WELCOMEto

Kindergarten

WhatistheCommonCore?

CommonCorestandards…

provideaconsistent,clearunderstandingofwhatstudentsareexpectedtolearnacrossthecurriculumareassoteachersandparentsknowwhattheyneedtodotohelpthem

aredesignedtoberobustandrelevanttotherealworld,reflectingtheknowledgeandskillsthatouryoungpeopleneedforsuccessincollegeandcareers.

3MajorShiftsInMath… Teacherswillconcentrateonteachingamorefocusedset

ofmajormathconceptsandskills.

Thiswillallowstudentstimetomasterkeymathconceptsandskillsinamoreorganizedwaythroughouttheyearandfromonegradetothenext.

Itwillalsocallforteacherstouserichandchallengingmathcontentandtoengagestudentsinsolvingreal‐worldproblemsinordertoinspiregreaterinterestinmathematics.

MathematicsTopic What dowewantstudentsto

know?

Counting&Cardinality Numbernames&thecountsequence Counttotellnumber Compare numbers

Measurement &Data Describe&comparemeasurableattributes

Classify &countthenumberofobjectsinacategory

Geometry Identify7shapes Compare &createshapes

Operations& AlgebraicThinking Understandadditionasputtingtogether

Understand subtractionastakingapart&takingfrom

NumbersandOperationsinBase Ten

Workwithnumbers11‐19togainfoundationsforplacevalue

3MajorShiftsinELA...Studentswillcontinuereadingandwriting.Butinadditiontostoriesandliterature,theywillreadmoretextsthatprovidefactsandbackgroundknowledgeinareasincludingscienceandsocialstudies.

Theywillreadmorechallengingtextsandbeaskedmorequestionsthatwillrequirethemtoreferbacktowhattheyhaveread.

Therewillalsobeanincreasedemphasisonbuildingastrongvocabularysothatstudentscanreadandunderstandchallengingmaterial.

ELACurriculumUnitsofStudyReading Writing

ReadersBuildGoodHabits LaunchingWriter’sWorkshopReadersThinkandTalkAboutEmergentBooks

LookingClosely,Observing&ListingLikeScientists

Just‐RightBooks‐ ReadersUsePowers

Personalnarrative

Non‐Fiction ReadingforInformation Non‐fiction“How‐To”BooksWeCanBeReadingTeachers RaisingtheQualityofSmall

MomentsReadersAreBraveandResourceful InformationbooksonScienceReadersGettoKnow CharactersByPretending&PerformingBooks

Persuasive Writing

SocialStudiesUnit Description

School&SchoolCommunity

Whatisaschool? Whatdoesitmeantobeagoodschoolcitizen? Whyarerulesimportant? Whatrulesshouldwefollowinourclassroom/school?

MyselfandOthers

Howarepeoplealikeanddifferent? Whatisspecialaboutme

Families Whyarefamiliesimportant? Howarefamiliesalike/different? Whatholidaysdoyoucelebrateinyourfamily? What aresomeofyourfamilytraditions?

Community Whatisacommunity? Howdocommunitiesmeetareneeds? Wholivesandworksinacommunity?

Citizenship Whatdoesitmeantobeagoodcitizen? Whatareourresponsibilitiesasacitizenofourcountry? Whataresomeofthesymbolsthatrepresentour country?

ScienceUnit Goals

TheFiveSenses Observecommonobjectsbyusingthefivesenses. Compareandsortcommonobjectsbyonephysicalattribute(e.g.,color,shape,texture,size,weight).

Fabric To becomefamiliarwithfabrics’properties Discoverwhathappenswhentheyaretested Discoverhowtheyinteractwithothermaterials,includingwater

Plants Careforplantstolearnwhattheyneedtogrowanddevelop Observethestructuresofplantsanddiscoverwaystopropagate

newplantsfromseeds.

AnimalsTwobyTwo

Have closeandpersonalinteractionwithsomecommonlandandwateranimals

Establish appropriatehabitatsandlearntocarefortheanimals. Observeandcareforoneanimalovertime,and havemany

opportunitiesforobservation,communication,andcomparison.

ResponsetoIntervention(RTI)…a research based approach to providing high quality individual or small group instruction to students who experience difficulty making progress in their grade level curriculum.

• Mindsetsaretheassumptionsandexpectationswehaveforourselvesandothers.Theyguideourbehaviorandinfluenceourresponsestodailyevents.

• Agrowthmindsetisthebeliefthatwehavethecapacitytocultivateourintelligenceandgrowourabilities. Everythingismalleablebecausethebrainislikeamuscle.Itgrowsthrougheffort,practice,andchallengingexercise.

“Whenstudentsandteachersfocusonimprovementratherthanwhetherthechildrenaresmart,kidslearnalotmore.”

~LisaBlackwellPh.D.

GrowthMindset

Ifparentswanttogivetheirchildrenagift,thebestthingtheycandoistoteachtheirchildrentolovechallenges,beintriguedbymistakes,enjoyeffort,andkeeponlearning.Thatway,theirchildrendon’thavetobeslavesofpraise.Theywillhavealifelongwaytobuildandrepairtheirownconfidence.

~CarolDweck (Psychologist)

• Establishinghighexpectations‐ Letyourchildknowyoubelieveinhisabilitytomeetchallenges.Focusontheactionsthatcanbetakentoimprove.

• Creatingariskfreelearningzone‐ Makeitclearmistakesaretobeexpectedandwecanlearnfromthem.

• Givingfeedbackthatfocusesonprocess‐ Discussthethingsyourchildcancontrol,likehiseffort,challenge‐seeking,persistence,andgoodstrategies‐‐notonhis/herpersonaltraitsorabilities.Avoidpraisingchildrenfortheir"smartness,"andinsteadhelpthemunderstandtheimportanceoftheirownactionsinachievingsuccess.

• Providingfrequentreminderstoyourchildthatthemindismalleable‐Letyourchildknowthatwhenheispracticinghardthingshisbrainisformingnewconnections.Insteadoffeelingdumbwhenhestruggles,hewilllearnto"feel"thoseconnectionsgrowing.

HowCanYouHelpStrengthentheHome/SchoolConnection?