Kindergarten English Language Arts
9 units matched to the Ontario Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Letters & Words”.
Overall expectations
- A1 Oral and Non-Verbal Communication: Communicate orally and non-verbally
- A2 Foundations for Reading and Writing: Apply early reading and writing skills
- A3 Understanding and Responding to Texts: Understand and respond to a variety of texts by diverse creators from Canada and by diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit creators
- A4 Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts: Create texts using foundational language knowledge and skills
Units
Unit 1
Letter Partners
Matching capital (big) letters with their lowercase (small) partners, including look-alikes such as b, d, p and q.
Expectation: A2.1, A2.4 · naming upper- and lowercase letters and the sounds they make
Unit 2
First Sounds
Hearing the first sound in a word (b in bus) and linking it to its letter. Say the words out loud together and stretch out the first sound.
Expectation: A2.3, A2.4 · hearing the first sound in a word and matching it to a letter
Unit 3
Rhyme Time
Hearing rhymes (cat, hat) and spotting a word that doesn't rhyme. Rhyming games build the listening skills behind reading.
Expectation: A2.3 · hearing rhymes as part of phonological awareness
Unit 4
Clap the Beat
Breaking words into syllables (ba-na-na) by clapping. Clap along out loud: one clap for each part you hear.
Expectation: A2.3 · hearing the parts (syllables) in words
Unit 5
Blend a Word
Listening for the sounds in a word, blending them to read it, and counting the sounds in words.
Expectation: A2.3–A2.5 · blending and segmenting sounds to read and spell simple words
Unit 6
Sight Words
Recognizing common words such as the, see, can and my, plus colour and number words, by looking closely at their letters.
Expectation: A2.6 · reading simple sentences with explicitly taught words
Unit 7
Story Order
Putting events in order, and listening to short stories to tell what happened at the beginning, middle and end.
Expectation: A3.3, A3.5 · understanding a simple text and what happens next
Unit 8
Picture Clues
Using the picture and the first letter to read a word or a short sentence, a key early reading strategy.
Expectation: A3.3, A3.5 · using pictures and what we know to understand and predict
Unit 9
Book Detectives
How print works: telling letters, numbers, words and sentences apart, reading left to right and top to bottom, counting words, and what authors and illustrators do.
Expectation: A3.1, A3.4, A3.6 · why we read, and sharing thoughts and connections about books
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Curriculum-matched practice for Kindergarten to Grade 9 in British Columbia and Ontario, with kind hints, learning games and no ads. Free for 30 days, no card needed.