LANGUAGE ARTS (Phonics) Purpose The purpose of the phonics program in kindergarten is to teach students that letters have sounds and to teach the relationship between those letters and their sounds. Outcomes The students will: • be able to recognize consonants and their sounds in both the initial and final position. • be able to recognize vowels and their sounds. • be able to recognize vowels and their sounds in the medial position. • begin to blend sounds into words (simple three-letter, monosyllabic CVC words). • begin to decode monosyllabic words. • create new words using word families. • be able to identify pairs of rhyming words. • become excited about learning to read. • be able to create pictures to represent individual consonant sounds. • understand that words are made of syllables. • begin to differentiate between nouns and verbs. Teaching Strategies • teacher-directed lessons • flash cards • teacher-directed word games, listening games, and audiotapes. • student-directed small group activities • one-on-one individual enrichment Assessment • teacher observation • individual testing • artwork • unit assessments • benchmark assessments Resources • McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders, 2014 • www.connected.mcgraw-hill.com • teacher created materials • Flash Cards, School Zone Publishing Co. • Mailbox Teachers Helper magazine • SMARTBoard • iPad apps • starfall.com • Literature Big Books • photo cards • Reading/Writing Workshop Big Book