Curriculum

Children will know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs. For example, they will understand that the letters "sh" create the /sh/ sound, as in "shoe," and that "ch" makes the /ch/ sound, as in "chair." They will be able to identify and read words that contain these digraphs during phonics lessons or reading activities.

Children will decode regularly spelled one-syllable words. For example, they will use their knowledge of phonics to read words like "cat," "dog," "sit," and "run" by sounding out each letter and blending the sounds together.

Children will know the final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds. For example, they will understand that the final -e in words like "cake" and "bike" signals that the vowel sound is long (the "a" in "cake" sounds like /ā/ and the "i" in "bike" sounds like /ī/). They will also recognize vowel teams such as "ai" in "rain," "ea" in "team," and "oa" in "boat," which also represent long vowel sounds.

Children will demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. For example, they will be able to identify the front and back covers of a book, recognize the title and author, and understand that text is read from left to right and top to bottom.

Children will use the knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the number of syllables in a printed word. For example, they will examine words like "banana," "table," and "happy," recognizing that each syllable contains a vowel sound. They might clap for each syllable as they say the word aloud, helping them to identify that "banana" has three syllables (ba-na-na) and "table" has two syllables (ta-ble).

Children will recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence, such as the first word, capitalization, and ending punctuation. For example, they will learn that sentences begin with a capital letter, such as in "The cat is sleeping," and end with punctuation marks like a period, question mark, or exclamation point.

Children will decode two-syllable words by breaking the words into syllables and following basic patterns. For example, they will learn to recognize and pronounce words like "happy," "basket," and "sunset" by dividing them into syllables (hap-py, bas-ket, sun-set)

Children will demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). For example, they will clap their hands for each syllable in their name, helping them identify that "Emily" has three syllables (Em-i-ly). Additionally, they will practice identifying the first sound in words, such as saying that the word "sun" starts with the /s/ sound.

Children will read words with inflectional endings. For example, they will be able to read words like "walking," "jumped," "cats," and "happier," recognizing how the endings change the meaning of the base word. During reading activities, they might enter sentences or short stories that include these words, and they will practice by sounding them out and understanding how the endings affect the verb tense or indicate plurals and comparisons.

Children will distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words. For example, they will be able to identify that the word "hat" contains a short vowel sound (/a/ as in "cat") while the word "cake" has a long vowel sound (/aɪ/ as in "face").