KG-2
Homeroom
Welcome to KG2!
Kindergarten is the first chance for students to start to comprehend that a school is a place for learning. In our class, students will learn about sharing, taking turns, respecting and valuing others, and taking care of themselves. The kindergarten program at Modern Knowledge School offers initial learning experiences in language development, number concepts, creative skills, and social and physical development. Using tangible experiences, students are given the tools for observing, thinking, and problem-solving. Educational experiences afford balance and diversity amid physical, mental, and social undertakings as the students’ realm of knowledge is broadened from the home to the classroom. The KG2 classroom has a language-rich environment in which students are introduced to fundamental reading skills via shared reading experiences, rhymes, poems, and stories. Technology is introduced as a learning tool. Skills associated with visual and auditory judgement, left to right orientation, vocabulary development, whole word recognition, and relationships between letters and sounds are taught in the context of responding to high-quality students’ literature and our Houghton Mifflin integrated language arts program.
Welcome to Language Development!
Students are introduced to basic reading and writing through expressed instruction, shared reading, rhymes, poems, and stories. Group listening and speaking skills are modeled and practiced. Technology is introduced as a learning, reading, and writing tool as well.
By the end of this quarter, students should be able to listen and speak for specific purposes:
Write the uppercase and lower letters of the alphabet in order
Recognize uppercase and lowercase letters
State beginning sounds
Write their first name
Speak about self and personal experiences
Speak about friends, family, and school
Use vocabulary from other content areas
Participate in discussions
Ask how and why questions
Welcome to Writing!
Handwriting
Handwriting in kindergarten involves hands-on activities and multi-sensory teaching strategies that build good handwriting habits early.
By the end of this quarter, students should be able to:
Write their first name with uppercase and lowercase letters without a model
Write capital letters correctly without a model
Write lowercase letters correctly without a model
Writing
Writing in kindergarten starts from tracing the alphabet and ends in higher-level thinking skills like developing, shaping, and expressing complete thoughts. Kindergarten is the time students first learn about writing, which incorporates cultivating and refining listening, speaking, and thinking skills, along with physical writing, starting with the alphabet.
By the end of this quarter, students should be able to:
Write uppercase and lowercase letters
Copy simple words
Use writing instruments with increased control
Welcome to Reading!
In kindergarten, children will learn all 26 letters of the alphabet and the sound that each letter makes. They will then use their new skills to blend sounds to read words and sentences. They will practice all of the reading and language arts skills so by the end of the year, they will be able to read, write, and spell hundreds of short-vowel words.
By the end of this quarter, students should be able to:
Hold books correctly
Read left to right, top to bottom, front to back, with accurate return sweep
Identify the front cover, back cover and title page of a book
Name the roles of the author and illustrator
Welcome to Math!
This quarter in math we are covering a wide array of topics. By the end of this quarter, students should be able to:
Write, model, count, and write numbers 1 to 20
Identify numbers to 20 randomly and in order
Identify 2D shapes
Identify simple patterns
Compare numbers, length, height, and weight
Welcome to Science!
We have a very busy and exciting science quarter! We will begin our exploration of the scientific method by
Learning school and classroom rules and routines
Observing science objects and their usage
Identifying science processes
Identifying and describing the 5 senses
Using the 5 senses to observe and learn about the world
Comparing sounds and loudness
Recognizing the sun as Earth’s light and heat source
Identifying man – made light
Recognizing that sound, light and heat are forms of energy
Get ready for some scientific fun!
Welcome to Art and Creative Expression!
This year we have explored our creative sides by using different artistic mediums: painting, coloring, cutting, and drawing. We will continue to develop these skills during this quarter as well as exploring new concepts.
This quarter in art we will be focusing on building fine motor skills with continued practice with cutting, pasting, singing, and reciting nursery rhymes.
Welcome to Personal and Social Development!
Personal and social development are crucial to the success of every student. In KG2 students learn how to communicate effectively, work independently and with each other, display self-confidence and control, all while respecting our school and each other.
In quarter one we will be focusing on the following topics and skills:
Communicating in groups
Listening attentively
Working independently
Staying on task
We will continue to build on the skills that we learned in KG1, as we learn new skills to help us socialize and be productive members of our school society and beyond.