Kindergarten Course Descriptions

English/Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies

English/Language Arts

As students in Kindergarten engage in reading, they will focus on word recognition, fluency, and vocabulary development. They study letters, words, and sounds. They apply this knowledge to read simple sentences. As they focus on reading comprehension, they identify the basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or seen. They use comprehension strategies, such as generating and responding to questions and comparing new information to what is already known, to understand what they read. They listen to and begin to read grade-level-appropriate classic and contemporary literature, nursery rhymes, alphabet books, dictionaries, and online information. As students focus on literary response and analysis in reading, they listen and respond to stories based on well-known characters, themes, plots, and settings.

As students engage in writing, they will use the writing process to discuss ideas and tell stories for someone to write. They use pictures, letters, and words to write. They demonstrate their knowledge of writing applications by beginning to write and draw pictures for specific purposes and for a specific audience. They begin to learn the written conventions of Standard English.

As students engage in listening and speaking, they focus on listening and speaking skills, strategies, and applications. They listen and respond to oral communication. They speak in clear and coherent sentences. They deliver brief oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests.

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Kindergarten students will use numbers up to ten to count, add, and subtract. They sort and classify objects, particularly basic geometric objects. They compare measures of objects and are introduced to measures of time. Students also develop problem-solving and reasoning skills.

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Kindergarten students are actively engaged in beginning to explore how their world works. They use numbers, pictures, and words when observing and communicating to help them begin to answer their questions about the world. Through their investigations and observations, students should begin to understand how things are similar and how they are different.

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The goal of social studies education is for students to develop thinking and decision-making skills that will prepare them for responsible citizenship in a democratic society. Students begin to acquire skills at the Kindergarten level through learning experiences that allow them to explore their relationships with the immediate environment. This is the time when students begin to develop an understanding of time and space relationships. Kindergarten students are introduced to examples of differences and changes in their surroundings and learn to describe a sequence of events in a day. They also become familiar with geographic relationships, such as location, direction, size, and shape. Students are given opportunities to discover how people are similar and different and how people live and work together in families around the world. Kindergarten students should begin to accept responsibility for their behavior in school and to explain why rules are needed in families and at school. Students in Kindergarten have the opportunity to use a variety of resources, including technology and electronic and print media, as a means of gathering and organizing information. They should have the opportunity to learn through play and participation in large and small groups, as well as through individual learning activities.

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