Heggerty

Phonological Awareness, Kindergarten - 3rd

Heggerty is a literacy program designed to help young children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade develop important reading skills. It focuses on teaching phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear, identify, and work with individual sounds in words. This skill is crucial for learning how to read because it helps kids understand how letters and sounds go together.

Here are the core components of the Heggerty program:

1. Phonemic Awareness: This is the heart of the program. Children practice listening to and playing with sounds in words, such as rhyming, identifying beginning and ending sounds, and breaking words into smaller sounds (like the sounds in "cat" – /k/ /a/ /t/). These exercises strengthen their ability to decode words when reading.

2. Daily Practice: Heggerty lessons are short (about 10-12 minutes) and happen daily. The consistent, quick practice helps kids build these foundational skills over time without feeling overwhelmed.

3. No Writing or Reading Required: The program focuses purely on listening and speaking skills. This means children don't need to be able to read or write yet to benefit. It builds the foundation they need to later become successful readers and spellers.

4. Interactive and Engaging: Lessons involve fun, interactive activities like clapping, tapping, and saying sounds out loud, which keeps kids engaged and helps make learning enjoyable.

Overall, Heggerty is a tool to help kids develop the skills they need to become strong readers by focusing on the sounds that make up words.