Spelling Words for Kindergarten: A Guide to the TeachTastic Curriculum
Introducing young learners to the world of letters and words is a fundamental aspect of early education. Kindergarten marks a pivotal year for children as they begin to grasp the building blocks of reading and writing. A structured approach to spelling can significantly enhance this learning process. The TeachTastic spelling curriculum, designed specifically for kindergarteners, uses a weekly plan that gradually introduces new words based on their phonetic structure and frequency in language use. Here is an overview of how the curriculum progresses over the course of the academic year, divided into specific weeks focusing on different aspects of the English language.
Weeks 1-3: Introduction to Short Vowels
The curriculum kicks off with a focus on short vowels, starting with the simplest and most common sounds.
Week 1: Words with Short 'a' - at, am, cat, mat, can, map, tap, hat, mad, pan
Week 2: Words with Short 'i' - in, fit, rip, lip, fin, pig, hit, big, tip, bit
Week 3: Words with Short 'o' - log, dot, top, hot, lot, ox, pop, hop, box, fox
Week 4-6: High Frequency Words and More Vowels
After establishing a basic understanding of vowel sounds, the curriculum incorporates frequently used words, along with the introduction of the remaining vowels.
Week 4: High Frequency Words List 1 - the, and, is, to, do, under, want, was, well, yes
Week 5: Words with Short 'e' - pet, jet, red, bed, hen, pen, get, leg, led, wed
Week 6: Words with Short 'u' - bug, rug, hug, up, pup, run, mud, cup, fun, dull
Week 7-8: Consolidating Vowel Sounds and More High Frequency Words
These weeks reinforce the learning of short vowels through various simple words and introduce another set of high frequency words.
Week 7: Words with Short Vowels - man, fan, pin, win, sun, bun, got, pot, ten, beg
Week 8: High Frequency Words List 2 - he, it, my, a, away, blue, find, down, funny, help
Weeks 9-14: Expanding Vocabulary with Blends and Digraphs
The curriculum then moves on to more complex phonetic structures like blends and digraphs, which are crucial for advanced spelling skills.
Week 9: Words with Initial Digraphs - ship, shop, shut, chip, chap, that, them, then, wham, when
Week 10: Words with an Initial 'l' Blend - clap, flap, glass, plop, plug, flip, slip, sled, plant, blend
Week 11: Words with Initial 'r' and 's' Blends - drop, drip, trap, trip, frog, stop, snap, swim, brush, bride
Week 12: High Frequency Words List 3 - for, here, I, jump, little, not, one, play, with, will
Week 13: Words with Initial Blends - drill, drum, grip, brag, brat, clock, flop, flag, crab, tree
Week 14: Words with Double Consonants - bell, shell, hill, stiff, stuff, pass, class, buzz, kiss, toss
Weeks 15-19: Mastery of Long Vowels
The curriculum introduces long vowel patterns, helping students distinguish between short and long sounds.
Week 15: Long 'a' Words Spelled with a_e Pattern - came, make, late, shape, gave, brave, name, bake, fake, take
Week 16: High Frequency Words List 4 - an, said, three, come, like, two, we, where, yellow, you
Week 17: Long 'i' Words Spelled with i_e Pattern - time, kite, bike, white, drive, mine, dime, life, lime, spine
Week 18: Long 'o' Spelled with o_e OR o Pattern - home, hole, rope, joke, bone, poke, so, no, tone, note
Week 19: Long 'u' Spelled with the u_e Pattern - rule, mule, cube, tune, cute, use, tube, June, flute, rude
Weeks 20-22: Final High Frequency Words
The last phase of the curriculum consolidates all previously learned skills and introduces the final set of high frequency words to round off the year.
