Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Talking, Listening, Reading and Writing

Writing for a Reason: Lists, Cards, Signs and Stories

A4.1 A4.2 A3.1About 25 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell why people write.
  • I can make a list, a card, a sign or a label with pictures, letters and words.
  • I can use an alphabet chart or word cards to help me write.
  • I can draw and write about something that happened to me.
  • I can write a short sentence with an uppercase letter, spaces and a period.

Words to know

list
Writing that shows things one under the other, like a grocery list.
card
A message for someone, like a birthday card or a thank-you card.
sign
Writing that tells people something, like STOP or EXIT.
message
What the writer wants the reader to know.
alphabet chart
A chart with every letter and a picture, like A for apple. It helps writers find letters.

Why do people write?

(Grown-up: read aloud.)

Grown-ups write every day! But why?

  • To remember things: a grocery list.
  • To tell someone something: a birthday card, a note.
  • To give information: a STOP sign, a name tag.
  • To share a story: a book about something that happened.

Writing is a way to send a message, even when you are not there to say it.

A pink homemade card with a crayon flower and heart stands beside a white envelope and a pencil on a table.
A card is a way to send a message to someone you care about. What would you write inside this card? AI-generated image
Kind of writingWhat it is forExample
List 📝to remember thingsmilk, eggs, apples
Card 💌to send a kind messageHappy Birthday, Grandma!
Sign 🪧to tell people what to do or where to goSTOP, EXIT, Keep Out
Label 🏷️to tell what something isLEGO, books, Mia's cup
Story 📖to tell what happenedI went skating with Dad.
Different kinds of writing do different jobs.
Worked example

Let's make a grocery list

We need milk, apples and bread. Let's make a list so we don't forget!

  1. Draw a little picture for each thing: 🥛, 🍎, 🍞. Put them one under the other.
  2. Say the first word slowly: mmm-ilk. The first sound is /m/. Write M beside the milk.
  3. Apples: the first sound is /a/. Write A. Not sure how to make an A? Look at the alphabet chart and find the apple picture!
  4. Bread: the first sound is /b/. Write B.
  5. Take the list to the store and "read" it: "Milk, apples, bread!"

Our list: 🥛 M, 🍎 A, 🍞 B. Pictures and letters together make a list we can read.

Our listMmilkAapplesBbread
A Kindergarten grocery list: a little picture for each thing, plus its first letter: M for milk, A for apples, B for bread.

Writing helpers

You don't have to remember every letter by yourself. Writers use helpers:

  • An alphabet chart: find the picture that starts with your sound (B is for bear) and copy the letter.
  • Name cards: cards with your name and your family's names.
  • Word cards on the fridge: words you use a lot, like mom, dad, love, I, the.
  • Words around you: copy words from boxes, signs and books.

Writing a whole sentence

When you are ready, you can write a whole sentence, like I like my cat.

  1. Say the sentence out loud. Count the words on your fingers: I - like - my - cat is 4 words.
  2. Start with an uppercase letter.
  3. Leave a finger space between words.
  4. Spell short words with their sounds (c-a-t). Copy words like like and my from a word card.
  5. End with a period.
I1like2my3cat.44 words · a finger space between words · a period at the end
I like my cat. has 4 words. Count them on your fingers, leave a finger space (the little ovals) between words, and end with a period.
Worked example

Let's write a story about me

Something happened! You went skating at the rink. Let's write it.

  1. Talk first. Tell the story out loud: "I went skating with Dad. I fell down but I got up!"
  2. Draw it. Draw you and Dad on the ice ⛸️. Add details: your toque, the ice, the boards.
  3. Write. Write what you can. It might be I (copied from a word card), and sk for skating. Or a grown-up can write your words, and you write your name.
  4. Read it back. Point and tell your story. Your voice and your feelings make it your story.

A picture of you skating, with I sk and your name. When you read it, you say: "I went skating with Dad. I fell down but I got up!"

Talk, draw, write

For young writers, talk about the idea first, draw it next, and then write what you can. The talking and drawing are part of writing.

Just for fun

What if your grocery list said: milk, eggs, a dinosaur? 🦕

The store might be all out of dinosaurs. Better stick to milk and eggs!

Hands-on activity

Writing jobs around the house

Pick one or two writing jobs:

  • Make a birthday or thank-you card for someone in your family. Draw a picture and write their name and love (copy from a card) and your name.
  • Make a sign for your bedroom door: your name, or Keep Out, or Come In.
  • Label your toy bins with a picture and the first letter: C for cars, B for blocks.
  • Write a list of things to pack for a trip to the park.

Talk about it: "Who will read this? What do we want them to know?"

Your turn

1

Why do people write a grocery list?

2

What kind of writing tells people what to do, like STOP?

3

Make a list of 3 toys you like. Draw each one and write the first letter.

4

Make a card for someone you love. Who is it for? What does it say?

5

You want to write B but you forget how. What helper can you use?

6

Tell me about something fun you did this week. Then draw it.

7

Write a sentence about a pet or toy: I like my ___. Fill in the last word.

More practice: warm-up

1

What kind of writing do we send on a birthday?

2

Why do we put a name tag on a backpack?

3

Which helps you find letters: an alphabet chart or a spoon?

4

What do we do first: talk about our idea, or write it?

5

Point to a sign or label somewhere in your house.

More practice: on your own

1

Make a sign for your bedroom door.

2

Label a toy box. What letter would you write for cars 🚗?

3

Who is the reader of a thank-you card to Grandma?

4

Copy the word love from a card a grown-up writes. Use it in a card.

5

Why might a list have pictures and letters?

Challenge

1

Make a list of 4 things to pack for a picnic. Use pictures and the sounds you hear.

2

Write a story about you in 2 parts: draw what happened first and what happened next. Tell me the story.

3

Why is a sign that says STOP important?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Why do people make a grocery list 📝?

2.

Which one is a sign?

3.

You want to write a letter but forget how. What can help?

4.

What kind of writing do we make for a birthday?

5.

What should young writers do first?

For parents and teachers

What the curriculum asks: The Kindergarten Curriculum (2026) asks children to create simple texts (lists, cards, labels, signs, short sentences and stories) using letters, words, sentences, pictures and symbols (A4.1), and to use writing resources such as alphabet charts and word walls (A4.2). Knowing why people write a list, card or sign also helps children understand why texts are chosen (A3.1).

How to help at home:

  • Invite your child into real writing: grocery lists, cards, notes, labels, signs for play (a "store" or "restaurant").
  • Make a simple alphabet chart (letter + picture) and a few word cards (family names, I, love, the, mom, dad) for the fridge.
  • Let your child dictate a story while you write it, then have them add their name or a few letters.

Common difficulties:

  • Wanting it spelled perfectly. Encourage sound spelling ("Write the sounds you hear"). You can write the conventional spelling underneath if they ask.
  • Running out of ideas. Talk first! Children write about what they've done and what they love.
  • Writing is tiring for small hands. Keep sessions short, and count drawing and dictation as writing.