Kindergarten Themes
Kindergarten Themes
In our Kindergarten classroom, we believe that emotional well-being goes hand-in-hand with academic success. That is why we participate in the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, a social-emotional learning curriculum designed to help children build strong relationships, manage big feelings, and make positive choices every day.
Our students will learn that choosing love is like following a simple formula:
Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action = Choose Love
Together, these four ingredients teach our young learners how to respond thoughtfully to life’s challenges rather than just reacting.
We begin our journey with Courage because it is the foundational muscle needed for all the other steps. In Kindergarten, we teach that courage isn't about being fearless—it's about making good choices even when things feel scary or tough!
What We are Practicing in Class:
Building Our "Courage Muscle": Learning that practice makes us brave, whether trying a tricky new task or sitting next to a new friend.
Managing Big Feelings: Using deep breathing ("belly breaths") to calm down when our brain feels overwhelmed, moving from a emotional reaction to a thoughtful choice.
Making Brave Choices: Speaking up when someone needs help, admitting when we make a mistake, and trying again after failing.
Each week, I will share a quick Home Connection Idea that corresponds directly with our weekly Choose Love lesson so your family can practice and celebrate these skills together at home!
What Are We Learning in Language Arts?
Dear Family Member:
During the first three weeks of school, our class will be focusing on key skills that will provide a strong foundation for our learning this year. Beginning the week of Aug. 10th, our class will be reading stories and talking about the different ways that each of us is special.
Here are some resources you can use with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.
My Words to Know
High-Frequency Word: I Have your child find the word I in a favorite book. Then ask your child to write the word. Think of sentences together using the word I. Write each sentence and have your child circle the word I.
Category Words: names Write your name using capital and lowercase letters and read your name with your child. Point out the capital letter at the beginning of each name. Then write the names of some other family members and friends. Read them and have your child repeat each name.
Letter Workout
Letter Identification: Aa-Hh Write each capital letter A-H on slips of paper and mix them up. Then write each lowercase letter a-h on slips of paper and mix them up. Have your child select a capital letter, say its name, and then find its matching lowercase letter.
What Are We Learning in Mathematics?
This week, we are kicking off math with ORIGO’s Developing Mathematical Mindsets lessons! Before diving into new math topics, we are building a supportive classroom culture where every student can thrive. This week, your child will learn that:
Everyone can be a math person—our brains grow when we tackle hard problems!
Mistakes are valuable opportunities that help us learn and make new connections.
Deep thinking beats speed—we celebrate creative strategies and visual problem-solving over fast answers.
Math is collaborative—we will share our reasoning and learn from one another's ideas.
These are the standards that will be taught and assessed during the first quarter.
Criteria for GLOs:
GLO #1 - Self Directed Learner
Works independently on classroom tasks.
Raises hand to ask for help at appropriate times.
Keeps personal desk space and floor area clean and organized.
Completes work on time and independently.
Uses school tools safely and responsibly.
Sets a simple, achievable learning goal and completes important tasks first.
GLO #2 - Community Contributor
Cooperates with, helps, and encourages peers during group activities.
Helps the group stay focused with mindful behaviors.
Respects other people's feelings, ideas, and personal belongings.
Listens to and considers others' points of view without interrupting.
Follows school/class rules and demonstrates safe, safe behaviors.
Makes good choices based on identifying right and wrong.
GLO #3 - Complex Thinker
Applies prior knowledge and past experiences when learning new things or fixing a problem
Explains his/her thinking and details why an answer is correct.
Double-checks work to independently notice and fix mistakes.
Attempts to solve tricky problems using different strategies before asking for assistance.
GLO #4 - Quality Producer
Completes work neatly and accurately.
Uses success criteria, checklists, or rubrics to guide and check work.
Identifies a simple goal and uses self-assessment to check how they are doing.
GLO # 5 - Effective Communicator
Speaks clearly using an appropriate volume and eye contact with the audience.
Listens to gain information and understand new things.
Follows oral directions promptly and independently.
Communicates effectively through drawing, speaking, and writing
Expresses ideas in complete sentences
Communicates with age appropriate vocabulary
GLO # 6 - Effective and Ethical User of Technology
Uses technology (pencils, scissors, glue, iPads, etc.) appropriately and safely for their intended
purpose.
Uses devices (iPads) or media (books) to look up information and learn new things.
Uses devices or classroom tools to make, build, or create projects.
Names and explains how technology helps us at home and at school.
Follows classroom tech rules and takes physical care of devices.
Language Arts:
Reading Literature:
RL.3 With prompting and support, identify characters and their feelings, settings, major events (plot), problems, and solutions in a story. (characters, setting)
SL.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide
additional detail.
RL. 4 With prompting and support, determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text.
Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the
verb to duck).
SL.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not
understood.
L.3 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content:
L.4 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word
meanings
a. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
RL.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems) (fiction and nonfiction)
RL.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
RL.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Informational:
RI.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
SL.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media
by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not
understood
Ri.2 With prompting and support, identify the main/central topic and retell key details of a text.
SL.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide
additional detail.
