Kindergarten English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Kindergarten English language arts in the New York State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Reading foundations: letters, sounds, rhymes and first sight words
- Reading: retelling stories and linking pictures to words
- Writing: drawing, telling and writing to share an idea
- Speaking and listening: taking turns and asking questions
Easy ways to practice English language arts at home
- Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases.
- Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?”
- Point out letters on signs, cereal boxes and the street.
- Ask your child to tell you a story about their drawing, and write down a sentence or two.
What each unit covers
Letter Partners
Matching capital (big) letters with their lowercase (small) partners, including look-alikes such as b, d, p and q.
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.
Rhyme Time
Hearing rhymes (cat, hat) and spotting a word that doesn't rhyme. Rhyming games build the listening skills behind reading.
Clap the Beat
Breaking words into syllables (ba-na-na) by clapping. Clap along out loud: one clap for each part you hear.
Sight Words
Recognizing common words such as the, see, can and my, plus color and number words, by looking closely at their letters.
Story Order
Putting events in order, and listening to short stories to tell what happened at the beginning, middle and end.
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.
Picture Clues
Using the picture and the first letter to read a word or a short sentence, a key early reading strategy.
Blend a Word
Listening for the sounds in a word, blending them to read it, and counting the sounds in words.
Talk & Listen
Chat about the day, ask your child to answer in a whole sentence, and let them ask you questions. Poems and rhymes are great practice too.
Word Parts & Meanings
Practices how a small word part changes a word (-s for more than one, -ing for happening now, un- for not), grouping words by topic, opposites and same-meaning words, and naming picture parts with labels.
Ask and Find Out
Children practice asking who, what, where, when and why questions and choosing where to look for answers: a book, a grown-up, a picture or a simple test. This is the research and inquiry part of the standards.
Think About a Book
Practices what readers do before, during and after a book: using the cover and what they already know to predict, making connections to their own lives, asking questions, seeing themselves in books, and noticing that people can respond differently to the same text.
Capitals, Periods & Planning
Practices capital letters for names, I and the start of a sentence, periods and exclamation marks, five- or six-word sentences, planning a piece of writing by drawing or talking, putting ideas in order, simple text forms such as lists, letters, stories and information, and changing a piece after feedback.
Feelings and Reasons
Your child finds the words in a short text that show feelings and the five senses, picks the detail that explains what happened, and practices giving an opinion with a reason (“I like it because…”).
Stories and Facts
Your child tells storybooks from information books, real from make-believe, and chooses ways to respond to a book, such as drawing a favorite part, acting it out or making a poem.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New York report card guide.
Common questions
Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases. Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?” Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New York State Learning Standards Kindergarten English language arts units include Letter Partners, First Sounds, Rhyme Time, Clap the Beat, Sight Words, Story Order.
Free printable Kindergarten English language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.