A Look at Research

In this section you will find a summary of recent research from multiple sources. Additional information is provided for you to contact the original sources for a more extensive coverage of the issues presented here.

Teaching Reading in the Kindergarten

The focus of the position paper from the California Kindergarten Association on Teaching Reading in the Kindergarten is on the teaching of language arts including reading and is in response to the California Department of Education Reading Task Force Report, Every Child a Reader, and two State Assembly bills (AB 170 and 1504).

The two bills address instructional materials for language arts, mathematics, reading and specifically spelling. To quote from each bill:

AB 170 ". . . intent of the Legislature that the fundamental skills including systematic, explicit phonics, spelling and basic computational skills be included in adopted curriculum frameworks and that these skills and related tasks increase in depth and complexity from year to year."

AB 1504 " . . . instructional materials for use in Kindergarten and grades 1 to 8 . . . that the instructional materials for language arts in those grades include, but not necessarily be limited to, spelling."

The position paper applauds the Task Force members for taking a position of placing reading as the highest priority in the State of California. They note that oral language development, integrated curriculum and increased teacher education and inservice training in the area of beginning reading is a high priority for all.

CKA encourages Kindergarten teachers to help young learners develop their language skills not only through specific teacher directed language activities, but also throughout the entire day an in a variety of activities including painting, drawing, building, singing, dancing, and dramatic play. They caution the teachers that "Workbooks are a very limited way to provide for language expression."

The Kindergarten Association encourages inventive spelling as a means for the child to construct their use of phonics.

The publication encourages a balanced, integrated program. Consisting of . . . "listening/speaking skills, writing/reading skills within an interactive environment that encourages communication and reading." Within the publication, the CKA Board of Directors provides examples of learning activities that reflect developmentally appropriate processes and include teaching phonetic analysis skills for beginning reading and spelling.

• Listening and Discussion
• Oral Language
  • Storytelling
  • Retelling
  • Rhyme and Songs - Take a look at:Sierra Bear Rhymes With Chair
  • Reading Aloud

To Develop Awareness of Sound, Symbol and Structure

• Phonemic Awareness
  • To help a child hear separate words
  • Recognizes rhyming words
  • Analogies, e.g. "cat to fat"
  • Hears syllables
  • Recognizes word family patterns
  • Matches sounds of words
  • Blends phonemes
  • Print Awareness
  • Recognizes own name
  • Handles books
  • Develops concept of letter/word directionality
  • Writes some letters/words
  • Understands initial concepts about print
  • Syntactic Awareness
  • Understands how words, phrases, sentences work
  • Begins to use book language

Skills Integration

• Letter Recognition
• Recognizing Frequency Words (regular and irregular)
• Word Families, Word Patterns, Word Play
• Phonics, Decoding, Word Attack
• Reading To, With, and By Children
• Comprehension Strategies
• Fluency
• Recreational
• Content-area Reading

Writing, Vocabulary and Spelling

• Writing, Encoding
  • Writes words
  • Writes own name
  • Group dictated stories
  • Letter formation
  • Composes a variety of stories
  • Hears and records sounds in words
  • Vocabulary
    • Gains word meaning from oral discussion and explanation
    • Builds simple words with magnetic letters and other manipulatives

• Spelling

In each of the above categories listed, the CKA Board of Directors offers specific suggestions for implementing and offering a language-rich environment for teaching reading in Kindergarten classrooms which are developmentally appropriate enabling Kindergarten children to be successful.

The board also includes an annotated bibliography for further reading on the subject of Teaching Reading in Kindergarten.

If you would like to view a typical unit used in Kindergarten classes based on the above standards, Take a look at:The Gingerbread Man, A Language Arts Unit

Please contact the California Kindergarten Association for a copy of their position paper on Teaching Reading in the Kindergarten.

CKA
3013 Douglas Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95661
916-780-5330