best thay kan!
If you have any questions about working with your
child in writing, please contact your child’s teacher for
specific information.
Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Team
Writing with Inventive Spelling
• Students use their phonemic awareness to
put together words using their own skills.
(i.e., their writing will improve throughout
the year).
• Students find patterns in words that they
write.
• Students learn sight words and how to put
those words into their writing.
• Students must go through this stage of
writing in order to understand exceptions
to the rules of language.
Journals
• Journal writing is a daily activity where
students can create their own stories (here is
where they use their knowledge of language
and use inventive spelling).
• Journals are a creative outlet for students to
use personal experiences as a story starter.
• A journal should be kept at home as well as
school so students can practice skills during
weekends, holidays, etc. AND to encourage
writing in a variety of settings and situations.
Use this template for journal pages at home.
Writer’s Workshop
• A daily block of instruction time
including:
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Modeled Writing
Shared & Interactive Writing
Independent Writing
Conferencing
Teacher Share
Writing Expectations
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Communicates through drawings
Scribbles (randomly or from left to right)
Makes mock letters, numbers, or symbols
Writes random strings of letters
Writes mock words (wkak, sken, itsar)
Uses 1st letter sound of a word to represent the
word ( I W F W M D )
Writes some familiar words correctly (mom, dad,
cat, dog, fish)
Approximates words with beginning, medial and
ending letters
Uses spelling approximations to write phrases
Writes whole sentence using spelling
approximations
Link to Florida’s Sunshine State Standards for Kindergarten
Writing Help At Home
1.
Have plenty of writing materials
available (different kinds of paper,
pencils, markers, crayons, word cards,
pictures, etc.).
2. Encourage your child to make books,
write, and draw about their interests or
something that they enjoy doing.
3. Be a writer yourself (let your child see
you writing).
4. Keep a list of words that your student
may need to use (family names, places,
toys that are part of their routines).
Thank you for coming and
learning about your child’s
connection to reading and
writing!
Please see us if you have any
questions.