Kindergarten Language Arts

Family Literacy & Skills

We have been working hard as a team to revamp our CGA Family Literacy based on your suggestions and input. The Family Literacy will be available to all our families on the curriculum tab in Ally and NOW will provide a complete Language Arts program! This will provide a more rich and engaging learning experience for your family to coincide with our EPIC Day Program.

We have taken all the guesswork out of Language Arts and simply offer lesson plans that are effective, efficient and fun. Our CGA program provides activities families can do together along with specific grade-level appropriate material that cover all the academic needs.

Family Literacy and Skills Curriculum Map by Grade Level
Family Literacy and Skills Overview of Program
Week 1Homepage with Links to the First Lesson for grades K-3. The welcome Letter is in Red which has an explanation of the Family Literacy and Skills Program.

All About Reading

Pre-reading program is designed for preschoolers and kindergartners. Your student will enjoy the special games, crafts, and story time read-aloud, and you will love the way your student effortlessly learns essential pre-reading skills.  Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge, Listening Comprehension, and Motivation to Read. These skills lay the foundation for learning to read.  Learn More

Needs: Teacher Manual,  Student Activity Packet, 2 Readers, Interactive kit.

Notes: All About Reading is great for struggling readers, but it can be too repetitive for quick learners.   Placement test

KPALS & Explode The Code

KPALS lessons are cyclical and repetitive in format to help younger students hear sounds in words and match sounds to letters. With a parent acting as a coach, every KPALS lesson has two parts; a “soundplay lesson” to build phonological awareness and a “decoding lesson” to help students match sound to letters. Each decoding lesson includes instruction in individual sounds, sight words, and blending short words. Eventually, students put words together to read sentences and paragraphs. Each section of the lesson is repeated for reinforcement and practice. This curriculum is especially good for students who need extra help learning letters, sounds and sight words. Simple for parents, but needs daily consistency.  KPALS/PALS + Explode the Code together are a complete curriculum.  Either on their own are supplemental.

Get Ready for the Code: Book A is the first book of three preliteracy primers which introduce all consonant letters, and which are designed to be used before the Explode the Code series. Covering early literacy skills and letter formation, students will learn through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities that include tracing, matching, tracking, copying, and following directions. Book A teaches students consonants b, f, k, m, r, and t with an emphasis on phonemic awareness and sound-letter correspondence.

Special emphasis is given to discriminating between similar objects and letters, to developing the motor control necessary to write legibly, and to developing the listening skills children need to follow directions carefully. Learn More

KPALS/PALS + Explode the Code together are a complete curriculum.  Either on their own are supplemental.

Needs: KPALS, Explode the Code A, B, C and Teachers Guide.

Fun-Time Phonics

This fun, easy-to-use comprehension program is based on the scientific findings of the National Reading Commission. The colorful, game-like activities engage students through listening, thinking, speaking, and reading.

Fun-Time Phonics!™ teaches students that spoken words are composed of individual sounds (phonemes), and those sounds are written with letters. Armed with this understanding of how print works as a code, reading becomes much easier than other more complicated approaches. This program ensures complete phonemic awareness mastery by focusing on vowel isolation, which is often the most challenging–but most important–part of learning to read. Once students grasp how vowels influence the sound of the consonants and control the meaning of the words, they are only a step away from fluency. Learn More

Moving Beyond The Page

(Read to Someone, Work on Writing)

✦ STUDENT CHOICE! ✦ ✦MOM CHOICE!✦ ✦TOP CURRICULUM!✦

Who it is for:  Grades K-12

At a glance: Main curriculum, cross-curricular integration, non-scripted, some worksheets

Moving Beyond the Page curriculum covers state and national standards while providing a unique literature-based approach to learning, hands-on activities, and critical and creative thinking skills.  This includes integrated language arts, social studies, and science curriculum that focuses on learning skills through big ideas.  Project-based instruction will help students understand complex interactions, see the interconnectedness among people, ideas, and environments, and reinforce real-world applications.  This curriculum is specially designed for families that prefer literature-based language instruction.

Each unit includes:  Literature, a parent guide, student activity book, and manipulatives

Note:  Units can be completed in any order.

Click here to learn more!

