Kindergarten

How We Organize Ourselves

Central Idea: Categories allow people to organize differences and similarities. 

Driving Question: How can we use the materials in our community to teach others to categorize living and nonliving? 

Kindergarten students will explore the community around us to discover how categories help us organize differences and similarities. Students will learn how to categorize and sort, justify category decisions, and  identifying differences and similarities. Students will inquire about the similarities and differences between living and nonliving things and discuss how to reason their observations and findings. Students are challenged to design a living or nonliving object or creature.  They will have to be able to categorize their creation within their classroom community as well as share with other kindergarten students and parents.  

Where We Are in Place & Time

Central Idea: Our location affects our daily lives. 

Driving Question: How can we help new friends get to know our community? 

Kindergarten students will explore how our location affects our daily lives. Students will make connections to a map and globe, patterns of the sky, and patterns of chronological time.  Students will research the importance of maps and investigate maps where our students live. Students are challenged to help new friends get to know our community by planning and creating maps of our community. 

Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: Living things belong in different communities based on their features. 

Driving Question: How can you, as zoologist and botanists, create a new animal or plant for a Zoo Atlanta community exhibit? 

Kindergarten students will explore how living things belong in different communities based on their features. Students will research animals and plants features, create animal or plant prototypes, and write informative texts based on the information they research. Students will create new animals or plants into a community with similar needs and features to create the community’s habitat for Zoo Atlanta.