Literacy skills and knowledge are essential for student success in every area of the curriculum.  District 28 has adopted a comprehensive literacy philosophy, which is designed to meet the needs and readiness of individual students. Reading, writing, speaking and listening are integrated within the literacy program.  By the end of Kindergarten, we expect students to be able to do the following within each area:

Concepts of Print

*follow left to right

*follow top to bottom

*recognize similarities and differences among pictures, letters and words

Phonemic Awareness

*identify rhyming words

*create rhyming words

*understand alliteration

*break sentences into words

*break words into syllables

*recognize word families

*distinguish between upper-case and lower-case letters

*develop awareness of beginning, middle, and ending sounds

Story Elements

*sequence events of a simple story

*identify characters and settings of a story

Comprehension

*Use schema (personal knowledge) to make meaning with the text

*Make “text-to-self” and “text-to-text” connections

*Use “Turn and Talk” method to discuss text with a peer

Writing

*form upper- and lower-case letters from top to bottom

*write from left to right

*write from the top of the page to the bottom

*write using proper spacing between words

       *write full sentences using capitalization and punctuation

Communication Skills

*maintain eye contact when speaking and listening

*participate effectively in discussions

*demonstrate “stop and think” behavior

*speak with appropriate volume and clarity

*follow verbal directions

*use grammatically appropriate language when speaking to groups and individuals