RI.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
SL.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
RI.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RI.5 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
RI.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between visual aids and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text a visual aid depicts)
RI.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
RI.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Foundational Skills:
RF.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
a. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
b. Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of
letters.
c. Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
d. Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
(only letters - Aa, Mm, Ss, Pp)
e. Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence:
First word capitalization
Ending punctuation
RF.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
a. Recognize and count individual words in a spoken sentence
b. Recognize and produce rhyming words.
c. Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in multisyllabic words
d. Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words
e. Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in 3-phoneme
(consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words, not including those ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/
RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
a.Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound for each consonant, and all 5 vowels. (only Mm, Pp, Ss, Aa)
b. Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the 5 major vowels
(closed and open syllables) (short a only)
c. Accurately read regularly spelled one-syllable words in isolation and in text, including:
Vowel-Consonant (VC)
CVC
CV
All of the above word types with digraphs sh, ch, and th
d. Read common grade-appropriate decodable and irregularly-spelled high-frequency words by sight
(e.g., can, the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).. (I, can, see, we, a, the,)
RF.4 Demonstrate emergent fluency through
a. Fluent letter and sound identification
b. Fluent decoding of taught phonics patterns in single words
c. Fluent decoding of taught phonics patterns in connected decodable text
Writing Foundations:
W.1 Demonstrate and apply correct handwriting skills
a. Write upper- and lowercase manuscript letters using correct letter formation with guidance and support (Mm, Ss, Pp, Aa)
b. Write left to right using appropriate spacing between words.
W.2 Know and apply phonics and word analysis skills when encoding words:
a. Write a letter or letters for consonant and short vowel sounds.
b. Represent phonemes in simple words, using letter-sound relationships, including phonetic spellings of
unknown words.
c. Spell common, regular, single-syllable words
VC (Vowel-Consonant) (e.g., at, in)
CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) (e.g., pet, mud) word
d. Spell common, grade-appropriate decodable and irregularly-spelled high-frequency words
W.3 Demonstrate command of the conventions of English when writing simple sentences:
a. Produce and expand complete sentences.
b.Recognize and name end punctuation
c. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I
Writing:
W.4 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
W.6 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them
a. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question
Speaking & Listening:
SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking
about the topics and texts under discussion
b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges
SL.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
SL.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
SL.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
SL.5 With prompting and support, adapt speech to a variety of contexts, demonstrating understanding of audience, task, and purpose, drawing on a full range of linguistic skills
Language:
L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
e. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
L.3 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content:
a. Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck).
L.4 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings:
a. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
c. Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are
colorful).
L.5 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.
Math:
Counting & Cardinality
CC.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens. (rote count up to 15)
CC.2 Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1). (up to 15)
CC.3 Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). (numbers 0-10)
CC.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality. (numbers 0-10)
a. When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one
and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.
b. Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of
objects are the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.
c. Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.
CC.5 Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle; or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects. (up to 0-10)
CC.6 Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies. (Include groups with up to ten objects.)
CC.7 Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.
Measurement & Data
MD.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object. (length, weight, capacity)
MD.2 Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/”less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.
MD.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. (Limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10.)
Write numbers from 0-10 with proper formation.
Science:
Earth and Space Science:
K-ESS2-1 Earth's Systems. Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Physical Science:
K-PS3-1 Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface.
K-PS3-2 Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.
Engineering:
K-2-ETS1-1 Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Social Studies:
Political Science / Civics
SS.K.1.8.1 Compare rules that apply in different settings and evaluate the consequences of following or not following rules
SS.K.1.8.2 Determine ways that people can work together effectively to make decisions
SS.K.1.7.3 Compare roles and responsibilities of self and others at home, at school, and in neighborhood settings
Physical Education
K-2.1.1 Use basic locomotor skills in initial (immature) form alone, with a partner, and in small groups
K-2.2.1 Use basic movement concepts related to space, time, effort, and relationships (e.g. personal space, fast/slow, strong/light, under/over)
K-2.3.1 Participate regularly in physical activities
Fine Arts
Performance
Pr4.2.PKa With substantial guidance, explore and demonstrate awareness of musical contrasts.
FA.K.2.1 Use singing voice to echo short melodic patterns in appropriate range.
Visual
VA:Cr1.1.1.Ka Engage in exploration with materials.
Career & Technical Education:
K.2.1 Explain that current learning relates to life outside the classroom
K.2.2 Identify various workers and their jobs in the community (librarian, meteorologist, teacher, police officer, firefighter, dentist, baker, postal worker)
Health:
K-2.1.1 Describe appropriate ways to express feelings
K-2.5.1 Use effective verbal and nonverbal communication
Computer Science:
1A-IC-18 Keep login information private, and log off of devices appropriately.
1A-NI-04 Explain what passwords are and why we use them, and use strong passwords to protect devices and information from unauthorized access.
1A-CS-02 Use appropriate terminology in identifying and describing the function of common physical components of computing systems (hardware). (mouse, keyboard, headphones, trackpad, monitor, Chromebook, iPad)
1A-CS-03 Describe basic hardware and software problems using accurate terminology.