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We need to start this blog with a mantra, and I want you to hold on to it as long as needed. Are you ready? It might be hard to say, but I promise it is important.
Repeat after me: I do not have to rush kindergarteners into reading books.
Seriously. Say it again, and this time I want you to mean it. I do not have to rush kindergartners into reading books.
The goal of kindergarten is not to have children reading leveled texts at the end of the year. It’s also not about having them memorize a certain number of sight words, but that’s a post for another day. Teachers should be reading quality texts to students daily, but we should not use small group instruction to have students read leveled texts or strive for a “Level C” or DRA 6 by June.
So what do we do? Today, I’m going to talk about what my reading intervention looks like for a skills-based group on letter sounds and phonemic awareness.
Research has shown that the two best indicators of how well children will perform in the first two years of school are phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge (Torgenson J.K., & Wagner, R.K, 1992). It is NOT about leveled texts or teaching cueing strategies. The key to success for our earliest readers lies in phonemic awareness and letter-sound instruction.
David Kilpatrick states, “if you provide kindergartners with (a) direct and explicit phonological awareness training, (b) ample letter-sound instruction, and (c) if you teach the connections between those two, you will substantially reduce the number of students struggling in reading at the end of first, second, and even later grades”(Kilpatrick, 2015, p.12). These two skills are the essential building blocks of reading and are well worth a small group.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to manipulate sounds. Many children will develop phonemic awareness naturally. While all students can benefit from explicit phonemic awareness instruction, some children must have instruction in phonemic awareness to be successful. Think of it like this—what skill is required when you are first learning to read a new word? You have to take all the sounds apart (segmenting), and then put those sounds back together (blending). As proficient readers, we cannot remember a time when this was necessary for us because these processes happen virtually instantly. But if a child cannot take apart and put sounds together out loud, how can we possibly expect them to do it in print?
Phonemic awareness may include a variety of tasks. You can segment, blend, add, delete, and substitute. We do not have research to indicate that addition, deletion, and substitution are necessary. We do have research that tells us it is segmenting and blending individual phonemes that are the most important skills (National Reading Panel, 2000; Clements et. al, 2021). That is where our primary focus should lie.
When teaching letter sounds, especially to the youngest of students, we have an obligation to do things correctly. That means we teach them explicitly, we teach the sounds with precision (y is not /yuh/), and we spend the time and effort to make sure students have proper letter formation. I do not rush when teaching students letter sounds, because I know that you cannot underestimate the importance of this skill. I get so frustrated when I see teachers allowing students to perform herculean tasks to make a letter, simply because it is how the child is used to it. In kindergarten and first grade, it is our charge to stop them and show the correct way.
My lesson plans for this kind of intervention group has 3 main components: phonemic awareness, reviewing the alphabet, and letter sound practice. Within those 3 components, we can do a variety of tasks. So while we always review the alphabet, we might do it in different ways for reading and spelling. Having the same objective does not mean the activity is always the same.
For example, when we are reviewing the alphabet, I might use a flashcard deck. But we may also use rubber duckies that have letters on them, use alphabet stamps in playdoh, or play a game. I know that it can take hundreds of exposures for some students to remember their letter sounds, so I continuously work to give them as many exposures as possible.
Research has shown us that phonemic awareness instruction is more effective when letters are added (National Reading Panel, 2000). However, when you have a group of students who do not yet know their letter sounds, we do not want to wait to start teaching phonemic awareness. For students who are in this intervention group, you can use quick oral-only phonemic awareness activities AND incorporate it into the letter lesson you are teaching.
Manipulatives make learning more fun. How many of us have found ourselves fidgeting with pop-its when they are available? You can do these activities purely as an oral activity or give children manipulatives to complete the task. Use cubes*, colored squares, playdoh, bingo dotters, colored counters, anything that can be manipulated. The manipulatives are used as a scaffold to give a visual and tactile component to a purely auditory skill.
Phonemic awareness instruction can be as simple as saying “cat” and asking then asking students to tap the sounds out on their fingers or with another manipulative. You can also say the sounds in a word and ask children to blend them together. Even if you use 10 words, this task will take just a couple minutes to complete. This is a simple, effective way to practice segmenting and blending individual phonemes.
Don’t overthink this! Give students practice segmenting and blending a few words each day. If they cannot use segment/blend 3 sound words, take it back to 2 sound words or identifying beginning phonemes! Really Great Reading has a great FREE Phonological Awareness Survey you can download to see your students strengths and weaknesses.
I follow a predictable structure for teaching letter sounds. It begins by reviewing the sounds that we already know. In my district, we used Fundations, so I have cards that include the letter and a keyword image. There are plenty of other options for alphabet cards with keyword images, because Fundations can be pretty pricy if you are paying out of pocket.
