Phonology includes the sounds of a language and often the rules dictating how those linguistic sounds can interact. Part of a comprehensive literacy program is to establish phonological awareness in the children. This phonological awareness will include the ability to distinguish words when heard and spoken, so the noise isn't confused with one long sound but different sounds that are words forming a sentence of meaning. Recognizing that some words sound the same but are not the same and separating words into syllables are also aspects of phonological awareness. Resources for phonological awareness activities include classroom activities that directly explain the sounds of the language and associating those sounds with words while differentiating synonyms, recognizing word syllables or parts and comprehending the separate words in a spoken sentence.
Phonics concerns the differences between the letters of the written language and the sounds of the spoken language and their relationships. This often begins with learning the alphabet then learning how certain letters combine to produce other sounds, such as "th," "sh" and "ch." Learning the phonological rules that coincide with the written and spoken language establishes a framework for the children to practice sounding out unfamiliar words as well as spelling words they have never written. They also learn to break up a word into parts to work out the meaning of some new words, such as the prefixes re- or non- or the suffixes -ed or -s. Phonics activities and resources include teaching the alphabet and common letter pairings, practice sounding out new words, deducing the meaning of words that contain familiar parts (affixes, for example) and reinforcement of the applications for these skills.
Speaking, reading and writing skills are necessary for improved self-expression. The ability to express oneself through spoken and written language in a manner that others easily understand is an essential skill that children will need well beyond kindergarten throughout their entire lives. As verbal and writing abilities advance, vocabulary improves also, which further helps the children express their thoughts. Resources for oral and written language and vocabulary in a comprehensive literacy program include reading aloud in class or in groups, reading silently, memorizing new vocabulary words and using them, applying knowledge gleaned from a written or oral story to questions about the story and encouraging the telling or presenting of new stories, such as having the children tell of their weekend or recent birthday.
Fluency is not a word many think of when considering their native language, but the concept refers to the ability to immediately and accurately interpret written and spoken language as well as use the written and spoken language for self-expression. Comprehension deals with the students' ability to understand what is read or heard and apply that knowledge such as the ability to answer questions about a reading assignment. Fluency improves with time and practice, but correcting minor fluency issues early, such as pausing in awkward places while reading aloud or improper intonation, can help students greatly at the kindergarten level. Comprehension also improves with practice and vocabulary so reading or listening to a story or text and applying that knowledge to questions, quizzes or even a class discussion helps improve comprehension. Students have the opportunity to learn what their peers understood from the same text when this is done orally in class or in groups.
Education departments and schools throughout the country have web-based resources for teachers that are helpful when creating or running a comprehensive literacy program in a kindergarten classroom. There are also toolkit-like books published for teachers of different compulsory education levels, each offering resources to incorporate into the classroom lessons and homework for the given grade. These toolkit books are quite pricey, however, which may be problematic for teachers paying out of their own pocket. Some book resources are available for individual areas of a comprehensive literacy program and this may help if the teacher needs guidance for a given aspect of the program or for teachers working with English as a Second Language (ESL) children.