TUSD Kindergarten

Kindergarten

Highlights of the TUSD

Standards

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Kindergarten
TUSD Vision Statement

Assessing Student Progress

English Language Arts

History-Social Science

Mathematics

Science

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Parents are important, and together we make a difference.

Welcome to the Travis Unified School District and the experiences of being a kindergarten parent. We are committed to providing the best possible atmosphere and support for your child's education. We also firmly believe in the support and relationship that is essential between the home and the school. A successful beginning in kindergarten will point your child in the right direction.

These web pages are intended to give you an overview of the standards in the core subject areas in a particular grade level in our schools. We hope this information provides a foundation and a focus to better help you work with your child and to help us develop your child to his/her fullest potential. In addition to the core subject areas highlighted on the web pages, health and physical education, library media center skills, and music are a regular part of the curriculum. Technology supports teaching and learning in every subject area.

The academic standards form the core curriculum for all of our schools and thereby unify teaching and learning in the Travis Unified School District. Our expectation is that all students will achieve the standards of one grade level before being promoted to the next level.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacki L. Cottingim, Superintendent

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English Language Arts

Instruction in Kindergarten is focused on developing foundational skills that prepare students for later learning in the language arts. Kindergarten students will learn to make sense of the alphabet and its role in reading. Kindergarten students will learn to use pictures and context to make predictions about stories and summarize them. Students learn about setting, characters and important events in a story. Kindergarten students learn not only to recognize, identify and understand but also to write letters, words and beginning narratives. Kindergarten classrooms provide an environment that is rich in children’s literature, and encourages the development of oral language skills, writing skills and reading skills.

Reading

Students will be able to name all letters and match them with their associated sounds. Kindergarten students will learn:

books are read from front to back.

words are read from left to right.

phonemic awareness.

how to decode words and pronounce words.

new vocabulary words.

how to rhyme, match sounds and blend sounds.

Students will identify the basic ideas in what they have read, heard or viewed. Kindergarten students will learn:

how to locate title, table of contents, name of author and illustrator.

how to use pictures and context to make predictions.

how to connect life experiences to the information in text.

how to retell familiar stories.

how to ask and answer questions about a story.

to identify characters, settings and important events.

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Writing

Students will write words and brief sentences that are legible. Students learn how to:

use words and letters.

write from left to right and top to bottom.

dictate a story and keep a journal.

Written and Oral English Language Conventions

Students will write and speak with a command of standard English conventions.

Listening and Speaking

Students will listen and respond to oral communication.

Students will speak in clear and coherent sentences.

Kindergarten Index

History-Social Science

Students in Kindergarten are introduced to chronological and spatial thinking. They begin to interpret timelines, and they learn to place key events and people in an historical era. Commemorative holidays are a vehicle for learning history. Students are introduced to the idea that people have lived in different ways in earlier days. The concepts of courage, self-control, justice, heroism, leadership, and individual responsibility are introduced.

Students begin to learn the rights and responsibilities of being a good citizen.

Students learn state and national symbols such as national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.

Students match descriptions of work that people do, and the names of those jobs with examples from the school, local community and historical accounts.

Kindergarten Index

Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places and environments and describe the human and physical characteristics of places.

Students put events in temporal order by using a calendar, placing days, weeks and months in proper order.

Students understand that history relates to events, people and places of other times.

Students appreciate the diversity of cultures and people of historical and modern times beginning with their own families, school, and community.

Kindergarten Index

MATHEMATICS

By the end of kindergarten, students understand small numbers, quantities and simple shapes in their everyday environment. They count, compare, describe and sort objects, and develop a sense of properties and patterns.

The standards emphasize computational and procedural skills, conceptual understanding and problem solving. Students learn to communicate mathematically using symbols, signs, models and graphs. They learn to reason by gathering and analyzing data, and they learn to make connections between mathematical ideas and between mathematics and other disciplines.

Number Sense

Students understand the relationship between numbers and quantities.