Placement test

See all the Moving Beyond The Page materials available for children ages 4-5

Sing, Spell, Read & Write

This is a complete phonics and language arts curriculum. The “Raceway” theme is very appealing and motivating to children, who love tracking their success via race car around a track as they complete the 36 steps to independent reading.  The songs are contagious – children will sing and sing and learn their letter sounds, long and short vowel sounds, blending vowels and consonants, and digraphs almost effortlessly – and enjoy it!  The 17 phonetic, full-color storybooks cover all 36 steps, providing immediate, rewarding reinforcement for the decoding skill just learned.  The games are not just fluff, but real fortification of phonetic skills.  The step-by-step instructor’s manual provides easy-to-follow directions for all lessons. It will aid you in understanding/teaching the phonics program – and give you the confidence to do it!    Included is a complete, phonetic spelling program dove-tailing with the phonetic constructs being learned and a complete handwriting program (if you use the ball and stick manuscript).  Two workbooks include grammar and creative writing as well as letter recognition, sequencing, phonemic awareness, phonics practice, manuscript writing, reading, comprehension, and spelling.  Learn More

Logic of English

Foundations teaches children age 4-7 to read real books without guessing or memorizing sight words while developing their writing, spelling, and language skills.   In Foundations students gain phonemic awareness, learn to read and write the 74 basic phonograms and increase reading fluency through structured but playful activities. The innovative Rhythm of Handwriting™ method aids students in developing fluid handwriting. Step by step, students grow as readers, moving from phrases to sentences to paragraphs to books.  Using evidence-based reading instruction methods, Foundations combines multi-sensory learning with the latest in linguistic research to provide students the best possible foundation for education: strong reading and writing skills.  lLearn More

Comes with: Level A Teachers Manual and Student Workbook,  Doodling Dragons,  Phonogram and Spelling Rule Quick Reference (cursive or manuscript), Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference Chart (for cursive only), Rhythm of Handwriting Tactile Cards, (cursive or manuscript, optional for K only), Phonogram Game Cards-2 sets,
Basic Phonogram Flash Cards, Phonogram Game Tiles, Spelling Analysis Card

Notes: Logic of English is a very solid phonics foundation that is multi-sensory in nature.  It is parent intensive. Help Me Choose link

Reading Eggs (Online)

Makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities. Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.  Learn More

RazKids(Online)

RazKids provides online instruction that automatically adapts to the specific learning needs of every student.  Teaches non readers and early readers critical reading fundamentals, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and basic vocabulary.  Learn More

Spelling You See – Listen and Write

Is designed for the young student as they move from the Preliterate Stage into the Phonetic Stage of spelling. Focuses on lowercase letter formation, consonants, and short vowels.  Moves the student from three-letter words to four-letter and eventually to five-letter words. Includes the focus of each day’s worksheet at the top for easy reference. Contains 36 lessons divided into five parts (A through E). Each part is a day’s lesson and should take no more than ten minutes a day. Features letter boxes to help your child learn sound-to-letter correspondence, a skill needed for reading success. Teaches correct pencil grip and letter formation. Emphasizes the consistent, automatic formation of lowercase letters

While Listen and Write is not a handwriting course, efficient handwriting techniques allow students’ brains to handle these tasks effortlessly and concentrate on more important things, such as sound-to-letter correspondence. This level comes with a handwriting guide for your student. Another fun feature of Listen and Write are the stickers that are included. Your student can find a sticker to match a word from the day’s lesson, or simply choose one as a reward for a job well done. The sticker page includes suggestions on how to use them with the lesson. Learn More

Needs: Instructors Handbook and Student Pack.

Zaner-Bloser

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting is a complete handwriting program that can be taught in as little as 15 minutes a day! The Zaner-Bloser style teaches a vertical manuscript alphabet that is made up of only four simple strokes and is similar to the letter forms most widely used in everyday print.

This kindergarten-level workbook focuses on basic manuscript strokes, letters, and numerals. Colorful and engaging exercises begin with simple activities like writing familiar letters and tracing letters and strokes with a finger and pencil. Both upper and lower-case letters are taught along with punctuation marks. Learn More

Directional features include:

  • Letter models with arrows to show stroke sequence
  • Green starting dots that show students where initial strokes begin
  • Stroke descriptions to guide letter formation at home
  • Space to practice writing directly beneath models (that both left-and right-handed students can easily see)

D’Nealian

D’Nealian Handwriting is the original continuous stroke handwriting program! It’s based on a few simple connecting strokes that children then use to write in cursive.

Four units are included in this workbook: Getting Ready to Write, Writing Numbers, Writing Lower-Case Letters, and Writing Capital Letters. The first unit features pre-writing skill practice in the form of circling pictures that are different, drawing lines, tracing, and other simple fine-motor skills. The other units feature full-page letters for students to trace with their finger, lines with examples to trace with a pencil, and lines with which to write their own letter. Learn More