For this initial review, we say the letter, the keyword picture associated with the letter, and then the sound. For example, if we were looking at the letter d, we would say d dog /d/. We do this for each of the letters that we have learned so far. By having a keyword image, it helps to solidify the sound in children’s brains. Using mnemonic alphabet cards (where the letter is shaped like an image) has research to support its efficacy as well.
Next, we practice writing the letters we know. Make sure you are using paper that has a midline when they are practicing their letters. I like to use 1 inch primary paper for this task. I also use missing letter alphabet sheets to help my students get familiar with the alphabet as a whole. You can also use dry erase boards that have the midline as well. If using dry erase boards, use the extra fine dry erase markers. Students tend to struggle writing with the chisel tip, and the fine-tipped markers are still too thick.
After we review, I introduce a new letter (aim for 2-3 a week). When introducing a new letter, it is important to use the correct language for forming them. Make sure you know what you are going to say BEFORE you try to teach it. Take it from me, you want to know what you are going to say. I still remember trying to teach the letter “e” to a group of kindergartners and having NO idea what I was going to say to them. I start letter introductions with the large card that includes a keyword image. I introduce the name of the letter, the keyword picture, and the sound the letter makes. When introducing a letter, and whenever we need it afterwards, we discuss what our mouths do when making the sound. For example, when we make the /p/ sound, our lips come together and we release a puff of air.
When the introduction is over, it’s time to practice. I follow an “I do, we do, you do” approach. I will say the name, keyword picture, and sound, then we do it together. Finally, they do it on their own. (You can do this several times until students get it!) The practice is the most fun. Just remember, no matter how you practice it to start, you should always take it back to paper and pencil in the end.
Some options for practicing letter sounds includes alphabet stamps in playdoh, shaving cream, Wikki Stix, or any variety of manipulatives. I also introduce a kindergarten alphabet notebook. I like it because it follows the same format as the notebook I use for my older students. There’s just something so satisfying about having an entire notebook as proof of the work you’ve done.
The final step is to practice our letter sounds, without the image scaffold. I have a second card deck that just has an image of a letter. We practice saying the letter sounds daily. This review is critical for daily instruction because saying d dog /d/ is not the end goal. The end goal is automatic retrieval of just the sound.
Once my students have several letters under their belt, we practice reading and writing CVC words that include those sounds. If my students know the letters t, b, f, n, m and a, they could make words like man, fan, bat, tab, an, at, fat, ban, etc. You do not need to know the entire alphabet before you begin reading and writing words. You can give students just a few letter tiles and work to build multiple words. But the efficient reading and writing of words can only happen with phonemic awareness proficiency and letter sound knowledge.
A note about “sight words.” I have students who are simply struggling to understand the sounds that letters make under normal circumstances. I do not start teaching heart words until after we have learned our letter sounds. I find it is too confusing to teach my children that a letter makes a certain sound, just to turn around and tell them “well, actually, it doesn’t.” I want my students to have a strong foundation in letter-sounds before I introduce heart words.
It’s just two skills—phonemic awareness and letter sounds. Yet, I can fill an entire 30 minutes with activities to support those two skills because they are just that important. So, one last time, repeat after me: I do not have to rush kindergarteners into reading books. Instead, let’s take the time to teach the skills that will be the most beneficial on their journey to becoming proficient readers.
Clemens, N., Solari, E., Kearns, D. M., Fien, H., Nelson, N. J., Stelega, M., … Hoeft, F. (2021, December 14). They Say You Can Do Phonemic Awareness Instruction “In the Dark”, But Should You? A Critical Evaluation of the Trend Toward Advanced Phonemic Awareness Training. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ajxbv
Kilpatrick, David A. Equipped for Reading Success: A Comprehensive, Step-by-Step Program for Developing Phonemic Awareness and Fluent Word Recognition. Casey & Kirsch Publishers, 2016.
National Reading Panel (U.S.) & National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.). (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read : an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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Savannah Campbell is a K-5 reading specialist. She has taught her entire 12-year teaching career at the school she went to as a child. She holds two master’s degrees in education from the College of William and Mary. Savannah is both Orton-Gillingham and LETRS trained. Her greatest hope in life is to allow all children to live the life they want by helping them to become literate individuals.
Savannah Campbell is a K-5 reading specialist. She has taught her entire 12-year teaching career at the school she went to as a child. She holds two master’s degrees in education from the College of William and Mary. Savannah is both Orton-Gillingham and LETRS trained. Her greatest hope in life is to allow all children to live the life they want by helping them to become literate individuals.
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