Students understand and describe simple addition and subtraction.

Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that involve numbers that use the ones and tens place.

Algebra and Functions

Students sort and classify objects.

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Measurement and Geometry

Students understand the concept of time and units of measure.

Students understand that objects have length, weight, and capacity, and that comparisons may be made by referring to those properties.

Students identify common objects in their environment and describe the geometric features.

Identify and draw circle, square, triangle,

rectangle

Compare common objects by attributes

Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability

Students collect information about objects and events in their environment.

Pose information questions

Identify and extend patterns

Collect data

Mathematical Reasoning

Students make decisions about how to set up a problem.

Students solve problems in reasonable way.

Kindergarten Index

Science

Children are naturally curious about the world in which they live. Children learn science by working in a hands-on environment that is rich in opportunities to explore, test and predict. Kindergarten standards include the following essential learnings:

Physical Science
The interactions of matter and energy provide the forces by which our physical world is governed.
1) Properties of materials can be observed, measured, and predicted.

Objects can be described in terms of the materials they’re made of and their physical properties.

Water can be a liquid or a solid and can change back from one form to the other.

Life Science
Living organisms are diverse, interdependent, and are evolving and interacting with their environment.
2) Life is diverse. Different types of plants and animals inhabit the Earth.

There are living and non-living things. Living things have similarities and differences in appearance and behavior that can be observed and described.

Stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not have.

Earth Science
The Earth and universe are constantly changing.
3) The Earth is composed of land, air, and water.

Characteristics of mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys, deserts, and local landforms.

Changes in weather occur from day to day and over seasons, affecting the Earth and its inhabitants.

The Earth has resources that can be identified and conserved.

Investigation and Experimentation
The scientific process includes asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
4) To understand this concept, students will develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Observe common objects using the five senses.

Describe the properties of common objects.

Describe the relative position of objects using one reference (e.g. above or below).

Compare and sort objects based on one physical attribute (including color, shape, texture, size, and weight).

