Kindergarten Curriculum
Kindergarten is a time of wonder and exploration. A time for making friends and learning to work together. A time for learning to love letters, numbers, words, scientific discovery, and learning itself. The philosophy at PS118 is that children learn best through play and cultivating creativity. Through engaging in constructive play, children are strengthening their social, emotional and cognitive skills.
PS118 uses a balanced literacy approach with the Teachers College Workshop model. Students receive direct instruction in reading, writing and word study each day in a student-centered literature-based curriculum. The workshop model is an instructional model that marries explicit instruction with opportunities to practice each day through small group work and independent practice.
Kindergarteners are developing the following skills:
Writing workshop is a method which builds students’ fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure, teacher modeling and small group instruction.
Math in kindergarten is a hands-on experience for the students. They learn through games, projects, stories and instruction.
Social studies for young children develops from children’s natural curiosity about the world around them and their immediate environment. Kindergarteners do this through stories and storytelling, and projects.
In Kindergarten science is taught on an inquiry based level. We explore different topics that are student driven. Students have the opportunity to develop scientific skills such as observation, prediction and cause and effect. Topics we have studied include:
Kindergarten is a special time where students learn to be independent and confident learners. At PS 118 we work on looking at the whole student and meeting them where they are. It is an exciting time for students as they learn to find and express their own unique voices, and we focus on giving students lots of experiences to build on throughout the year with a focus on social emotional development.
PS118 uses a balanced literacy approach with the Teachers College Workshop model. Students receive direct instruction in reading, writing and word study each day in a student-centered literature-based curriculum. The workshop model is an instructional model that marries explicit instruction with opportunities to practice each day through small group work and independent practice.
Kindergarteners are developing the following skills:
- Recognizing the letters of the alphabet
- Learning the sounds associated with the letters of the alphabet
- Word families and word building
- Sight word vocabulary
- Decoding
- Comprehension
- Fluency
Writing workshop is a method which builds students’ fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure, teacher modeling and small group instruction.
- Scribble
- Letter String
- Groups of letters with space in between to resemble words
- Picture labeling
- Copies environmental print
- Uses first letter to represent word
- Uses first and ending letter to represent the word
- Hears medial sounds
- Phrase writing
- Whole sentence writing
Math in kindergarten is a hands-on experience for the students. They learn through games, projects, stories and instruction.
- Counting
- Recognizing and writing numbers 1-20
- Shapes
- Addition and Subtraction 1-10
- Measurement
- Concepts of equality, more and less
- Graphing
- Teen Numbers
- Counting numbers by 10
Social studies for young children develops from children’s natural curiosity about the world around them and their immediate environment. Kindergarteners do this through stories and storytelling, and projects.
- Classroom Community
- Kindness
- Citizenship
- All About Me
- Holiday Traditions
- Equity and Inclusion
- Social Emotional Study
In Kindergarten science is taught on an inquiry based level. We explore different topics that are student driven. Students have the opportunity to develop scientific skills such as observation, prediction and cause and effect. Topics we have studied include:
- Trees
- Gardening
- Animals
- Bridges
- Worms
- Snails
- Butterflies
Kindergarten is a special time where students learn to be independent and confident learners. At PS 118 we work on looking at the whole student and meeting them where they are. It is an exciting time for students as they learn to find and express their own unique voices, and we focus on giving students lots of experiences to build on throughout the year with a focus on social emotional development.