This is the second blog of a five part series that provides you with tips that I have learned about teaching kindergarten. These tips have helped me as I prepare for student teaching this January in yes…Kindergarten! If you work with kinders or are interested in learning about supporting the needs of the whole child in an early learning setting, I hope this blog series helps you too!
Tip #2: Know the Foundations of Reading
In Kindergarten, It is very important that children learn to gain meaning from print and that is the purpose of “reading”. In order to teach kindergartners the foundations for reading, it is important to explicitly teach that print represents language. They must also have a fundamental understanding of the written alphabet, sound-symbol correspondences, and print concepts since these are the building blocks of decoding and comprehension skills.
Did you know that when kinders “play” they build a strong foundation for early literacy skill development?
Children learn to produce and practice new sounds through play. They experiment with new words, either alone or in groups of friends. During play, they use storytelling to develop their imaginative abilities. Playing is learning. Play promotes literacy growth in kindergarten. Here are a few resources to help kindergarten teachers plan for purposeful play during the instructional day.
Ten Ways to Incorporate Play in Kindergarten (from Kindergarten Connection)
10 Reasons Why Play is Important (from National Literacy Trust)
Building Literacy Skills with Dramatic Play (from Edutopia)
Happy Teaching!