It starts in the doorway. Kindergarten children are greeted by their teacher standing in the doorway of their classroom. The passwords of the day for entering the room are two rhyming words. The teacher says “cat” and a K-girl in an oversized sweatshirt and leggings says “fat and rat”. Smiles and fist bumps are shared and the girl doesn’t walk into class, she skips. Quickly word spreads down the hallway where other K-kids are hanging jackets and backpacks on hooks below their names. “Rhyming words.”
Synonyms, antonyms, homophones, articles, and conjunctions are common passwords into this Kindergarten class. “Spell your name” will begin a week of spelling passwords. Some days the password gets children in the door and sometimes it gets them out the door for recess. Words fly when passwords are necessary for recess.
A taller, quieter K-girl takes more time digging into her backpack before hanging it. She often is the last into class. Her teacher raises the rhyming bar. “Chair.” K-girl raiser her hand to twirl a strand of hair, smiles and says “hair, fair, pair, bear, tear.” Her teacher gives an “Oh, my. Tear is not spelled with an -air like chair and hair.” K-girl gives her teacher a quick hug. “I know” and slowly walks into her classroom.
These K-kids will do very well on their state assessments in third grade. The fast start they get in vocabulary and word forms in Kindergarten is like a booster rocket lifting a space package. Their interest and facility in words moves from the extrinsic gaming of their K-teacher to an intrinsic interest in language. Their early word work will make reading across subjects in social studies and science easier. Anyone who follows the academic achievements of this class of children will know their school ancestry began with this K-teacher.
It starts in the doorway. So many things do.