Kindergarten English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Kindergarten english language arts in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Listening and speaking: sharing ideas, stories and poems, and taking part in talk by speaking in complete ideas
- Letters and words: recognizing and writing some letters and words, and copying words to see how they are spelled
- Understanding: sharing what we understand about people, places and things that are real or imaginary
- Creating: expressing ideas and information in creative ways, such as drawing, telling and acting out
- Discussion: asking questions and listening to others in a group
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases.
- Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?”
- Point out letters on signs, cereal boxes and the street.
- Ask your child to tell you a story about their drawing, and write down a sentence or two.
What each unit covers
Talk & Listen
Chat about the day, ask your child to answer in a whole sentence, and let them ask you questions. Poems and rhymes are great practice too.
Rhyme Time
Hearing rhymes (cat, hat) and spotting a word that doesn't rhyme. Rhyming games build the listening skills behind reading.
Clap the Beat
Breaking words into syllables (ba-na-na) by clapping. Clap along out loud: one clap for each part you hear.
Story Order
Putting events in order, and listening to short stories to tell what happened at the beginning, middle and end.
Letter Partners
Matching capital (big) letters with their lowercase (small) partners, including look-alikes such as b, d, p and q.
First Sounds
Hearing the first sound in a word (b in bus) and linking it to its letter. Say the words out loud together and stretch out the first sound.
Blend a Word
Listening for the sounds in a word, blending them to read it, and counting the sounds in words.
Sight Words
Recognizing common words such as the, see, can and my, plus colour and number words, by looking closely at their letters.
Book Detectives
How print works: telling letters, numbers, words and sentences apart, reading left to right and top to bottom, counting words, and what authors and illustrators do.
Picture Clues
Using the picture and the first letter to read a word or a short sentence, a key early reading strategy.
Real or Imaginary
Read both stories and fact books together and ask: could this really happen? Then invite your child to draw, tell or act out a story of their own.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Kindergarten child with english language arts?
Read aloud every day and let your child finish familiar phrases. Play with sounds: “What starts with /b/? What rhymes with cat?” Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Kindergarten english language arts in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Kindergarten english language arts units include talk & listen, rhyme time, clap the beat, story order, letter partners, first sounds.
Free printable Kindergarten english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.