Welcome Kindergarten Families! Please find the table labeled with your child’s teacher. Take the folder with your child’s name on it. Sign up to.

Welcome Kindergarten Families!

Please find the table labeled with your child’s teacher.

Take the folder with your child’s name on it.

Sign up to volunteer, if desired!

04/21/23

Welcome Kindergarten Families!

2014-2015 School Year

Cobbles Elementary SchoolMrs. Brasacchio, Miss Pelusio, Miss Suchanek,

Mrs. Usselman, and Mrs. West

Reading and Writing

We use a balanced literacyapproach to help students become independent readers and writers

as well as make literacy an integral part of their lives by using a variety

of reading materials, resources and instructional strategies.

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READING Phonemic Awareness Skills

Recognize rhymes Clap syllables in words Recognize words that begin or end with same sound Tap each sound in words Blend sounds in words

Sight Words (Snap Words!) Dolch Sight Words (most common in books) 25+ to be mastered Children should read in a SNAP! Most need memorization – do not follow rules!.

Phonics Naming Letters Practicing Letter Sounds, including vowels! Learning sounds for various letter clusters (th, sh, ch, bl, sn)

VocabularyLearn, understand and use new words

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READING

Comprehension Making Predictions Discussing Favorite part of the story Answering questions Identifying story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution) Making connections with the book Retelling the story (beginning, middle, end)

Decoding Strategies

We teach students these tools for

solving unknown words

independently!

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WHAT CAN PARENTS DO

• Why? Reading aloud models fluency and expression and introduces new vocabulary.

• Read a variety ~ Newspapers, magazines, fiction/non-fiction (whatever interests you and your child!)

• At least 15 minutes every night.• Be positive! Encourage and praise, but stop if too frustrating.

Let him/her catch you reading, too!

English for Speakers of Other Languages

Academic and social English for students from varied backgrounds

Individual and small group instruction New York State standards for speaking, listening, reading,

writing and culture Content support

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WRITING WORKSHOP Your child will learn the steps of the writing process and advance their writing skills at their own pace.

Orally tell stories sequentially, then add pictures, labels, strings of letters representing a complete thought, and finally… Tell the beginning, middle and end of a story using pictures and complete sentences!

We hope you will do as Lucy Calkin’s (author of our writer’s workshop guidelines) asks all of us to do . . .

Three main genres of writing Narrative (telling TRUE stories) *main focus How-to (step by step) Persuasive

Be patient - Correct Spelling will come gradually – from random

strings of letters to words you can decipher to some words spelled

exactly right!

“Admire whatever your child brings home, make your child feel like a famous author, enjoy the brave, smart work your child does when he or she is just learning to spell and doesn’t yet have it right but is willing to try anyhow and, above all, be interested in whatever your child writes.”

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HANDWRITING

Establishing good writing habits Using a proper pencil grip Correct, efficient formation of upper case

letters, lower case letters and numbers Correctly write first and last name using

upper and lower case letters Writing letters properly on the lines

Handwriting Without Tears program focuses on . . .

This program allows children to learn how to properly form letters and numbers in a fun, engaging

and developmentally appropriate way.

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MATHKindergarten Common Core Learning Standards through the use of Math Expressions

• Identify and describe shapes• Analyze, compare, create and compose shapes

•Know number names and the count sequence•Count to tell the number of objects•Compare numbers•Understand addition as putting together and

adding to•Understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from

•Work with #’s 11-19 to gain foundations for place value•Describe and compare measurable attributes•Classify objects and count the number of objects in categories

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SCIENCE

Sunshine, Shadows and Silhouettes Investigate how shadows are created , change, and move

Our Five Senses Name the five senses and the purpose of each Explore the many ways our senses help us in our everyday lives Investigate what life would be like without one of our senses Discover how other living things use their senses Use our five senses to learn about topics of study throughout

the school year

Plants Use our five senses to compare and contrast various properties of plants Discover the difference between living and nonliving things . Germinate and observe the growth of a variety of seeds. Investigate the needs of plants. Observe and discuss how plants change through the seasons of the year. Identify parts of plants and their function.

Additional science concepts are embedded throughout our curriculum as we learn about our environment, living things and life cycles. Students will have numerous opportunities to explore, investigate and discover answers to their questions as well as expand their vocabulary.

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SOCIAL STUDIES Basic Human Needs and Wants

Individual and family needs and wants.

Myself and Others• Each person has talents, abilities, likes and dislikes.• Each person is unique and important.• People are alike and different in many ways.

My Families and Other Families Family roles and responsibilities. My family and other families are alike and

different. Families are interdependent.

My School and School Community and Communities

• My home, neighborhood, town, and school.• Community helpers and their responsibilities.• Use a globe and maps to locate places or

landmarks.Citizenship

What makes a good citizen> Become familiar with holidays and symbols of our nation.

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HEALTH Safety

Fire Safety Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Awareness

Germs What are germs? What do they look like? What do they do? How do you get rid of them?

Personal Health Fitness Nutrition and the Five Food Groups

Basic Abuse Prevention Skills Buddy System Check First

Poison Safety Identifying poisons in the home Categorizing things that are safe and not safe to touch

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Concluding Thoughts

• Kindergarten is LOTS of fun for all of us involved!

We are so thrilled to be working with you and your child this year!

•Thank you so much for coming! Your enthusiasm and support for learning will benefit

your child immensely!•You will find sign-up sheets on the back tables. We hope you

will be able to volunteer for events and activities this year!

•Your child will make tremendous growth and do things that will amaze you! It is a year to

treasure!