Kindergarten Curriculum and Information

1. KindergartenCurriculum and Information

2. School Hours • The earliest that students may be dropped off is 7:30 a.m. • Kindergartners will go to the cafeteria when they arrive at school. Teachers will pick them up at 7:40 a.m. • Students are considered tardy after 7:50. • Students will be dismissed to their designated areas at 2:50 p.m.

3. Expectations for Learning What should I be expecting my child to learn?

4. Reading Our main goal is to instill the love of reading in all of our students. To accomplish this. . . In the area of beginning reading skills, your child will . . --Learn to identify syllables, generate rhymes --Learn to apply letter sounds, including consonants and vowels, consonant blends, consonant digraphs (th, sh, ck) --Blend these sounds to read words. --Recognize that new words are created when letters are changed, added or deleted (cat-cot-dot-do) --Learn to recognize high frequency words, such as said, was, where, etc --Use common spelling patterns (-at, -ake, -ill) to read words. .

5. In the area of reading comprehension, your child will. . . --Learn to establish the purpose for reading. --Use titles and illustrations to make predictions and inferences about texts (fiction and nonfiction) --Retell important events from a story and identify elements of a story including setting, character and problem/solution. --Describe the characters in a story and the reasons for their actions --Make connections between texts to themselves, other texts and the world to increase understanding of a text. --Learn to use prior knowledge (schema) to anticipate meaning and make sense of the text read to them or that they read. --Monitor and adjust their comprehension by checking for understanding, cross checking, rereading text. Reading skills will be taught across all subject areas through daily read alouds (Reading TO the Students), through small groups and conferences, (Reading WITH the Students) and through independent reading and partner reading (Reading BY the Students).

6. Guided Reading --Guided reading is a strategy that helps students become good readers. The teacher provides support for a small group of 4-6 students where she teaches them various reading strategies (context clues, letter and sound relationships, word structure, using their stamina and so forth.) By providing small group of students the opportunity to learn reading strategies with the guidance of the teacher, they will have the skills required to read more difficult books on their own. Independent reading is the GOAL- guided reading provides the framework to ensure that students are able to apply strategies to make meaning from print. --A guided reading book bag will go home that includes a paper or guided reading book that students need to practice reading. This book bag should come to school with your child each day.

7. Guided Reading --You will be getting more information on how you can help your child at home with their books. -- Students will not be able to take home another guided reading book until they bring the previous one back to school. -- Lost guided reading books will cost $5. -- While students are in guided reading groups, the other students are working in their Daily 5 stations which are reading to self, reading to others, working on word work, listening to reading and writing. These are differentiated stations where students work at their level.

8. Writing --Students will write in their draft books and in other subject areas. --With adult assistance, students will use the elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing) to compose texts. They will revise drafts to add details, edit drafts by leaving spaces between letters and words and select writing to publish and share with others. (Parent help with the publishing is welcome!  ) --Students will dictate or write expository texts as well as poems. --Students will use appropriate written conventions, such as capital letters and correct end marks while writing legibly. --Students will use their knowledge of letters and their sounds to spell words such as cat, pot, bit, etc.

9. Science/Social Studies Science and Social Studies will be integrated with reading and writing. Topics to be covered include. . --All About Me and my Family --Becoming a Scientist --Needs and Wants --Matter and Energy --My Community --Weather --Holidays, Customs and Traditions --Space (Fall, Winter, Patriotic) --Force and Motion --Voting --Living and Nonliving -- Presidents --Earth Science --National/State Symbols --Plants --Texas historical figures --Natural Resources --Maps, Regions of the world --Animals --Oceans

10. Math Lessons will be taught through whole group modeling (teaching TO the student), working with small groups using math games and manipulatives (teaching WITH the student) and with hands on activities and math games played with other students (math done BY the students). Your child will learn about. . . --Counting, reading and writing sets to 10 and then 20 --Comparing sets of numbers --Graphing --2 and 3D figures --Numbers to 100 --Estimation --Composing and decomposing numbers --Adding and subtracting numbers --Measurement and Money

11. Explorer Time and Success Journals • 30 minutes of focused Intervention for all students. • May take place in your child’s classroom or another teacher’s classroom. • Students will be using a Success Journal this year to track their progress in reading and math.

