Reading Pre-K

A parent-led year of read-alouds and play for four-year-olds: loving books, hearing rhymes and syllables, recognizing their own name and print around them, and retelling stories. No decoding is expected.

Reading K →

180 lessons

One a day for a school year

6 units

Each opens to its lessons

35 "Story Time" episodes

A read-aloud serial from Day 93

Standards

Head Start ELOF & Texas Pre-K Guidelines

What's taught, unit by unit

1
Falling in love with booksDays 1–30
How a book works, taking care of books, signs and labels, and spotting the letters in their own name. Rhymes, syllable clapping, retelling a favorite story and simple who and what questions. Day 30 is a celebration.
- 1 · Welcome to Reading Pre-K
- 2 · Falling in Love With a Favorite Book
- 3 · How a Book Works: Front, Back, and Turning Pages
- 4 · Signs and Labels We Know
- 5 · Recognizing My Own Name
- 6 · Listening for Rhymes
- 7 · Clapping Syllables
- 8 · Letters in My Name
- 9 · Retelling a Favorite Story
- 10 · Who and What: Talking About a Story
- 11 · Rhyme Play: Making Up Silly Rhymes
- 12 · More Letters in My Name
- 13 · Letter Spotting in the World Around Us
- 14 · Retelling a New Favorite Story
- 15 · Words That Start Like My Name
- 16 · New Words in Our Story
- 17 · Taking Care of Books
- 18 · Print Is Everywhere: A New Look Around
- 19 · Rhyme Chain Game
- 20 · Two-Week Check-In
- 21 · A Third Story, A New Puppet
- 22 · Singing the Alphabet Song
- 23 · Pointing Along on a Letter Chart
- 24 · Whose Name Starts the Same?
- 25 · What Happens Next?
- 26 · Rhyme Match-Up
- 27 · Clapping Long and Silly Words
- 28 · Make-Believe Books and True Books
- 29 · Whose Name Starts Like That?
- 30 · Month One Celebration
2
Rhymes, sounds and wider storiesDays 31–60
Wordless picture books, store and road signs, poems and nursery rhymes, rhyme sorting and first-sound games, and the idea that someone wrote and drew each book. Several retelling styles, with check-ins and a celebration on Days 40, 50 and 60.
- 31 · Story Retelling: First, Next, Last with Picture Cards
- 32 · Rhyme Play: Which One Doesn't Rhyme?
- 33 · Wordless Picture Book Storytelling
- 34 · Environmental Print: At the Store
- 35 · Listening Game: What Does It Start Like?
- 36 · How Did the Character Feel?
- 37 · Syllable Clapping: Foods We Eat
- 38 · Syllable Clapping: Animal Names
- 39 · Poetry and Nursery Rhymes
- 40 · Two-Week Check-In: Days 31-40
- 41 · Retelling with a Felt-Board Cast of Characters
- 42 · Rhyme Families — Sorting into Groups
- 43 · Someone Wrote It, Someone Drew It
- 44 · Environmental Print — Signs on the Road
- 45 · Rich Words in a Read-Aloud
- 46 · Make Up Your Own Silly Rhyme
- 47 · Book Care and a Pretend Library Visit
- 48 · Syllable Jumps
- 49 · Guess What Happens Next
- 50 · Ten Weeks of Reading Fun — Review and Celebration
- 51 · Acting Out a Favorite Story
- 52 · Rhyming I Spy
- 53 · Poem, Story, or Fact Book?
- 54 · Letters in a Pet or Friend's Name
- 55 · Reading a Wordless Comic Strip
- 56 · Counting Syllables in Toy Names
- 57 · What Happens After the Book Ends?
- 58 · Spotting a Special Letter Out in the World
- 59 · A New Story's Sequel
- 60 · Six-Week Reading Celebration
3
Making a book & winter readingDays 61–92
Making a picture book together, a Book of the Week routine, and reading print at home and in the mailbox. Winter rhyme, new-word, same-first-sound and prediction games. Days 80 and 90 are celebration days.
- 61 · Story Time for a Stuffed-Animal Audience
- 62 · Rhyming Scavenger Hunt
- 63 · Making Our Own Picture Book
- 64 · Print in My Bedroom
- 65 · Same First Sound: House Objects Sort
- 66 · Same First Sound: Kitchen Sort
- 67 · Exploring a Fact Book
- 68 · Clapping Family Names
- 69 · Starting Our Book of the Week
- 70 · Ten Weeks of Reading Together
- 71 · Draw the Story: A Three-Panel Retelling
- 72 · Book of the Week: A Poetry Pick
- 73 · Rhyme Charades
- 74 · Letters Are Everywhere: A Big Scavenger Hunt
- 75 · Same Sound: A New Pair to Notice
- 76 · Storytime Outside
- 77 · Clapping Number Words and Color Words
- 78 · Poetry Week Continues: Action Rhymes
- 79 · Same Sound Again: Confirming It Transfers
- 80 · Eleven Weeks In: A Celebration Day
- 81 · Where We Left Off: Who and What
- 82 · Winter Rhymes in a Basket
- 83 · Tracks in the Snow: What Happens Next?
- 84 · Print in the Mailbox
- 85 · The Puppet Show Retelling
- 86 · Clap the Winter Words
- 87 · Two Sparkling New Words
- 88 · Same Sound: Mitten and Moon
- 89 · Tonight I Am the Reader
- 90 · Twelve Weeks of Stories: A Celebration
- 91 · New Words: Thaw and Trickle
