These videos provide an overview of the kindergarten and first-grade experience in MindPlay.

Phonics

The phonics test assesses students' understanding of letter/sound correspondence, spelling, roots, and spelling rules across ten progressively complex levels. Each level builds on concepts from previous ones, screening for students who need phonics or phonetic spelling instruction. Students spell nonsense words using English spelling rules, testing their sound recognition and spelling skills without relying on memorization. The program adapts to individual performance levels and aims to evaluate the students' encoding and decoding abilities.

Listening Vocabulary

This test determines students' listening (functional) vocabulary level, representing their receptive vocabulary. The results isolate a student's ability to recognize a word rather than their ability to decode the word. The words tested are selected from appropriate grade-level lists. The auditory presentation of the prompt makes the Listening Vocabulary Test a pure measure of vocabulary knowledge. The test is adaptive and based on student performance. 

Phonological Awareness

Rhyming helps develop phonological awareness, a key skill in learning to read. Recognizing and producing rhymes trains students to notice sound patterns in words, improving their ability to decode and spell. Rhyming also enhances memory and word retention, making it easier for students to recognize familiar word patterns in new contexts and strengthening reading fluency and vocabulary.

Counting Sounds: This test screens students who may need phonemic awareness instruction. Phonemic awareness is the most advanced level of phonological awareness. Students are required to count the number of sounds in a spoken word. Identifying individual sounds within a word is the first foundational step in learning to read, write, and spell. 

Alphabet Knowledge

Knowing the letters of the alphabet is crucial for students because it forms the foundation of reading and writing. Recognizing letter names and sounds allows students to decode words, spell, and build literacy skills. Mastery of the alphabet helps students understand the connection between spoken and written language, enabling them to read and write more effectively. It also aids in word recognition, phonics, and overall language development.

Grammar for Meaning (Grade 1 only)

This test provides information on students' current grammar knowledge as it aligns with Coach instruction. The test ends when the student gets three questions wrong in a row. 

Natural Fluency

Students receive the Comprehension Screener (cloze assessment) at the 3rd Benchmark, which determines the text level of the subsequent Natural Fluency test. This adaptive screener requires students to read sentences with blanks and select the best word to complete them. The targeted words are drawn from various research-based word frequency lists, including The Educator's Word Frequency Guide and analyses of major standardized tests like the California Achievement Tests and the Stanford Achievement Tests.