Phonics and Letters

This Week in Phonics and Letters

This week in kindergarten, students are focusing on important letter and phonics skills:

• I can identify the names of letters, the sound of the first letter in a name, and the syllables.
  
  

• Students practiced recognizing B, E, and X, identifying their beginning sounds in words like bat, elephant, and box, and clapping out syllables to strengthen phonological awareness.
  
  

• I can identify and read snap words I, like, and my.
  
  

  • Students practiced reading these high-frequency words in books, on the board, and during fun classroom activities to increase fluency and confidence.
    
    

Students also used movement and hands-on activities to reinforce learning: swinging pretend bats for B, making elephant ear motions for E, and forming X shapes with their bodies. They practiced air writing letters and wrote both uppercase and lowercase letters on dry erase boards to build correct letter formation.

Parent Tips:

• B: Practice the /b/ sound at home by finding things that start with B, like ball, book, or banana, and saying the /b/ sound together.
  
  

• E: Practice the /e/ sound at home by pointing out things that start with E, like elephant, egg, or envelope, and emphasizing the /e/ sound.
  
  

• X: Help your child notice the /ks/ sound in words with X, like box, fox, or six, and say them together.
  
  

• Snap Words (I, like, my): Encourage your child to spot these words in books, signs, or labels at home and read them aloud.
  
  

• Syllables: Practice clapping out the syllables in everyday words at home, like ba-na-na or el-e-phant, to help your child hear and count the beats in words.

Reading

I can envision what is happening in a text.

I can look at pictures, remember the story, and then story tell to read.

This week we are practicing  how to story tell. Even though we may not know how to read every word on the page YET, we can use our comprehension skills as we reread a text in order to tell what is happening. In class we are doing this with the book "Three Billy Goats Gruff".

To reinforce this skill at home, find a book that your child is familiar with and knows the story to. Have them turn each page and story tell what is happening. They can use the pictures to help them remember the story better.

Writing

I can add more to my writing by stretching out the sounds I hear in words.

This week, we are writing books all about apples! As we write our apple books, we are learning to add more to our writing by stretching out the sounds we hear in words and trying to write a letter for every sound. In addition, we are discussing the writing process by planning our books ahead of time and using writing partners to ask questions about our writing.

At home you can practice this skill by encouraging your writers to add words to their drawings. As they add words, you can help them practice stretching the words out and matching the sounds they hear to letters.