- 92 · Puddle Rhymes
4
Spring story time in Maple HollowDays 93–139
A serial story read aloud every other day, with a new game each time: predicting, retelling with props and puppets, rich new words, rhyme, syllable and first-letter play. Ends with the chapter book finishing on Day 139.
- 93 · Story Time: Pip Plants a Seed
- 94 · Clap the Garden Words
- 95 · Tell It Back: The Day Pip Planted a Seed
- 96 · The Green Bird Book: Story or True?
- 97 · Find Your Name in the Garden
- 98 · Same Start Sounds: Mud and Mittens
- 99 · Books Are Good for Waiting
- 100 · One Hundred Days of Stories
- 101 · Story Time: Rain on the Roof
- 102 · Rhyme Puddles
- 103 · Story Time: The Turtle Crosses
- 104 · Puddle-Stomp Syllables
- 105 · Build the Bridge: Retelling with a Scene
- 106 · Reading the Garden
- 107 · Story Time: Something in the Pot
- 108 · Be the Seed
- 109 · Story Time: Muddy Paws at the Library
- 110 · Check-In: Rain, Bridges, and a Green Sprout
- 111 · Story Time: A Book for a Sprout
- 112 · Bloom or Wilt
- 113 · Story Time: Turning the Pot
- 114 · Petal-Count Syllables
- 115 · Story Time: The Rumbling Sound
- 116 · The Picture Walk
- 117 · Story Time: A Seed for Bram's Fence
- 118 · The Garden Gate
- 119 · The Storytime Picnic
- 120 · Check-In: A Book, a Storm, and a Shared Seed
- 121 · Story Time: The Unfurling Morning
- 122 · The Watering-Can Rhyme Game
- 123 · Story Time: Mountains in Cloud Hats
- 124 · Seed-Drop Syllables
- 125 · Story Time: The Last Seed
- 126 · Print in the Kitchen
- 127 · Three Seeds, Three Homes
- 128 · My Letter in the Garden
- 129 · Story Time: A Pocket Story and a Green Surprise
- 130 · Check-In: Three Seeds and a Wide-Awake Spring
- 131 · Story Time: The Droop and the Perk
- 132 · The Rhyme Door
- 133 · Maple Hollow News: Who and What
- 134 · Syllable Stepping Stones
- 135 · Sound-Effects Storyteller
- 136 · Story Time: The Morning Maple Hollow Bloomed
- 137 · Story Time: The Top of Far Away
- 138 · A Letter Made of Petals
- 139 · Story Time: The Last Page
5
Summer stories & new rolesDays 140–170
Your child starts asking the story questions and retelling whole stories, plus cover guessing, refrain games, labels in the kitchen and a name on a party banner. Rhyme, syllable and vocabulary play continue. Several check-in days.
- 140 · Check-In: Everything Is Growing
- 141 · Story Time: Pip Chooses a New Book
- 142 · The Rhyme Picnic
- 143 · Story Time: Pip Asks the Questions
- 144 · Snack-Time Syllables
- 145 · Story Time: Pip the Storyteller
- 146 · Special Delivery: Find Your Name
- 147 · Story Time: The Dark Hedge
- 148 · Letter Hunt on the Labels
- 149 · Favorite Book Award Day
- 150 · Check-In: A Firefly Book and a First Bud
- 151 · Story Time: The Long Warm Evening
- 152 · The Firefly Blink Rhyme Game
- 153 · Story Time: Two Buds and the Rain
- 154 · Beat Boxes: Sorting Words by Their Claps
- 155 · Story Time: The Lantern-Keeper's Secret
- 156 · The Lemonade Stand Sign
- 157 · Story Time: The Little Light Over the Meadow
- 158 · Chime In! The Refrain Game
- 159 · The Dusk-Time Story Nest
- 160 · Check-In: Four Story Nights and One Real Firefly
- 161 · Story Time: More Every Night
- 162 · Drumbeat Parade
- 163 · Story Time: The First Bloom
- 164 · The Party Banner
- 165 · The Story Cake
- 166 · Story Time: Something Is Happening
- 167 · The Wrapped Book Guessing Game
- 168 · Story Time: Five
- 169 · Pass-the-Present Rhymes
- 170 · Check-In: The Birthday Week
6
Year-end: their own book & KindergartenDays 171–180
The last new words, rhymes, syllable games and predictions, then your child makes and reads aloud their own book. The final days look ahead to Kindergarten and finish the story serial.
- 171 · Story Time: The Right Night
- 172 · Blink the Beats
- 173 · Story Time: The Great Summer Glow
- 174 · The Blanket-Fort Retell
- 175 · Story Time: The Library Flower
- 176 · Rhyme Chain Under the Maple
- 177 · Story Time: The First Page
- 178 · Reading My Own Book
- 179 · Story Time: A Book I Don’t Know Yet
- 180 · Story Time: The Story Goes On

By the end of the year, your child can

Enjoy books, handle them gently, and ask for favorite stories again and again
Hear and make rhymes, and clap or step out the beats in a word
Recognize their own name in print and spot its letters around them
Retell a familiar story in order and answer simple who and what questions
Guess what might happen next and name the front, back and pages of a book

Try the first 10 days free

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Other Pre-K subjects: Math Pre-K · Writing Pre-K · Science Pre-K · Social Studies Pre-K