In kindergarten, students learn the letters of the alphabet, one sound for each letter, and how to blend letter-sounds to decode and encode words. Explicit, systematic Word Work instruction carefully integrates foundational oral language, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills to support a holistic understanding of language. The program’s carefully designed, systematic, and explicit literacy instruction progresses through increasingly complex text, building the essential foundation for efficient, fluent reading and effective comprehension. Students learn fundamental comprehension skills such as understanding characters, recognizing plot, and drawing conclusions.
Through daily explicit writing process instruction, students learn how to express their ideas effectively in writing and develop critical writing skills in a variety of text types and genres. Students first learn how to communicate their ideas through drawing and labeling, moving on to writing sentences, narrative stories, and other text types.
The mathematics program offers real-life experiences toward a developing understanding of one-to-one correspondence and the more abstract principles behind our number system. Students develop an understanding of addition and subtraction and determine when to add or subtract in a given context. By the end of Kindergarten, students should fluently add and subtract within 10. Much time is spent investigating patterns and making comparisons and predictions.
By the end of Kindergarten, students make connections and use senses by classifying observable properties of matter and classifying living and nonliving things. Students are introduced to matter and its interactions by constructing experiments with solids and liquids. Throughout the year, Kindergarten students use their observation skills to identify weather patterns and seasons. Students also use observations and evidence to identify the relationship between earth and human activities.
Kindergarten students will build upon experiences with their families, schools, and communities as an introduction to social studies. Five disciplines of social studies will be addressed: culture, economics, geography, government and civics, and history. In culture, students explore different traditions, customs, and cultures within their families, schools, and communities. They are given roles and learning experiences within the classroom to foster responsibility and independence. In economics, students identify basic wants and needs and the different services in a community. In geography, students understand the concept of location and maps. Learning the foundation of good citizenship and our civic responsibilities are the focus in government and civics. In history, students learn the importance of holidays and understand the chronological organization of history.
Our elementary school provides a warm, friendly, and dynamic environment that fosters critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity, developing a lifelong love of learning. It implements a high-quality curriculum that is aligned with state standards, built on high expectations, highly rigorous, and meets the needs of all students.
