Ready to Read!
Developmentally Appropriate
Practice for Preschool &
Kindergarten
Tammy Utchek Lee
What is developmentally appropriate
practice in reading instruction?
The Illinois early learning standards for 3s and 4s
State goals #1: Read with understanding and fluency
To achieve this, students should learn that:
Print has a message, reading progresses from left to right
and from top to bottom, that labels and signs have
meaning, letters have names and can be matched with
sounds, words rhyme, sounds repeat
They should be able to retell a story, answer questions, and
be able to discuss the story.
The Illinois Early Learning Standards for
Kindergarten
For state goal #1: Read with understanding and fluency
To achieve this, students should learn:
Print has a message; print proceeds from left to right; there are words,
letters, and spacing; phonological awareness; phonemic awareness;
knowledge of letters and common sounds; read one-syllable and high
frequency words
DAP According to the Joint Position
Statement of the International
Reading Association and NAEYC
Why should we provide early instruction in
reading?
• Birth to age eight is the most important period for
literacy development.
• Literacy is critical to school and life success
• Our society has expectations beyond minimal
standards of literacy
How do appropriate practices differ from the
traditional, whole group instruction
approach?
Drill-and-practice is not suitable for all ages.
Young children need meaningful experiences that
build on prior knowledge.
What does the research tell us?
The ability to read does not develop naturally.
No one instruction strategy works for all children.
What do preschoolers need to know?
•
•
•
The alphabetic system, letter-sound relationships
Linguistic awareness, such as through rhyming and word
games
Phonemic awareness, recognizing words as individual
sounds
What do kindergarteners need to know?
•
•
•
Those concepts listed above as well as . . .
Letter naming
Word naming
How do these standards
guide my teaching?
Explicit, targeted reading instruction
must take place
 Many of the connections that make reading
possible, such as letter to sound, are not just
“picked up.”
 Those few students who learn to read on
their own still need instruction.
 While not the only approach or sufficient
for reading, phonics instruction is an integral
part.
What concepts do I teach and why?
Preschool: The building blocks for
kindergarten reading instruction
 The most common letter sounds
 Begin to merge sounds
 Other things that are “givens”:
a print-rich environment
many varied group and individual reading
experiences
songs/activities that incorporate word play, stressing
syllables, rhyming, beginning sounds, etc.
modeling of reading and writing
knowing when each child is developmentally ready
Kindergarten: What they need to know before
they leave (my goals)
 They should be able to read most kindergarten sight
words.
 They should be able to “sound out” most three-letter
words.
 They should be able to read beginning sentences.
Helping Students Attain Success in
Reading
Students receive individual, small group and/or whole
group reading instruction focusing on 6 main concepts:
1. Letter to sound association
2. Merging sounds to form 3-letter
words
3. Sight words
4. Blends and Digraphs
5. Long vowel sounds
6. Other concepts, such as double
consonants
Letter Sounds:
How I Teach Them
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Through whole group games, such as “Secret Sound”
With board games like “The Path to Reading”
Letter/picture cards and puzzles
Songs
Circle activities, such as letter cards
Key points to remember:
Always teach the most common/easiest sounds first, such as short
vowel sounds and the first letter of their name
Repetition is the key
Letter/sound knowledge is the firm foundation of reading and
writing
ABC Song
A says ah for apple, B says buh for ball,
C says kuh for cat, D says duh for doll.
E says eh for elephant, F says fff for fan,
G says guh for grin, H says huh for hand.
I says ih for igloo, J says juh for jam,
K says kuh for kite, L says luh for lamb.
M says mmm for mom, N says nuh for nurse,
O says ahhh for octopus, P says puh for purse.
Q says kwuh for queen, R says ruh for reach,
S says sss for snake, T says tuh for teach.
U says uh for umbrella, V says vuh for very stinky socks,
W says wuh for watermelon, X says ks at the end of box.
Y says yuh for yo-yo, Z says zzzz for zoo,
If you learn all your letter sounds, you'll read very soon!
Merging Sounds:
How I teach students to read 3-letter words
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Word puzzles based on word families
Beginning reading books, such as Tam or Bob books
With games like “Guess My Word”
Group games, such as “Secret Sound”
Sentence puzzles
Key points to remember:
This is the hardest concept in reading: Once students get this,
they are off and running!
Easier to read ca--t than c--at
Sight Words are taught
through:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Group games, like “Secret Sight Word”
Beginning reading books
Games, like “Sight Word Matching” or “Zoom”
Sentence puzzles
Poems of the week
Key points to remember:
This REQUIRES very explicit instruction and LOTS of repeated
exposure.
The list of which words to teach always varies.
Sight Word List*
I teach a ll of the kindergarten list, plus a few from the first grade list. We
also work on color and number words.
Kindergarten
a
am
and
at
big
blue
but
can
do
get
go
have
here
I
in
is
it
like
little
look
my
not
one
red
see
that
three
the
to
two
up
we
what
where
yellow
you
First Grade
as
did
for
he
me
of
on
play
said
she
stop
* From "P honics Handbook: Research and Best Practice, Scott Foresman, 2000
Blends and Digraphs
1.
2.
3.
4.
Word puzzles
Individual lessons
Beginning reading books
Games, such as “Go Fishing” and “Reading Tic-Tac-Toe”
Key points to remember:
Students usually pick up this concept easily.
Teach a few blends and digraphs and the rest fall into place.
Students can still be gaining proficiency in reading 3-letter words
as they learn.
Long Vowel Sounds
1.
2.
3.
4.
Word puzzles that make 3 letter words into long vowel words by
adding the silent e
Individual lessons
Beginning reading books
Games, such as “Reading Tic-Tac-Toe”
Key points to remember:
This concept is hard. Students will use short vowels at first.
Teach the basic patterns, silent e and double vowels.
This can be introduced while they are still working on
blends/digraphs.
Such as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Other Concepts
Double consonants
Sound of ou and ow
Double oo
Y at the end of a word
-ing and -ed endings
Key points to remember:
At this point, they pick up a lot of the irregulars on their own.
These concepts are advanced, teaching them is just “gravy”.
Key Points to Remember
1. Help each student obtain a firm grasp of the
letter sounds.
2. Make sure the child is reading and not
guessing, using solely visual recognition,
and/or simply retelling a familiar story.
3. Have high expectations of your students.
4. Show them your love of reading.
5. Be developmentally appropriate in your
teaching approaches.
6. Have fun with your students!
Additional Resources
www.TeacherTamsToolbox.com
My own site where you’ll find resources I developed to use in my
classroom. Check out the conference page and the FREE page!
www.kinderreaders.com
They have great beginning reading books. Each one comes in 4
levels.
www.kindergarten.com
Here you’ll find sets of books for emergent readers that are
arranged by theme.




“Bob Books” by Bobby Lynn Maslen
Beginning Science readers by Scholastic
Sight Word Books Published by Crystal Springs Books
Math Games for the Overhead and Reading Games for the Overhead
by Scholastic