Welcome To Kindergarten!

Reading and Language Arts

Reading Curriculum - Forsyth County Schools currently uses ARC as a resource to teach our students how to read. Reading engagement (the love of reading) is very important to us. Our students read for approximately 30 minutes independently at school and at home each day.

Listening and Speaking – children will be asked to listen attentively to a variety of literature.  They will participate in poems, stories and songs. The children will use oral language to present ideas, information and projects in an organized and logical sequence.

Reading- The daily reading instruction consists of five elements:  Read Aloud, shared  reading, Guided Reading , Independent Reading and Phonics.

Read Alouds- The teacher reads a variety of literature aloud to the class modeling appropriate reading behaviors, demonstrating reading for a purpose and promoting oral language.

Shared Reading- Using enlarged text, the teacher involves the children in reading together.  This demonstrates reading strategies and the process of reading:, providing opportunities to behave like a reader.

Guided Reading-The teacher works with a small group of children that have similar reading goals.  This provides opportunities to problem solve and use reading strategies taught from shared readings.

Independent Reading- Reading for pleasure and for finding information

Writing

The daily writing instruction consists of 4 elements: Shared/Interactive Writing,  Writer’s Workshop, Independent Writing and Daily Message.

Shared/Interactive Writing- The teacher and students work together to compose messages and stories.  This builds the child’s sense of story and demonstrates how writing works.  It provides opportunities to hear sounds in words and connect letters (phonics practice) and increase spelling knowledge.

Writing Workshop- The children engage in writing a variety of texts.  During this time writing skills are taught and practiced.  Children learn to be creative writers.

Independent Writing-Children are encouraged to produce independent stories.  They increase their ability to write words,

Phonics

Our phonics program is Kendore Phonics.  This is a sound first curriculum. 

Math

We are teaching children to be mathematical problem solvers and learn to use math in their daily lives. The curriculum we are using is Envision. We are also using Dreambox. Your child can access both of these online as well via Classlink.

Whole Group:  Introduction to the Math Georgia Standards of Excellence happens at this time through manipulatives, demonstrations, and even interactive games on the computer.

Math Tubs/ Centers:  These give the students opportunities to practice and master math standards by exploring at a concrete level first with manipulatives and later transferring their knowledge at a more abstract level.

Science/ Health/ Social Studies

The skills in these subjects are integrated through Read Alouds and practiced through Writer’s Workshop, Literacy Centers and Math Tubs/Centers. Science experiments and other thematic related skills also take place on Fridays during our Fun Friday Centers!