Kindergarten Writing Curriculum

Family-facing version of the kindergarten writing curriculum

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Quarterly Overview of Kindergarten Writing

The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.

View the School Year Calendar
Week 1Week 2Week 3 Week 4Week 5Week 6 Week 7Week 8Week 9
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4

Units and Details

Unit 1: Building a Community of Writers

Students will:

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion. 
    • Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct requests.
    • Initiate conversations. 
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic. 
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults. 
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations.
    • Work respectfully with others. 
  • Demonstrate growth in oral, early literacy skills.
    • Listen and respond to a variety of text and media. 
    • Participate in a variety of oral language activities including choral and echo speaking and recitation.
    • Tell stories orally.
    • Participate in creative dramatics. 
  • Expand vocabulary and use of word meanings. 
    • Increase vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud. 
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently. 
    • Print their first and last names. 
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive.
    • Differentiate pictures from writing. 
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures.
    • Write left to right and top to bottom. 
    • Share writing with others.

Unit 2: Drawing for Meaning

Students will:

  • Build oral communication skills.
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion. 
    • Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct requests. 
    • Initiate conversations. 
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic.
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults. 
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations.
    • Follow one- and two-step directions.
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information.
    • Work respectfully with others. 
  • Demonstrate growth in oral early literacy skills. 
    • Listen and respond to a variety of texts and media. 
    • Participate in a variety of oral language activities including choral and echo speaking and recitation. 
    • Tell stories orally.
    • Participate in creative dramatics. 
  • Demonstrate an understanding that print conveys meaning. 
    • Explain that printed materials provide information. 
    • Read and explain their own writing and drawings. 
  • Expand vocabulary and use of word meanings. 
    • Discuss the meanings of words.
    • Increase vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud. 
    • Use vocabulary from other content areas. 
    • Ask about words not understood. 
    • Use number words. 
    • Use nouns to identify and name people, places, and things.
    • Use adjectives to describe location, size, color, and shape. 
    • Use verbs to identify actions. 
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently. 
    • Print their first and last names. 
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive. 
  • Differentiate pictures from writing. 
  • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures.
  • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences. 
  • Write left-to-right and top-to-bottom. 
  • Share writing with others.

Unit 3: Studying Patterns in Books

Students will: 

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion. 
    • Initiate conversations.
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic. 
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Follow one- and two-step directions.
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information.
    • Work respectfully with others.
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently.
  • Write in a variety of forms to include narrative and descriptive. 
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures.
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences.
    • Write left to right and top to bottom.
    • Compose simple sentences.
    • Share writing with others.

Unit 4: Focused Nonfiction Books

Students will:

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion.
    • Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct requests.
    • Initiate conversations. 
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic.
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults.
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Follow one- and two-step directions. 
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information. 
    • Work respectfully with others. 
  • Demonstrate growth in oral and early literacy skills. 
    • Listen and respond to a variety of texts and media. 
  • Expand vocabulary and use of word meanings. 
    • Discuss the meanings of words.
    • Increase vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud. 
    • Use vocabulary from other content areas. 
    • Ask about words not understood. 
    • Use number words.
    • Use nouns to identify and name people, places, and things. 
    • Use adjectives to describe location, size, color, and shape.
    • Use verbs to identify actions. 
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently. 
    • Print their first and last names. 
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive. 
    • Differentiate pictures from writing. 
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures. 
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences.
    • Write left to right and top to bottom. 
    • Compose simple sentences. 
    • Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation.
    • Share writing with others.

Unit 5: Personal Narratives

Students will: 

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion. 
    • Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct requests. 
    • Initiate conversations. 
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic. 
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults. 
    • Use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations. 
    • Follow one- and two-step directions. 
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information. 
    • Work respectfully with others. 
  • Demonstrate growth in oral early literacy skills. 
    • Listen and respond to a variety of texts and media. 
  • Demonstrate an understanding that print conveys meaning. 
    • Read and explain their own writing and drawings. 
    • Read their name and commonly used high-frequency words. 
  • Print in manuscript.
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently. 
    • Print their first and last names. 
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive.
    • Differentiate pictures from writing. 
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures. 
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences. 
    • Write left to right and top to bottom. 
    • Compose simple sentences. 
    • Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation.
    • Share writing with others.

Unit 6: Learning About Print Through Poetry

Students will: 

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion. 
    • Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through discussions.
    • Initiate conversations.
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic. 
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with adults and peers.
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Use voice-level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations.
    • Follow one- and two-step directions.
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information.
    • Work respectfully with others.
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently.
    • Print their first and last names.
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive. 
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures.
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences.
    • Write left to right and top to bottom.
    • Compose simple sentences.
    • Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation.
    • Share writing with others.

Unit 7: Learning About Print Through Shared Research

Students will: 

  • Build oral communication skills. 
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion.
    • Initiate conversations.
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic.
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults.
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners.
    • Use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations.
    • Follow one- and two-step directions.
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information.
    • Work respectfully with others.
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive. 
    • Differentiate pictures from writing.
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures.
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences.
    • Write left to right and top to bottom.
    • Share writing with others.
  • Conduct research to answer questions or solve problems using available resources.
    • Generate topics of interest.
    • Generate questions to gather information.
    • Identify pictures, texts, or people as sources of information.
    • Find information from provided sources.

Unit 8: Persuasive Writing and/or Illustrator and Author Study

Students will: 

  • Build oral communication skills.
    • Listen actively and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion.
    • Initiate conversations.
    • Follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying on topic. 
    • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults.
    • Discuss various texts and topics collaboratively and with partners. 
    • Use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language situations. 
    • Follow one- and two-step directions. 
    • Ask how and why questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information. 
    • Work respectfully with others.  
  • Expand vocabulary and use of word meanings.
    • Discuss the meanings of words. 
    • Increase vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud. 
    • Use vocabulary from other content areas. 
    • Ask about words not understood. 
    • Use number words.
    • Use nouns to identify and name people, places, and things. 
    • Use adjectives to describe location, size, color, and shape.
    • Use verbs to identify actions. 
  • Print in manuscript. 
    • Print capital and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently. 
    • Print their first and last names. 
  • Write in a variety of forms including narrative and descriptive.
    • Differentiate pictures from writing.
    • Use prewriting activities to generate ideas including drawing pictures. 
    • Use letters to phonetically spell words that describe pictures or experiences. 
    • Write left to right and top to bottom. 
    • Compose simple sentences. 
    • Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation.
    • Share writing with others.

Virginia Department of Education Resources

English Language Arts Standards of Learning

Literacy Resources for Families and Communities

Assessments

Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.

  • Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
    • Check for understanding 
    • Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
  • Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.

For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.

In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), kindergarten tests focus on basic literacy and numeracy development. Required tests for kindergarteners are:

  • Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS): To measure self-control and the ability to successfully interact with peers and adults. 
    • Fall
    • Spring
  • Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS): To measure early mathematics abilities and growth.
    • Fall
    • Spring
  • Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS): To identify gaps in foundational literacy skills and measure progress.
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Spring

Learn more about Student Tests and Assessments in FCPS
Looking for other kindergarten information?

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Language Arts
Reading
Writing
Word Study

Mathematics

Science

Social Studies

Other grade level curriculum information

Equitable Access to Literacy Plan