Take Home Packet

2014

Kindergarten Curriculum

Valdosta City Schools is excited to be providing a rigorous and rich curriculum for students. In August of

2012, all Georgia Schools began teaching the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards.

Georgia joined with 47 other states well over three years ago to develop a set of core standards for K-12 in

language arts and mathematics. These standards provide a consistent framework to prepare students for success

in college and/or the 21st century workplace. These standards represent a common sense next step from the

Georgia Performance Standards.

What does this mean for Georgia?

Students of Georgia:

Rigorous knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and/or careers

Consistent expectations across states, regardless of whether they decide to go to school at Georgia Tech

or UCLA, or find a job in Georgia, Maine or Indiana

Relevant content and application of knowledge through high-order skills

Educators of Georgia:

Clear, focused expectations that assist them in being on the same page and working together with

students and parents for shared goals

A common-sense next step that is aligned to our Georgia Performance Standards (GPS)

Taxpayers of Georgia:

Long-term potential savings on textbooks and instructional resources that come with consistent materials

developed throughout the country

About the Common Core State Standards :

Led by National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

Governor Perdue was selected by NGA to co-chair the initiative

Developed by standards experts and educators

Received multiple rounds of feedback from states and national organizations representing educators

(e.g., International Reading Association (IRA), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM),

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

Information about the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards will be shared by each school

during Open House sessions provided once school begins. More information can also be found at

www.georgiastandards.org.

Kindergarten Top 10

Kindergarten is an exciting and critical time in your child’s development and growth. You can play an

important role in this wonderful journey.

1. Your job isn’t over when you drop your little one off at school; it has only just begun. Your child’s

teacher wants to be your partner. Keep them informed about what goes on at home that might affect

your child’s behavior or academic performance. Share with them how what they do at school affects

your child at home.

2. Much of what happens in kindergarten is driven by high standards. The expectations of what children

need to know when they enter kindergarten are closer to what used to be expected in first grade.

3. The more self-control your child has, the more successful he will be in school. Children need

practice in deciding how and when to express their feelings and needs, and when and if to act on

impulses. Help him develop and practice these skills at home before he tests them at school, where the

consequences are a loss of learning for him and for others.

4. Make yourself known. Attend school events. Peruse the books and materials. Knowledge is power.

When you know about the subjects your child is studying, you will be able to help her better and have a

common understanding for discussion. Volunteering is a wonderful way to learn about what goes on at

school and to show your child how much you care about what she is doing.

5. Your child needs lots of opportunities for play outside of school. Play is the way in which he learns

about himself and the people and world around him. Playing both alone and in small groups helps

facilitate learning and allows your child to practice skills and concepts.

6. Read to your child every day. Try to read together at least three times a day. Books are the gateway to

building vocabulary, learning about print, and developing listening and early literacy skills. When you

read, talk about the book. Discuss the characters and setting, make predictions, and create new endings.

Point out letters and words in the text, and encourage him to recognize rhyming sounds and words and

to identify beginning and ending sounds.

7. Writing exploration at home is critical. Your child needs to have opportunities to use pencils, crayons,

markers, colored pencils, and other writing instruments as she attempts to express herself in written

form. She begins with scribbles and lines, moves on to letters and her name, and then to words and

sentences.

8. Homework is an opportunity for talking, sharing, and listening. Teachers may give homework to extend

the learning of the classroom. It is a chance for you to find out what your child is studying and how well

he is grasping the skills and concepts being taught at school. Talk with your child about his homework.

It shows him that you care and value what he does at school.

9. Television and video games use up valuable playtime. Limit screen time. The hours spent with these

electronic devices could otherwise be spent talking, reading, or actively learning through play.

10. First- hand experiences and conversation with adults are another teacher for your child. Take her to

museums, the zoo, the aquarium, the library, parks, arts performances, and geographic locations such as

the mountains, beach, forests, and deserts. She’ll grasp concepts and skills better is she has experiences

with the real thing.

WHAT A FIVE-YEAR OLD NEEDS TO KNOW AND BE ABLE TO

DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN KINDERGARTEN

Say real name, not nickname

Print name, first letter capital and rest of the letters lower case

Know letters found in name

Say/sing the alphabet

Count to 10

Recognize colors

Sit and listen to a story

Show an interest in books and reading

Demonstrate through questions and comments an understanding of literal meaning of a

story being read or told

Recognize some print in the environment (STOP, McDonalds, etc.)

“Write” (scribble) message as part of playful activity

Speak in complete thoughts

Can focus on a specific task

Understand and follow directions

Have some control over small motor skills (coloring, clay, working with manipulatives,

cutting)

Know how to line up

Identify coins – penny, nickel, dime, quarter

Eat with utensils, open milk cartons and other food items

Take care of personal needs( wipe nose, bathroom skills)

Take turns

Important kindergarten skills include letter recognition, number recognition, and basic

sight word recognition. Students should be able to name letters and numbers quickly and

out of order. They also should be able to instantly and accurately call out basic sight

words.

Attached are several practice sheets that you may use at home for practice and ideas for

sight word games.

Parent Tips to Support Kindergarten Math

Give your child plenty of opportunities to count

Play number games during everyday activities, such as counting the number of steps, the number of

trucks you see while driving, or counting the number of items going in the laundry.

Read the calendar, and determine the number of days until an upcoming event.

Young children can count the number of items that you bought at the store. If you buy multiples of 1

item (such as 10 cans of cat food), practice counting by 2’s, 3’s, or higher numbers

Have your child count the change needed to pay for an item.

Watch your child play to understand her mathematical knowledge. When your child counts, does she

touch each object once? Is his voice in sync with his tag?

