Teaching spelling to kindergarteners is important for their early literacy development. This guide outlines a structured approach to teaching spelling over the academic year, incorporating tips and activities to make learning engaging and effective for young students.
Week 1-3: Introduction to Short Vowels
Week 1 - Words with Short a: Begin with words that have the short 'a' sound.
Words: at, am, cat, mat, can, map, tap, hat, mad, pan
Teaching Tip: Use visual aids like pictures or flashcards to associate words with objects.
Activity: Create a matching game with pictures and words to reinforce the association between the sound and the letters.
Week 2 - Words with Short i: Introduce words with the short 'i' sound.
Words: in, fit, rip, lip, fin, pig, hit, big, tip, bit
Teaching Tip: Use songs or rhymes that feature these words to enhance auditory learning.
Activity: Play "I Spy with My Little Eye" focusing on objects that start with these words.
Week 3 - Words with Short o: Teach words containing the short 'o' sound.
Words: log, dot, top, hot, lot, ox, pop, hop, box, fox
Teaching Tip: Introduce a word and picture bingo game to make learning fun.
Activity: Organize a 'word hunt' in the classroom where students find objects or images that match their spelling words.
Week 4-6: Expanding Vocabulary with High Frequency Words and More Vowels
Week 4 - High Frequency Words List 1: Introduce common high frequency words.
Words: the, and, is, to, do, under, want, was, well, yes
Teaching Tip: Use daily objects and routines to teach these words. For instance, use "the" frequently in sentences.
Activity: Have students create their own flashcards with the word on one side and a drawing on the other.
Week 5 - Words with Short e: Focus on the short 'e' sound.
Words: pet, jet, red, bed, hen, pen, get, leg, led, wed
Teaching Tip: Storytelling sessions where these words are highlighted can help in contextual understanding.
Activity: "Color by Word" worksheets where different sections are colored based on the word.
Week 6 - Words with Short u: Introduce the short 'u' sound.
Words: bug, rug, hug, up, pup, run, mud, cup, fun, dull
Teaching Tip: Engage children with puppet shows or toys to demonstrate action words.
Activity: Set up a mini obstacle course where children perform actions related to the words.
Week 7-9: Mastery of Short Vowels and Introduction to Blends and Digraphs
Week 7 - Words with Short Vowels: Review week mixing words from previous lessons.
Words: man, fan, pin, win, sun, bun, got, pot, ten, beg
Teaching Tip: Use peer learning, pairing students to quiz each other.
Activity: Organize a spelling bee using words from the past weeks.
Week 8 - High Frequency Words List 2: Teach another set of commonly used words.
Words: he, it, my, a, away, blue, find, down, funny, help
Teaching Tip: Incorporate these words into daily classroom routines and instructions.
Activity: Create personalized storybooks using as many high frequency words as possible.
Week 9 - Words with Initial Digraphs: Focus on words starting with two letters that create a single sound.
Words: ship, shop, shut, chip, chap, that, them, then, wham, when
Teaching Tip: Demonstrate the sounds with visual and auditory cues to differentiate them from other sounds.
Activity: Digraph treasure hunt where students find items that start with the given digraphs.
Week 10-12: Advanced Blends and More High Frequency Words
Week 10 - Words with an Initial l Blend: Focus on words that begin with 'l' blends:
Words: clap, flap, glass, plop, plug, flip, slip, sled, plant, blend
Teaching Tip: Illustrate each word with objects or actions to make the blend sounds clear.
Activity: Create a blend wheel where students can turn a dial to create new words with the 'l' blend.
Week 11 - Words with Initial r and s Blends: Introduce 'r' and 's' blends:
Words: drop, drip, trap, trip, frog, stop, snap, swim, brush, bride
Teaching Tip: Use tongue twisters to practice the blends and develop fluency.
Activity: "Blend Bingo" where students fill their bingo cards as they recognize words spoken by the teacher.
Week 12 - High Frequency Words List 3: More high frequency words:
Words: for, here, I, jump, little, not, one, play, with, will
Teaching Tip: Incorporate these words into classroom signage and labels.
Activity: Students can use these words to write simple sentences or stories in a class book.
Week 13-15: Introduction to Long Vowel Patterns
Week 13 - Words with Initial Blends: Continue practice on words with initial consonant blends:
Words: drill, drum, grip, brag, brat, clock, flop, flag, crab, tree
Teaching Tip: Use real-life examples and crafts to demonstrate the words.
Activity: "Blend Sorting" where children sort words into buckets based on their initial sounds.
Week 14 - Words with Double Consonants: Focus on words with doubling consonants, which emphasize the sound:
Words: bell, shell, hill, stiff, stuff, pass, class, buzz, kiss, toss
Teaching Tip: Highlight how doubling the consonant affects pronunciation.
Activity: Play "Memory Match" where students find pairs of words that have double consonants.
Week 15 - Long a Words Spelled with a_e Pattern: Teach the long 'a' sound with a silent 'e':
Words: came, make, late, shape, gave, brave, name, bake, fake, take
Teaching Tip: Use visual aids to show how adding 'e' changes the vowel sound from short to long.
Activity: "Magic E Adventure" where students transform short vowel words into long vowel words by adding an 'e'.
Week 16-22: Mastery of Long Vowels and Completion with High Frequency Words
Week 16 - High Frequency Words List 4: Introduce another group of high frequency words:
Words: an, said, three, come, like, two, we, where, yellow, you
Teaching Tip: Use daily interaction and reading sessions to reinforce these words.
Activity: Interactive "Word Wall" where students can add new words they learn and use them in sentences.
Week 17 - Long i Words Spelled with i_e Pattern: Focus on the long 'i' sound with a silent 'e':
Words: time, kite, bike, white, drive, mine, dime, life, lime, spine
Teaching Tip: Demonstrate word changes with and without 'e' through writing exercises.
Activity: "Sentence Builders" where students use these words in context to write sentences or short paragraphs.
Week 18 - Long o Spelled with o_e OR o Pattern: Teach the long 'o' sound:
Words: home, hole, rope, joke, bone, poke, so, no, tone, note
Teaching Tip: Use stories or picture books that emphasize these words.
Activity: Create a rhyming book where students find and illustrate rhymes for the long 'o' words.
Week 19 - Long u Spelled with the u_e Pattern: Introduce the long 'u' sound:
Words: rule, mule, cube, tune, cute, use, tube, June, flute, rude
Teaching Tip: Engage in classroom discussions using these words to enhance verbal skills.
Activity: "Musical Words" where words are passed around in a music circle; when the music stops, the student with the word must use it in a sentence.
Week 20-22 - High Frequency Word List 5: Conclude with an extensive list of high frequency words:
Words for Week 20: all, are, ate, be, black, brown, but, eat, did, four
Words for Week 21: good, have, into, must, new, now, on, our, out, please
Words for Week 22: ran, ride, saw, say, she, there, soon, they, this, too
Teaching Tip: Regularly review these words through flashcard games and daily interactions.
Activity: "Word Detective" where students identify and tally the frequency of these words in their favorite books or classroom readings.
This expanded and detailed guide provides educators and parents with a structured plan for teaching kindergarten spelling. By incorporating engaging activities and focused teaching tips, students are more likely to develop strong spelling and phonetic skills, setting a robust foundation for reading and writing proficiency.
