South Dakota ELA K.RF.2.e

ELAKindergartenReading Foundational Skills

The Standard

Isolate phonemes in the beginning, ending, and medial positions.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students listen to a spoken word and say its first, middle, or last sound. They stretch short words like "map" to hear each sound separately, without looking at letters.
What Mastery Looks Like: When asked about "sun," a student says /s/ for the first sound, /u/ for the middle, and /n/ for the last. They can do the same with other short words.
Common Misconceptions: Students may give a letter name instead of its sound. They may say "un" instead of /n/ for the last sound in "sun." Some add an "uh" sound after a consonant.
How to Assess It: Say "sun" aloud and ask, "What sound comes first? What sound is in the middle? What sound comes last?" Check for /s/, /u/, and /n/.

Lesson moves

Say "map" as children push three counters into boxes. Ask them to touch each counter and say its sound.
Ask, "What sound is in the middle of cat?" Partners stretch the word and tell each other what they hear.
Play sound-position bingo. Call "dog, last sound"; children say /g/ and cover the last box on a three-box card.
At snack, say "cup" aloud. Children name its first, middle, and last sounds before picking up their cups.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to K.RF.2.e, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.