Have your child distribute cookies or toys to family members, with each person getting an equal number

Help your child recognize shapes and size relationships

At the grocery store, ask your child to find items that are triangles, circles, rectangles, and other shapes.

Ask your child to recognize or stack the groceries you bought by container shape or organize by size.

Organize a scavenger hunt where your child has to find objects of different shapes

Make snowflakes using symmetry. Fold a square piece of paper in half diagonally to make a triangle,

then fold in half 2 more times. Cut out small diamond or circular shapes from the edges, then unfold it.

Experiment with different numbers of folds and shapes.

Find ways to collect and organize information

Look around the house to find groups of 2 objects, like pairs of gloves or socks. Look for groups of 3’s,

4’s, and on up to 10’s.

Have your child help sort the laundry by various categories — by color, or by who an item belongs to.

Take measurements for a project around the house.

Using paper of different colors, make a paper chain with paper strips and tape. Encourage your child to

create patterns by repeating colors and numbers of rings in a regular order. This can be done in

connection with reading the calendar and counting down days to a special event.

Collect objects in nature— leaves, rocks, shells and the like. When you get home, sort them by color,

size, or type. How many different categories can you find? How many objects are in more than 1

category?

Help your child develop reasoning skills

Help your child think about the permanence of a set. Put 6 pennies in a row, then change the

arrangement. Ask “did the quantity change?”

Kindergartners love repetition and patterning, which fosters mathematical thinking. Clapping patterns

help your child discover sequences and predict what comes next.

Some family games that use kindergarten math skills:

Many card games require counting and score keeping.

Dice games and dominos help kids learn to quickly recognize groups of dots from 2 to 12.

Play board games that involve counting squares, such as Chutes and Ladders.

Tic Tac Toe and Connect Four build recognition of rows of 3 and 4 counters.

Tangrams

Mancala

You may have tangible wealth untold: Caskets of

jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be-

I had a Mother who read to me.

“The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillian

Please READ to your child 15 minutes a DAY !!!

R – Reading picture books, nursery rhymes, and story books

develops a richness of speaking vocabulary, sentence

structure, and experiences!

E – Expressively read! (Try altering your voice for different

characters.) Read slowly enough for your child to build mental pictures

of the characters, setting, and events.

A – Asking questions and “Acting out” stories

When your child engages in drama and questioning, connections are

made to characters, events, and real life.

D – Discover the FUN of reading to and with your child!

Snuggling up and reading = conversations + memories! (TV and

computers can’t begin to take your place!)

Questions to ask yourself when choosing read-aloud books:

Is the story:

imaginative with engaging illustrations?

rich in vocabulary?

of interest to your child?

appropriate for your child’s age?

THANKS for growing a

bookworm!

Sight Word Games

Sight Word Pairs

A card game similar to “go fish” except each player needs a pair instead of four cards. The

player with the most pairs wins the game. If a player is not able to read his sight word, the

player may ask any other player how to read the sight word.

Sight Word Flash Cards

Write each sight word on its own index card. A parent or friend flashes the card for the player to

read instantly. Another approach is to have the child shuffle the cards and then read them aloud.

Sight Word Bingo

Played like regular bingo except the bingo cards contain sight words instead of numbers. When

the sight word is called players put a marker over that word on their bingo card. A player calls

out bingo once they make a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line with the markers on their bingo

card.

Sight Word Concentration

Using sight words, write each word on an index card. Remember that cards must be in

duplicates or pairs. Shuffle the cards and then spread them out randomly. The first player selects

two cards. If they match the player keeps them and goes again by turning over two more cards.

If they do not match the player puts them back in the exact same place and her turn is over. The

object of the game is to accumulate the most pairs.

Sight Word Board Games

Using a poster board, create a path and make one-inch spaces. Write a sight word in each space.

Players advance in the game by moving the number of spaces as determined by rolling a die.

Players must correctly identify the word in the space. Depending upon the player’s reading

readiness, upon landing on the sight word the player can define the word and/or use it in a

sentence.

Additional sight word games and activities can be found at the following website:

http://www.sightwordsgame.com/sightwordgames/top-ten-sight-word-games/

Waterford Early Learning

Kindergarten students in the Valdosta City School System participate daily in the

Waterford Early Learning computer program.

Waterford Early Learning offers instruction that is aligned to state and national

standards with more than 2,000 learning objectives in reading, 710 objective-based

math and science lessons, over 15,000 activities and 353 songs. The breadth and

depth of the curriculum is unmatched.

Instruction is tailored to each student’s individual learning needs - including those

served by special education, or who are gifted, at-risk and English language

learners. Because the curriculum is custom-tailored to a student’s unique needs,

individual achievement is accelerated.

Parents can find out more about Waterford by visiting their child’s classroom,

scheduling a conference with the teacher, or visiting the Waterford Early Learning

website.

http://www.waterfordearlylearning.org/

Word Recognition Practice

red green blue yellow black orange

black purple white pink I like

the and see we a to

come me with my you what

are now is of many how

so where find from but this

came on will into your be

that who go here soon for

they up make them give play

say now said was then good

ate could she all over when

her some he away must no

by there do went just down

little only have one ask help

every walk look saw very put

their out off our day take

too show

Letter Recognition Practice

y e U Q c

G f j A i

l n A M Z

U B h r C

T q P b i

d L Y A s

g u I Q e

i k A x V

j B w o R

F t H S m

Number Recognition Practice

2 4 7 10 0

2 5 8 3 6

9 10 8 4 1

6 2 5 7 3

0 3 1 5 8

2 10 4 6 9

7 0 5 0 1

10 6 2 3 9

4 8 7 1 9

1 0 8 6 4