Kindergarten Curriculum Night

1. KindergartenCurriculum Night September 13, 2011

2. Agendas • Main communication between school & home • Transportation changes • Absence notes • Record nightly reading on yellow reading log • Work marked as “Incomplete” or “Please finish”, etc. should be returned in agenda ASAP

3. Thursday Folders • Go home on Thursdays  • Keep all work completed work at home • Return EMPTY folder on Friday morning

4. Homework • Nightly reading – between 15 – 30 minutes. Write the number of minutes spent reading in the agenda and initial • Can include reading to or reading by your child • Nightly practice of sight words (must be recognized by “sight” – not sounding out) • Beginning in October, complete activities on homework calendars

5. Curriculum • We use the Common Core State Standards for language arts and math (44 states have adopted this as their curriculum) • We use the N.C. Standard Course of Study for Science • We use the N.C. Essential Standards for Social Studies • The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy. • Provides consistency across the states. See: http://www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions for more information.

6. Our Daily Schedule 7:30 - 8:00 - Unpack / Morning Enrichment 8:00 - 8:15 - Calendar 8:15 - 9:00 - Science (M, T, W) S.S. (Thur. Fri.) 9:00 - 9:50 - Specials (except Mondays – 2:10 – 3:00) 9:50 - 10:00 – Snack 10:00 - 12:00 - Literacy (Imagine It! and Workshop) 12:00 - 12:30 – Writing 12:35 - 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 1:30 – Recess 1:30 – 2:45 – Math 2:45 – 3:00 – Daily Wrap Up 3:00 - Pack Up / Dismissal

7. Specials • Monday – Art • Tuesday – Music • Wednesday – P.E. (wear tennis shoes. No outdoor recess on this day) • Thursday – Media (return library books on Wednesdays) • Friday – Computers/Science Lab

8. Science Themes(integrated through the general curriculum as much as possible) • Animals • Plants • Weather (including seasons) • Matter • Moving Right Along (simple machines) • 1 lab lesson in the classroom each week • Science Lab as special every other week

9. Social Studies Themes • Families • Unique Individuals • Citizenship • Changes (over time, within the community) • Holidays and special days in the community • Geography (simple maps and symbols) • Economic concepts (wants & needs) • Technology (transportation, media, computers)

10. Literacy • Identification of letters & letter sounds • Phonemic awareness: the ability to distinguish and manipulate individual sounds (phoneme isolation, phoneme identity, phoneme substitution, oral segmenting, oral blending, sound deletion, onset-rime manipulations (i.e. j-ump, st-op, str-ong). • Listening Comprehension • Sight Words (know by sight – not sounding out)

11. Literacy Themes • Off to School • Patterns • Finding Friends • By the Sea • Stick to It • My Shadow • Teamwork • Ready, Set, Grow • Red, White, and Blue • Windy Days

12. Literacy Workshop • Small groups that target specific skills (listening comprehension, phonemic awareness, computers, science, words, etc.) • I meet with small groups 2 times per week, sometimes more, if needed.

13. Math • Investigations (hands-on exploration) • Number sense • Problem solving • Counting and cardinality (to 100 by 1’s and 10’s, write numbers to 20, etc) • Algebra (addition & subtraction) • Number & Operations (place value 11 – 19) • Measurement & Data (compare, graphing) • Geometry (identify 2-D and 3-D shapes, compare)

14. Writing • Lucy Caulkins – Writer’s Workshop • Predictable Charts (I am, I see, etc.) • Telling stories through pictures (5 color rule) • Labeling pictures with letters / sounds (inventive spelling- don’t panic!) • Writing short sentences to tell a story across 3 fingers (by end of year) • Guided visualizations

15. What is inventive spelling? Deer pair ants, Ur stoodntwil b brnginghomriting, doo not b skairdov the speling. The inglishlangwijizkunfewzing two lern. Cidzuz “phonetic” speling in thairwrk to xpresthairthouts. Foursingcidz too uzcunvenshunalspelingreedossthairdezir and abillite to right. It iz mi joub to teechur child 2 uzreesorsis and lerning to beecum a grate ritr. U can hlpur child bi incorugingthim at eechdivelupmentil stag. Axkur child to reed and esplanethairriting to u. Azur child lerns about the inglishlangwij that wilmak the tranzishun to “adult writing”. Thank u 4 ursaport, Ms. Johnson

16. What is PBIS? • PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports • Majors vs. Minors • Office Referrals • Are you making a good choice? • What should you be doing? • Interventions – time away, loss of privilege • What is a bee? What are “bee” incentives?

17. Bee Incentives 25 = candy 50 = hat day 75 = recess on PE day 100 = wacky hair day 125 = pajama day 150 = class choice with teacher approval 175 = game day on non-PE day of recess 200 = educational video at 2:15 on a Friday

18. Progress Reports & Report Cards • Grading Scale (3, 2, 1) • Sent home mid quarter • Sign and return • 1st quarter conferences will be held in October. • Conferences will be held on an as needed basis thereafter.

19. Miscellaneous • Pay Pams is the easiest way to pay lunch money www.paypams.com • Please send an easy-to-open snack each day • Scholastic Book Clubs • Sight Word List • Check my wiki page often for information http://kara-johnson.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/