When kids start Kindergarten, they begin learning letter sounds—the first step in learning how to read. Once kids know just a handful of letter sounds, they can begin reading books. Yet, books for kindergartners are difficult to find. Parents of older kids have a great variety of books to choose from. Kindergarten books are scarce. There are some books for Kindergartners, but the ones that give kids a strong reading foundation can be expensive. Many books for Kindergartners are hoarded within the domains of major reading companies. Printable Kindergarten books are also hard to find.
What if you simply want your Kindergartner to practice reading?
Below, I’ve provided a list of books that are designed for Kindergartners. These books foster good reading habits. They allow kids to practice sound-by-sound reading and master phonics units one at a time. All of the listed books get kids on the path of independent reading.
Primary Phonics
Primary phonics books allow Kindergartners to master reading fundamentals, including phonemic awareness and phonics. The books have pictures that don’t clue the student into the words. In sum, these books do not train the student to “guess.” Primary Phonics has a thorough short vowel series.
Dr. Maggie’s
Though Dr. Maggie’s books are designed for early readers, some are surprisingly difficult. Usually, I don’t let students read Dr. Maggie’s until they’ve had exposure to many sight words. However, if you have a student who has mastered short vowel words, yet needs fluency practice, Dr. Maggie’s is a great option.
Printable Kindergarten Books @ ReadingElephant.com
ReadingElephant.com offers printable Kindergarten books. Many educators and parents want easily accessible books. Reading Elephant books can be printed from home. They allow kids to master early reading skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics and a handful of sight words. The short vowel series is extensive, and allows kids to develop fluency.
Why do Decodable Books Sound Funny?
Since decodable books can only use a select amount of words, they can sound like unnatural language. In fact, phonics books demonstrate just how different speech acquisition is from reading acquisition. In speech, kids learn a wide variety of natural phrases like, “go outside” or “clean up.” In reading, sound unit knowledge takes precedence over naturalness. This means, a child will read a phrase like “Let’s dig in the mud” far before he can read “Let’s go outside.” As your child develops exposure to more and more sound units and sight words, phonics books become more fluid. Slowly, they begin to match natural language….until the child no longer needs phonics books!
Then, slowly, books will become so complex that they no longer match natural language (speech) again… but that’s a different post.
If you found this post helpful, you might also like: Printable Phonics Book Shop
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