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Senior Kindergarten
Language ArtsThe Senior Kindergarten language arts program is comprised of several different components including reading readiness skills, writing, listening and speaking. Reading materials include a phonetically based program. Children are in groups of eight with one teacher guiding the instructional time. Reading groups meet for 20 to 30 minutes, four times per week. Instruction focuses on letter-sound association, proper formation of the upper and lower case letters, and isolating the particular letter sound in an initial, medial, and final position of a simple word. The students discover how to decode and encode simple words and phrases. Writing skills include the reinforcement of printing on lined paper and communication. Students write simple sentences in their journals on teacher directed topics. Journal entries are both pictorial and scribed using approximate spelling. The final components of the language arts program are listening and speaking. Listening skills are developed throughout the year as we teach the students to follow multi-step directions. Learning through listening to fiction and non-fiction material and discussions with their teachers and peers is an important part of our day. We encourage students to glean information from what they hear. There are many opportunities in Sr K to speak before the class, including morning meeting, creative dramatics, and the explanation of small group projects. We strive to have all the students speak in complete sentences with well-organized thoughts.
Back to Top MathematicsThe manipulative math program exposes the students to a varied array of experiences. The backbone of the program is counting, with an emphasis on the numbers zero to one hundred. Students are given experience counting by ones, twos, fives and tens. The growing number line, the hundred days pattern chain, and the morning calendar experiences are just a few examples of the daily counting activities. The students are exposed to writing the ten numerals neatly and correctly within the confinement of lines. The expectation is that students read and write two and three digit numbers with an understanding of the importance of correct digit placement. Digi-blocks assist the students in counting and grouping objects into thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. Cooperative learning allows the students to explore many mathematical projects. The students gain experience recording data and reading bar graphs. The weekly estimation jar activity provides each student with the opportunity to practice skills in estimation, writing two digit numbers correctly, and comparing a personal guess with the actual number in the jar using number lines and hundreds charts. Back to Top Science Senior kindergarten opens the year with a study of bats. Both fiction and nonfiction material is read to and discussed with the children. A series of slides and pictures are presented. Each child makes a model of a brown bat and a bat facts booklet, complete with individual illustrations. During the second half of the year, students begin a formal introduction to science. They conduct various experiments deisgned to teach them about cooperative work, data collection, and the sharing of results. Back to Top Social Studies The Senior Kindergarten class explores the social studies topic of family. We share and exchange information through pictures, and reading about many different family structures. Discussions and projects center around the individual child and his/her immediate and extended family. Emphasis is placed on the emotional ties that bind a family together and the common elements that all families share. Back to Top LibraryIn Senior Kindergarten, students have their first experiences choosing picture books and checking them out from the library, acquainting them with the process. These books are brought to the classroom and shared during each week. Weekly read-alouds also expose our students to a variety of picture books from many different cultures and genres. Back to Top Open Circle Open circle, a curriculum which builds social competency, has helped to foster a positive sense of community within the Senior Kindergarten classroom and the Meadowbrook School. The class meets as a whole group to discuss age appropriate social issues. This proactive approach provides students with the necessary tools to be a positive member of our classroom and school community. The students are encouraged to practice skills that promote respect and consideration for each other. Back to Top Languages Students begin the study of Spanish at our earliest grade level, Junior Kindergarten. Students primarily will learn to talk about themselves and their immediate world. Themes will be tied to social studies, science, art and music where appropriate.
Themes to include the following: - Introduction to Spanish
- Numbers, colors, shapes
- Days, seasons, weather
My family
My house
Clothing
Feelings
My community 
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