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Superintendent's Message

Kindergarten		Highlights of the TUSD Standards
		TUSD Home Page \| Superintendent's Message \|Highlights of TUSD Standards Home Page\|Educational Services & Student Learning Home Page
Kindergarten		TUSD Vision Statement Assessing Student Progress English Language Arts History-Social Science Mathematics Science Dear Parents/Guardians: Parents are important, and together we make a difference. Welcome to the Travis Unified School District and the experiences of being a kindergarten parent. We are committed to providing the best possible atmosphere and support for your child's education. We also firmly believe in the support and relationship that is essential between the home and the school. A successful beginning in kindergarten will point your child in the right direction. These web pages are intended to give you an overview of the standards in the core subject areas in a particular grade level in our schools. We hope this information provides a foundation and a focus to better help you work with your child and to help us develop your child to his/her fullest potential. In addition to the core subject areas highlighted on the web pages, health and physical education, library media center skills, and music are a regular part of the curriculum. Technology supports teaching and learning in every subject area. The academic standards form the core curriculum for all of our schools and thereby unify teaching and learning in the Travis Unified School District. Our expectation is that all students will achieve the standards of one grade level before being promoted to the next level. Sincerely, Dr. Jacki L. Cottingim, Superintendent Return to top English Language Arts Instruction in Kindergarten is focused on developing foundational skills that prepare students for later learning in the language arts. Kindergarten students will learn to make sense of the alphabet and its role in reading. Kindergarten students will learn to use pictures and context to make predictions about stories and summarize them. Students learn about setting, characters and important events in a story. Kindergarten students learn not only to recognize, identify and understand but also to write letters, words and beginning narratives. Kindergarten classrooms provide an environment that is rich in children’s literature, and encourages the development of oral language skills, writing skills and reading skills. Reading Students will be able to name all letters and match them with their associated sounds. Kindergarten students will learn: books are read from front to back. words are read from left to right. phonemic awareness. how to decode words and pronounce words. new vocabulary words. how to rhyme, match sounds and blend sounds. Students will identify the basic ideas in what they have read, heard or viewed. Kindergarten students will learn: how to locate title, table of contents, name of author and illustrator. how to use pictures and context to make predictions. how to connect life experiences to the information in text. how to retell familiar stories. how to ask and answer questions about a story. to identify characters, settings and important events. Return to top Writing Students will write words and brief sentences that are legible. Students learn how to: use words and letters. write from left to right and top to bottom. dictate a story and keep a journal. Written and Oral English Language Conventions Students will write and speak with a command of standard English conventions. Listening and Speaking Students will listen and respond to oral communication. Students will speak in clear and coherent sentences. Kindergarten Index History-Social Science Students in Kindergarten are introduced to chronological and spatial thinking. They begin to interpret timelines, and they learn to place key events and people in an historical era. Commemorative holidays are a vehicle for learning history. Students are introduced to the idea that people have lived in different ways in earlier days. The concepts of courage, self-control, justice, heroism, leadership, and individual responsibility are introduced. Students begin to learn the rights and responsibilities of being a good citizen. Students learn state and national symbols such as national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty. Students match descriptions of work that people do, and the names of those jobs with examples from the school, local community and historical accounts. Kindergarten Index Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places and environments and describe the human and physical characteristics of places. Students put events in temporal order by using a calendar, placing days, weeks and months in proper order. Students understand that history relates to events, people and places of other times. Students appreciate the diversity of cultures and people of historical and modern times beginning with their own families, school, and community. Kindergarten Index MATHEMATICS By the end of kindergarten, students understand small numbers, quantities and simple shapes in their everyday environment. They count, compare, describe and sort objects, and develop a sense of properties and patterns. The standards emphasize computational and procedural skills, conceptual understanding and problem solving. Students learn to communicate mathematically using symbols, signs, models and graphs. They learn to reason by gathering and analyzing data, and they learn to make connections between mathematical ideas and between mathematics and other disciplines. Number Sense Students understand the relationship between numbers and quantities. Students understand and describe simple addition and subtraction. Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that involve numbers that use the ones and tens place. Algebra and Functions Students sort and classify objects. Return to top Measurement and Geometry Students understand the concept of time and units of measure. Students understand that objects have length, weight, and capacity, and that comparisons may be made by referring to those properties. Students identify common objects in their environment and describe the geometric features. Identify and draw circle, square, triangle, rectangle Compare common objects by attributes Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability Students collect information about objects and events in their environment. Pose information questions Identify and extend patterns Collect data Mathematical Reasoning Students make decisions about how to set up a problem. Students solve problems in reasonable way. Kindergarten Index Science Children are naturally curious about the world in which they live. Children learn science by working in a hands-on environment that is rich in opportunities to explore, test and predict. Kindergarten standards include the following essential learnings: Physical Science The interactions of matter and energy provide the forces by which our physical world is governed. 1) Properties of materials can be observed, measured, and predicted. Objects can be described in terms of the materials they’re made of and their physical properties. Water can be a liquid or a solid and can change back from one form to the other. Life Science Living organisms are diverse, interdependent, and are evolving and interacting with their environment. 2) Life is diverse. Different types of plants and animals inhabit the Earth. There are living and non-living things. Living things have similarities and differences in appearance and behavior that can be observed and described. Stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not have. Earth Science The Earth and universe are constantly changing. 3) The Earth is composed of land, air, and water. Characteristics of mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys, deserts, and local landforms. Changes in weather occur from day to day and over seasons, affecting the Earth and its inhabitants. The Earth has resources that can be identified and conserved. Investigation and Experimentation The scientific process includes asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. 4) To understand this concept, students will develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: Observe common objects using the five senses. Describe the properties of common objects. Describe the relative position of objects using one reference (e.g. above or below). Compare and sort objects based on one physical attribute (including color, shape, texture, size, and weight). Return to top



Superintendent's Message