Kindergarten · Reading · RF.K.2.D, RF.K.3.A

Consonants Lesson Plan for Kindergarten

A ready-to-teach consonants lesson for Kindergarten, built around hearing the first and last consonant sound in a word, matching it to its letter, and reading blends like bl and digraphs like sh. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 47 minutes

Learning objective

Read and comprehend consonants passages independently
Build consonants vocabulary and fluency at the Kindergarten level
Apply key reading strategies through consonants practice

Materials

Match Pictures With the Same Last Sound, Set (set of 4, 1 to 4)
Identifying Consonants - Set 1
Beginning Consonants
Consonant Digraphs
Write Consonant Blends
Consonant Blends
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Build the background (5 min)
Say it before you show it. Give three spoken examples of consonants and have students repeat, then one that does not belong.
2. Read aloud and think aloud (I do) (10 min)
Write two examples of consonants while sounding them out slowly. Point to each part as you say it so the sound and the letters stay connected.
3. Guided practice (we do) (12 min)
Read a second passage together. This time students find the evidence and you record it. Push every answer back to the text with "what words told you that?"
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Match Pictures With the Same Last Sound, Set". Students read and answer on their own. Circulate and ask individuals to point to the line in the text that supports their answer.
5. Share and close (5 min)
Two or three students share an answer and the evidence behind it. Restate consonants one final time in the students' own words, not yours.

Check for understanding

Ask each student to point to the evidence in the text for one of their answers. A student who has the right answer but cannot find the line has not yet learned consonants.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild consonants with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own consonants problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand consonants.

Skills covered in this lesson

Consonants · Beginning Consonants · Phonics Digraphs · Phonics Consonant Blends · Blends · Ending Letter · Ending · Ending Consonants · Identify

Questions teachers ask about teaching consonants

What consonant sounds should kindergarteners learn?

The most common sound for each consonant letter, such as the b in ball and the m in moon (CCSS RF.K.3.A). Children hear the sound at the start of a word first, then at the end, as in the t of cat. Blends like bl and digraphs like sh come later in the year.

How do you teach ending consonant sounds?

Say a picture name slowly and stretch the last sound, as in hat, then ask which letter makes it. The ending consonants pages have children circle t, g or n for the last sound, color the pictures that end with p, and match web with crab because both end with b.

What are consonant blends and digraphs?

A blend is two consonants whose sounds you still hear, like bl in block. A digraph is two letters that make one new sound, like sh in ship. The blend pages circle bl, cl and fl pictures and trace L and R blend words, and the digraph pages read, circle and trace ch, sh, th and wh words.

How many consonants worksheets are there for Kindergarten?

50 sheets: ending consonants, beginning consonants, consonant blends, digraphs and pages that pick the consonants out of a word. 40 of the 50 sheets have an answer key.