12. Connect with Us! • Green Website • Kindergarten • Technology • Specials • Twitter • @greenexplorers • PTA • Green Elementary Explorers PTA on Facebook

13. Report Cards and Testing • Students will get a report card each nine weeks. Our first conference will be sometime in late October or early November. • Kindergarten students will be assessed three times a year in math and reading. • Students will be given the CogAT at the beginning of December. • Kindergarten students do not receive progress reports.

14. Parent/Teacher Communication • Each Thursday the Kindergarten Newsletter will be emailed from your teacher. You can also find it on the Kindergarten Team webpage on the Green website. • Daily Folders: Students will take their green folder home daily. This is a way for us to communicate daily. Please make sure to initial daily, clean it out and return the next day. • Thursday Folders: Another school-wide effort to communicate with parents. They are green folders with a schoolhouse on the front that contains PTA information, important school notes, and community notes. If you need to send something to your child’s teacher (money, notes, etc.) please put it in the Daily Folder, NOT the Thursday Folder. Again, clean it out and return to school on Friday!

15. Teacher Contact • Email or notes sent in the Green Folder are the best ways to contact us during the day. • Please feel free to call or email anytime. Your call/email will be returned within 24 hours. • E-mail may not be checked until the end of the day. • Please note, you must have an appointment if you wish to meet with your child’s teacher. • Parent/teacher communication is KEY!

16. Discipline Plan • Green Explorer Expectations • Grade level expectations will be on the weekly Communication Sheet. • Incentives: Class and individual incentives • Orange Success Tickets • Natural consequences and lots of praise! • Please look in the Green Folder daily for behavior notes.

17. Lunch and Snacks • If your child is buying lunch please have them look at the choices in the morning so that they know what they want and it is something they like. • Lunch Procedures • You may have lunch with only your student. Friends will not be able to join unless their parent is with them. We have reserved the stage area for you to have lunch with your student. • IMPORTANT: If someone other than the parent/ guardian is coming to have lunch with a student, the parent/guardian must send in a note documenting the approved visitor. Phone calls for this will not be accepted for the safety of students. • You may send a dry, healthy and nut-free snack with your child each day that can be eaten in about ten minutes. Your child may bring a water bottle with a spill proof lid. Please do not send in juice boxes for snack. Thank you so much for your cooperation! • You may send non-food items (pencils, stickers, etc.) with your child to celebrate his/her birthday that they may pass out at a designated time during the day.

18. Library • Students will go to the library once a week to check out books. Please make sure your child keeps his/her library book in his/her backpack for safe keeping. They get really sad when they can’t check out a new book because they have left their book at home. • Volunteer in the Library today! 

19. Field Trips • Payments for all field trips should be made through ‘School Pay’ (an online portal that allows you to make quick and easy payments). • To access School Pay, simply visit our Kindergarten website, click on the School Pay tab, and then from there click on the School Pay link to setup your account.

20. Transportation • Please send a note with your child if they are going home any way that is different from their normal routine. • Without a note stating changes, we must send the child home the normal way. • Please make sure this note is written on a separate piece of paper. Please do not e-mail this information because your child’s teacher may have a sub or may not be able to check their e-mail after dismissal.

21. Visitor Security System • Green has a receptionist to greet parents and visitors as they enter the building. • Visitors will be asked to show photo identification at the reception desk (driver license). The ID will be scanned into the computer and a visitors badge will be issued if there is no alert indicated on the data base. You will have to show your ID each time you come to school in order to get buzzed in.

22. Bad Weather and Power Outage • Parents will be notified by School Reach phone and Fast Track emails will be sent to all subscribers if there is bad weather or a power outage. Signs will be posted in front of our school in case homes are without electricity as well.

23. Ways to HelpYour Child at Home • The best advice is to be supportive, encouraging, and interested in your child’s learning. • Provide an area for reading and writing. • Please click HERE for more ways to help your child. Read, Read, Read!