Kitchen Table Reading Benchmark Tracker
Verify foundational skill mastery step-by-step before advancing.
Kindergarten Benchmarks
Level K
| Benchmark Skill | Target Examples | Type | Practicing | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Identifying Letter Sounds
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Identifies all uppercase/lowercase letters & produces 26 sounds | Phonics | ||
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Alphabet Writing
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Writes uppercase and lowercase letters legibly with proper grip | Writing | ||
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Rhyming Words
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Identifies and generates simple rhymes (cat/hat, big/pig) | Phonemic Awareness | ||
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Beginning & Ending Sounds
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Isolates first and last sounds in spoken words (/m/ in mat, /t/ in cat) | Phonemic Awareness | ||
| https://readinghelp911.com/courses/parents-reading-toolkit/
Medial Vowel Sounds
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Identifies middle short vowel sound in spoken CVC words (/a/ in map, /i/ in sit) | Phonemic Awareness | ||
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Phonemic Awareness (Blending & Segmenting)
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Blends sounds to form words (/c/-/a/-/t/ → "cat") & breaks words into individual sounds | Phonemic Awareness | ||
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Word Families
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Reads and builds CVC word families (-at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug) | Phonics | ||
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Sight Words
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Recognizes within 3 sec: the, a, is, to, you, said, was, look, they, have, are | Sight Word | ||
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Reading Independently
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Reads simple decodable books independently for 5–10 minutes | Fluency | ||
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Comprehension
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Answers who, what, where, and key detail questions about a read passage | Comprehension |
First Grade Benchmarks
Level 1
| Benchmark Skill | Target Examples | Type | Practicing | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Identifying Letter Sounds
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Produces complex sounds including digraphs & letter combinations (sh, ch, th, wh) | Phonics | ||
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Long & Short Vowels
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Differentiates short vowels (cat, hop) vs. long vowel patterns (cake, hope) | Phonics | ||
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First Grade Rhyming
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Identifies and produces complex rhymes with blends & long vowels (train/brain, float/boat) | Phonemic Awareness | ||
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Word Blends
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Reads 4–5 sound words with initial and final consonant blends (stop, drop, fast, plant) | Phonics | ||
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Read & Write Word Families
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Decodes and spells extended 1st grade word families (-ight, -ake, -ing, -ank) | Phonics & Writing | ||
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Phonemic Awareness (Blending Phonemes)
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Orally blends 4–5 spoken sounds into complete words (/s/-/t/-/r/-/e/-/m/ → "stream") | Phonemic Awareness | ||
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First Grade Sight Words
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Recognizes 75–100 extended high-frequency words automatically | Sight Word | ||
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Reading Fluency & Comprehension
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Reads grade-level passages smoothly (40–60 WPM) and retells main ideas & key details | Fluency & Comp |