In kindergarten, a balanced literacy approach allows students to build phonemic awareness while continuing to develop a love of  literature. This is accomplished by reading aloud a rich mixture of classic and contemporary literature, providing experiences that reinforce the functionality of print—such as reading the Morning Message—and the explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and beginning comprehension skills. Students are split into three skill based groups, which allows teachers to effectively meet the needs of students who are just beginning to make sound/letter connections and those who are already reading. We also follow a workshop model twice a week, where students learn a variety of reading and comprehension strategies by studying texts as a whole group. Students then have time for independent and partner practice with different books of their choice.

Objectives/ Skills:

• Foster an interest in books and reading
• Develop auditory discrimination
• Develop phonemic awareness (letter/sound associations) for reading and writing
• Begin to establish a sight word vocabulary
• Develop vocabulary
• Develop comprehension skills- sequencing, retelling stories, identifying characters

Writing and drawing occur spontaneously throughout the kindergarten day, providing students with plenty of opportunities to express themselves. The value of writing as a communication tool is stressed and students are excited to begin to share ideas through print. In addition to spontaneous writing experiences, kindergarten students begin to learn specific skills by participating in a Writer’s Workshop. The Writer’s Workshop begins with a mini-lesson that explicitly teaches the craft of a specific genre of writing, such as “How to books” or a specific convention such as leaving spaces between words. Students begin by dictating stories and using print to label pictures and then progress to writing sentences. Handwriting is taught using the Handwriting Without Tears program, which includes multi-sensory materials that allow students to build and practice letters with a variety of materials before moving to pencil and paper. Teaching writing posture and appropriate pencil grip are also part of the instruction. Students begin by reviewing the formation of upper case letters and move on to learning the lower case letters.
 
Objectives/Skills:

• Understand the value of print as a communication skill
• Explore the writing process
• Review the formation of upper case letters
• Learn the formation of lower case letters
• Write sentences about a designated topic

Kindergarten students continue to explore mathematical concepts using the Singapore Math Program. Building number sense and beginning problem-solving skills are both important components of the program. Students use manipulatives such as unifix cubes to build conceptual understanding and then to move to work with pictorial representations. Opportunities for mathematical thinking and problem solving present themselves throughout the day. In addition, students participate in explicit math lessons three times a week. Our math lessons include short direct instruction and flexible small group centers, where students explore and reinforce concepts through hands-on activities. 
 
Concepts/Skills:

• Compare and order numbers to 20, then 30
• Recognize numbers to 100
• Understand and build number bonds to 10
• Understand, write and solve equations to 10
• Develop problem solving skills
• Identify basic patterns
• Describe and compare solid and flat shapes
• Tell time to the hour
• Introduce basic concepts of money

The goal of our social studies curriculum is for students to build a strong sense of self and identity and learn about their role as a member of the greater world community. Identity, Community, Citizenship, Leadership, and Social Justice are key themes in our curriculum. Students build habits of discussion by exploring differences across identity markers and learn that they have powerful voices, can take action, and make big positive changes. 

Objectives/Skills:

• Understand community as a group of people working together
• Form questions to gather information
• Learn about community helpers
• Develop respect and empathy towards others
• Develop a sense of responsibility and independence within a community
• Understand the give and take involved in friendships
• Develop language for personal safety

Kindergarteners will:

• Extend vocabulary and structures learned in pre-k, such as colors, numbers, clothing, family and animals, parts of the body
• Learn to express likes, dislikes, and needs in Spanish
• Learn to describe objects by their color, shape, and size
• Start building basic complete sentences
• Compare different Spanish cultures to the cultures of the students, creating mirrors for connection

• Continuing to explore rhythm through a variety of activities including playing instruments and responsive movement to music
• Learning about the “Four Voices”
• Reinforcing steady beat through movement and playing instruments
• Musical stories and soundscapes
• Practicing songs for class plays
• Folk dancing and creative movement
• Percussion and classroom instruments
• Building performance skills in the December Nights, December Lights performance and the class play

Skills:

• to continue to develop basic fine motor skills
• to begin to think critically about their artwork in small group class critiques 
• to introduce new techniques such as multi-layer painting, printmaking, and hand-building with clay
• to learn about artists and become inspired by their work 
• to collaborate with their peers when creating the scenery for the class play

• design
• programming and robotics

• Creative movement and exploration
• Basic movement skills: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, galloping
• Space awareness: where the body moves
• Relationships of body parts with objects, how the body moves with people and apparatus
• Dance
• Cooperative games and activities
• Hand-eye, foot-eye coordination
• Educational gymnastics
• Cardiovascular health unit
• Fitness
• Hitting and striking skills
• Fair play and cooperation

Kindergarten: Beginning reading, listening, and sharing

• Define author/illustrator
• Author studies
• Develop personal taste in book choice

• Participate in book hunts to familiarize location of certain authors and genres— especially in the picture book and fairy tale sections
• Understand that libraries have specific organization of information

• Develop listening skills and independence in exploring books of their choice
• Demonstrate basic book care and personal responsibility for library behavior