Kindergarten · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 12
Clap the Beat
Clap the parts of words
What your child practices
Breaking words into syllables (ba-na-na) by clapping. Clap along out loud: one clap for each part you hear.
Alaska content standards learning standard: RF.K.2 · counting the syllables in spoken words
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Words have beats. Each beat is a clap.
- Say the word slowly and clap each part.
- Count your claps.
Example: Clap “pizza”. How many claps? piz – za. Two claps. Answer: 2
Clap the Beat in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 4 of 12 in Kindergarten English Language Arts, after Rhyme Time and before Sight Words.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- Kindergarten guide for Alaska parents
- Printable Kindergarten English Language Arts sheet
- Alaska report cards explained
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Clap “rainbow”. How many claps?
🌈rainbow- 1
- 2
- 3
2
Hint: Clap each part as you say it: rain · bow. That's 2 claps!
Question 2
Which word has 2 claps?
- 🐵monkey
- 🦕dinosaur
- 🏠house
🐵 monkey
Hint: Clap each word. Monkey has 2 claps: mon · key.
Question 3
Clap “pineapple”. How many claps?
🍍pineapple- 1
- 2
- 3
3
Hint: Clap each part as you say it: pine · ap · ple. That's 3 claps!
Question 4
Clap “frog”. How many claps?
🐸frog- 1
- 2
- 3
1
Hint: Clap each part as you say it: frog. That's 1 clap!
Question 5
Which word has 3 claps?
- 🚌bus
- 🍪cookie
- 🥔potato
🥔 potato
Hint: Clap each word. Potato has 3 claps: po · ta · to.
Question 6
Clap “star”. How many claps?
⭐star- 1
- 2
- 3
1
Hint: Clap each part as you say it: star. That's 1 clap!