HANDWRITING
TECHNOLOGY
We are very thankful to have many technological resources in our classrooms and in the district. In each kindergarten classroom there are four desktop computers available for students to use at different times of the day. Throughout the year, the students are taught computer basics such as correctly turning the computers on and off and how to use a mouse. We also have Smartboards in our classrooms! These are wonderful teaching tools. A Smartboard is an interactive whiteboard that connects to a main computer in the room. With the Smartboard, we can do such things as complete worksheets as a class for better understanding of instructions or objectives, the students can play educational games, and watch educational clips of different subject we are studying. (Thank you Mrs. Williams for letting me borrow this information!)
MISSOURI GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
The following are skills your child will be expected to master during his/her kindergarten year. This list has been taken directly from the Missouri Department of Education and are skills that kindergarteners throughout the entire state are expected to learn.
Science
Social Studies
1. Identify why laws and rules are made
2. Identify the flag as a symbol of our nation and recite the Pledge of Allegiance
3. Participate in a democratic decision making processes
4. Explain how to resolve disputes peacefully in the classroom and on the playground
5. Describe how groups need to make decisions and how those decisions are made in families and classrooms
6. Explain what it means to make rules and how it is necessary to carry out or enforce rules
7. Identify examples of Scarcity
8. Identify examples of opportunity cost
9. Identify maps and globes as geographic tools
10. Name common physical, social and emotional needs
11. Identify visual, graphic and auditory aids (e.g. posters and recordings)
12. Identify primary and secondary sources (e.g. diaries, letters, people, interviews, journals and photos)
13. Identify library and media resources (e.g. videos, electronic resources, periodicals and books)
14. Identify artifacts (e.g. building structures and materials, works of art representative of cultures, fossils, pottery, tools, clothing, musical instruments
Common Core Standards
Handwriting Without Tears: Handwriting fluency is fundamental to learning because children think and write at the same time. When we teach children to write, we also teach them how to express themselves. If they struggle to form their letters, their ability to express themselves will suffer. Children who don’t master handwriting may be slow, sloppy, or illegible writers. We focus on fun and achievement to optimize children’s curiosity and joy of learning throughout school.
Handy Learning: Another program we use in kindergarten is Handy Learning. It is a motor skills program developed by an occupational therapist. It consists of a variety of "learning tubs" full of activities to assist children in their fine motor development.
(All information was taken directly from publisher/founder websites.)
(All information was taken directly from publisher/founder websites.)
READING FIRST
Bernie utilizes the Reading First program. Reading First is a program that is scientifically based and provides explicit and systematic instruction. The five essential components of Reading First include phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. This program also places great significance on classroom-based diagnostic screenings and progress monitoring. If a student begins to fall behind their grade level expectations, Reading First promotes intense intervention so that each student will be reading at or above grade level. Our reading coach who can give you more information regarding Reading First is Mrs. Lynette Thomason. For more detailed information, please visit: http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/fedprog/discretionarygrants/ReadingFirst/RFQ&A.pdf
DIBELS
This is the primary screening method used in the Reading First program. It is a set of individually administered procedures related to early literacy development. These are short procedures used to regularly monitor the development of early reading skills in each child. The DIBELS tests help to determine if a student is falling behind his/her peers in reading, thus needing extra support. Reading First and DIBELS support our main goal of assisting each child in reaching reading proficiency.
TECHNOLOGY
We are very thankful to have many technological resources in our classrooms and in the district. In each kindergarten classroom there are four desktop computers available for students to use at different times of the day. Throughout the year, the students are taught computer basics such as correctly turning the computers on and off and how to use a mouse. We also have Smartboards in our classrooms! These are wonderful teaching tools. A Smartboard is an interactive whiteboard that connects to a main computer in the room. With the Smartboard, we can do such things as complete worksheets as a class for better understanding of instructions or objectives, the students can play educational games, and watch educational clips of different subject we are studying. (Thank you Mrs. Williams for letting me borrow this information!)
MISSOURI GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
The following are skills your child will be expected to master during his/her kindergarten year. This list has been taken directly from the Missouri Department of Education and are skills that kindergarteners throughout the entire state are expected to learn.
Science
1. Properties of Matter
2. Investigating Sound
3. Change in Position
4. Plants and Animals
5. Parent-Offspring Relationships
6. Weather and Seasons
7. Objects in the Sky
8. Inquiry
9. Science, Technology, and Human Activity
Social Studies
1. Identify why laws and rules are made
2. Identify the flag as a symbol of our nation and recite the Pledge of Allegiance
3. Participate in a democratic decision making processes
4. Explain how to resolve disputes peacefully in the classroom and on the playground
5. Describe how groups need to make decisions and how those decisions are made in families and classrooms
6. Explain what it means to make rules and how it is necessary to carry out or enforce rules
7. Identify examples of Scarcity
8. Identify examples of opportunity cost
9. Identify maps and globes as geographic tools
10. Name common physical, social and emotional needs
11. Identify visual, graphic and auditory aids (e.g. posters and recordings)
12. Identify primary and secondary sources (e.g. diaries, letters, people, interviews, journals and photos)
13. Identify library and media resources (e.g. videos, electronic resources, periodicals and books)
14. Identify artifacts (e.g. building structures and materials, works of art representative of cultures, fossils, pottery, tools, clothing, musical instruments
Listed below are the skills every kindergartener needs to know, based on the Common Core--a nationwide initiative to align states, schools, and grade levels.
