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A National Blue Ribbon School

Kindergarten

Welcome to Kindergarten at Brandon Academy.  This class utilizes a positive-action, charter-building approach to learning.

Reading - Kindergarten focuses on reading and explores the process of becoming fluent readings. This includes phonics and decoding skills.   Students will be able to read short age-appropriate stories and decodable stories independently.  They will understand the stories they read and appreciate different types of literature.

Skills
  • Students entering Kindergarten should be able to:
  • Recognize lower case and upper case letters
  • Match letters to sounds
  • Have Reading Readiness- can track left to right, holds book correctly, understand the meaning of the story is in the writing
By the middle of the year, students can:
  • Decode two and three letter words independently
  • Have a broad sight word collection
  • Begin reading short sentences and decodable text on their own
  • Develop a better understanding of phonics rules, including blends, diagraphs, diphthongs, and vowel sounds
At the end of the year, students are able to:
  • Read decodable text fluently
  • Broaden their book selections to include varied text
  • Read short stories independently with comprehension
  • Continue to develop phonics skills
 

Language Arts - Kindergarten works with a 1st grade curriculum and participates in weekly tests and worldly wise vocabulary.  The overall goal in Kindergarten Writing is for students to be able to independently write 3 complete sentences on a topic. Students should also be able to include an illustration that matches their writing.

Skills
Students entering Kindergarten should be able to:
  • Be able to form letters properly
  • Have a basic Alphabet knowledge
  • Able to match name of letter to symbol and can match letter to sound
  • Understand that writing is a form of communication
  • Able to use a picture to express their ideas
By the middle of the year, students are able to:
  • Draw a picture and write words to tell about their picture
  • Create simple sentences to go along with picture
  • Use lines on writing paper correctly
  • Have a basic understanding of capital letters and periods.
By the end of the year, students can:
  • Write three on-topic sentences and include a picture
  • Consistently use spacing, basic punctuation and capital letters correctly
  • Have confidence in their writing and are not afraid to try new words and express complicated ideas
 

Math - In Math, Kindergarten works at a 1st grade level and explores addition, subtraction, number sense, time, money, measurements and shapes. The overall goal in Kindergarten math is for students to develop a strong knowledge of the value of numbers from 0-100. Students should also be able to add and subtract basic facts fluently (0-12). In addition, students should understand that math is used in a variety of settings in everyday life.         

Skills
Students entering Kindergarten should:
  • Be able to recognize numbers 0-20 and understand their value
  • Have hands-on experience with math in various areas, including building, shapes, measuring, and sorting objects (Learning Centers)
  • Be able to write numbers 0-20
  • Be able to count to 100
By the middle of the year, students are:
  • Able to read and interpret graphs
  • Able to identify and continue patterns
  • Can do basic addition and subtraction facts, including numbers 0-12.
At the end of the year, students can:
  • Identify 2D and 3D shapes
  • Add and subtract 2 digit numbers with no regrouping
  • Identify penny, nickel, dimes, and quarters and understand their value
  • Can begin to tell time to the hour and half-hour

 

Social Studies - Kindergarten engages in a hands-on approach to learning activities. Students develop an understanding of the world around them through various topics.

Topics covered include:
  • School
  • All About Me/ My Family
  • Community
  • Fire Safety
  • Native Americans/ Early Settlers
  • Holidays Around the World
  • Black History (Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks)
  • Presidents
  • Map Skills
  • Earth Day- Recycling
  • Positive Action- Character building, teamwork and developing a strong moral character

 

Science - Kindergarten engages in a hands-on approach to learning activities.  Students will use the Scientific Method to explore new topics.

The science themes covered in Kindergarten include:
  • Life Science- The 5 Senses, Health, Human Body
  • Physical Science- Magnets, Simple Machines, Matter
  • Earth Science- Shadows and Weather, Caring for the Earth
  • Life Science- Animals, Life Cycles, Habitats, Plants
  • Hatching Chick Eggs
  • Classroom Pets
  • STEM Activities
  • Building Communities
  • Building Robots
  • Building Cars
  • Leprechaun Traps 

 

What is Special about Kindergarten!

QU Wedding
  • The QU Wedding is a special event for the Kindergartners at Brandon Academy.
  • Students will further develop phonics skills through the understanding that, in the English Language, Q must always be followed by U.
  • Students will understand how to tell a story through a performance and develop their public speaking and presentation skills
Field Trips
  • Center Place
  • Reading/ Literature
  • The Farm
  • Science (Animals), Where Food Comes From, Community
  • Legoland
  • Energy, Gears, STEM, Force and Motion
  • Lowry Park Zoo - Animals, Habitats
  • Fire Station - Community, Fire Safety
  • Post Office
  • Consulate - Community Outreach