Welcome to Mrs Witgens Half Day Kindergarten Class

Welcome to Mrs. Witgen’s Half. Day Kindergarten Class Curriculum Night September 19, 2007

Our Schedule • Seat Work: This allows students to settle in and focus on concepts learned the previous day. Attendance is taken. • Carpet Time: Weather, Calendar, Counting Caterpillar, Alphabet Chart, Rote Counting • Shared Reading/Writers Workshop • Literacy Work Stations (including guided reading) • Snack • Math • Social Studies/Science (sometimes included in stations) • Special (Music, Gym, Library) • Recess/Pretend Playtime (not on all days)

Language Arts Math • • • Writer’s Workshop Shared Writing/ Reading Interactive Writing Guided Reading Concepts of Print Phonemic Awareness Sight Words/Word Wall Predictable Sentences Class Books Reading/Writing Attitude Speaking Conventions • Number Sense – – Recognition Writing Sequencing Matching Sets • Counting – 1 -100 – Count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s • • • Sorting Measurement Patterning Simple operations Geometry/spatial sense Collecting/displaying data (graphing).

Science Social Studies • Natural Sciences: animals, plants, weather, space, earth science • Physical Sciences: magnets, float and sink, etc. • Health and Safety: teeth, Healthy Body, body parts, nutrition and food groups, five senses, fire safety, etc. • Home: Self/ Family/ Friends • Community: community helpers • History: Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, etc. • Economics: wants and needs • Government: respecting rules and rights of others

Kindergarteners Will Also Learn… Fine Motor Skills Holds pencils and scissors correctly Cuts on lines Outlines and colors neatly within the lines Social and Work Habits • Puts forth best efforts in work • Takes care of school materials • Uses self control to follow school rules • Works independently • Completes work in a reasonable amount of time • Follows directions • Listens attentively to others • Stays on task • Willingly participates in activities

Literacy Work Stations The children work in groups of 2 -3 and do 2 stations each day Wednesday-Friday. (6 total) Weekly stations may include… Letter Study Word Study Crafts Sorting Phonemic Awareness Writing Science or Social Studies Listening Station Guided Reading with Mrs. Witgen… and many more!!

What is Phonemic Awareness? Children who enter school with phonemic awareness have a very high likelihood of learning to read successfully. Children who lack phonemic awareness have a great deal of difficulty learning to read. (Cunningham, 1999) Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words. Discriminating (being able to tell whether two words are the same or different and also being able to tell if two words begin or end with the same sound) Counting the number of words in a sentence, syllables in a word and sounds in a word. Rhyming Blending (say the sounds in the word and then "say them fast") Segmenting (say the word and then say each syllable or sound) Manipulating (deleting, adding and substituting sounds in words)

Writer’s Workshop 1. Scribbling 2. Letter-like Symbols Letter-like forms Looks like a random emerge, sometimes assortment of marks on a child’s randomly placed, paper. and are Sometimes the marks interspersed with are large, circular, numbers. and random, and resemble drawing. The children can tell Although the marks do about their own not resemble drawings or writings. print, they are In this stage, significant spacing is rarely because the present. young writer uses them to show ideas. 3. Strings of Letters 4. Beginning Sounds Emerge In the strings-of-letters phase, Children write some letters that tell us they know more about writing. At this stage, children begin to see the differences between a letter and a word, but they may not use spacing between words. Children are developing awareness of the sound to letter relationship, although they are not matching most sounds. Children usually write in capital letters and have not yet begun spacing. Their message makes sense and matches the picture, especially when they choose the topic.

Homework I feel it is important to reinforce concepts learned at school, at home. Children love being able to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned to those who love them and are proud of them. When children see mom and dad are excited and proud, they see how important the work they do at school really is. • On Friday’s I will send homework in your child’s F. I. S. H Folder. Please be sure to guide your child. I look for a parent signature and initials each week. • Homework is always due sometime the following week. • Each student gets to put a sticker by their name on the homework chart.

PARENT GUIDELINES FOR AN EASIER KINDERGARTEN DAY • • • Children should wear clothes that they know how to get into and out of, so that they don’t have trouble when using the bathroom. Double knot shoelaces if your child does not know how to tie their shoes. Return class folders every day. Library books should be returned on or before library day. They are checked out for one week. We do a lot of cutting in kindergarten. If your child has difficulty cutting, please practice at home. Eat a HEALTHY breakfast/lunch before coming to school. Be sure to pack one HEALTHY snack for school. Please make sure all notes and student work are taken out and looked through

Thank You for Coming! Your attendance and support shows how much you truly care about your child’s future. Contact me with any questions or concerns: Email: kwitgen@waw. misd. net Classroom phone: 586 -439 -6117