Name: Melissa Fitz Gerald

Grade Level:Kindergarten

Contact Information:

Mrs. Fitz Gerald may be contacted at: 336-5332 ext. 522.

Curriculum

The kindergarten program emphasizes the development of social and academic skills.  Thinking, problem solving and organizational skills are important elements of the total educational program.  This program is based on the standards established by the school district, the state of New Hampshire and the federal government.  My goal for each student is to experience success at his or her level and to build self-esteem along with a sense of community. Below you will find a brief description of some of the things your child will be learning throughout the year.  Weekly notices will be sent home throughout the year informing you of what the class has been working on that week. This weekly notice will also include some suggestions for activities that you may want to do with your child at home. These activities will allow the child additional practice with the skill and the opportunity to share all that they have been learning with their family.    

Reading:

The class will be learning how to recognize upper and lower case letters, identifying sounds associated with the letters, identifying synonyms and antonyms, organizing words by category, identifying characters in a story, self selecting reading materials and discussing the aspects of a story.  The Scott Foresman Reading Street program is used on a daily basis along with additional literacy activities in order to develop these skills.

Written Communication:

The class will be learning how to express an idea using pictures and letters, use pictures to create a story, naming or labeling objects or pictures, using phonemic awareness and letter knowledge to spell independently.  The Collins writing program is used K-12. Independent writing is a daily activity within the classroom.

Oral communication:

The class will be learning how to follow simple verbal instructions and directions, listening and responding to different styles of literature, understanding that communication is verbal and nonverbal, waiting for their turn to speak and speaking clearly and distinctly.

Math:

The class will be discovering and beginning to understand the magnitude of numbers through investigation.  Activities will be diverse in nature and will connect numbers to their daily lives.  The Everyday Math program is used on a daily basis along with additional math activities in order to develop these skills. 

Social Studies:

The class will be learning about a variety of different topics involving family, community and the world. This program is enhanced by using the Silver Burdett Ginn social studies series and activities linked to the Scott Foresman Reading Street Series.

Science:

The class will be making observations and explore materials using all of their senses. They will begin to ask questions about their environment, suggest plans on how to explore their environment and predict how changing one part of their exploration will affect the outcome.  This program is enhanced by using the Harcourt science series.

Second Step:

The class will learn about their own feelings and how to understand how others may be feeling.  This school wide initiative teaches the children appropriate ways to communicate with each other and handle difficult situations on their own.

Homework:

Your child will be learning many new and exciting things.  Homework will be sent in order to reinforce the skills that your child is learning at school. This homework will allow them to develop a sense of responsibility and a strong work ethic that will be beneficial for them throughout their lives.  Homework will generally be sent home daily Monday through Thursday.  Please guide your child through the directions and let him/her complete as much as possible independently.  I will be collecting and reviewing homework on a daily basis.  This is a classroom expectation that will be recorded on your child’s report card.

In my weekly newsletter News from Kindergarten you will also find additional activities to do with your child at home.  These activities are not required, but are encouraged, in order to reinforce the skills that are being taught at school. 

Classroom Procedures:

As you might imagine having a group of five and six year old children gathered in a classroom has some challenges.  Therefore, I have to ensure that I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve in order to keep the classroom a safe and happy place where children are able to grow and learn.  In order to create this type of atmosphere it is important that well established rules and expectations are put in place and consistently followed each and every day.  These expectations will be introduced to the children during the first few weeks of school.  We will discuss, role play and practice the classroom expectations in order to ensure that each member of the class understands what is acceptable within the classroom environment.  I have listed the classroom management tools that will be used in my classroom this year.  You may find that some of these strategies would also work well within your household.

Responsibility Chart: Non verbal reminder to be responsible.

This chart will be posted within the classroom. At the top of the chart is written RESPONSIBLE-LEVEL 10-I DID at the bottom of the chart is IRRESPONSIBLE-LEVEL 0- I WON’T.  The range in between each of these levels depicts the different levels of responsibilities.  Each child will begin each day with their names posted in the responsible level 10 and their name will be moved only if necessary. 

Without(W) Being(B) Reminded(R) Cards: Praises children for being responsible.

These cards will be handed out to children displaying consistent responsible behavior.  Each time a child is handed one of these cards it will be stapled into their communication journal and taken home at the end of the day.

© Gene Bedley 2005

Thinking Chair: A quiet spot for children to think about inappropriate behavior and ways to make better choices in the future. Children may be asked by an adult to sit in this chair or may place themselves in the chair in order to collect their thoughts during difficult times in the day.  After a reasonable amount of time the child will be invited by an adult to rejoin the class.  On most occasions a conversation with an adult will occur before the child is asked to rejoin the group; however this depends on the availability of an adult. 

Journals

Each child will be given a journal.  This journal will include notes, special reminders and will serve as a means of communication between home and school.  Each child must bring their journal to and from school each day. These journals should be reviewed by an adult within the household on a daily basis.

Student Jobs

In order for the classroom to be successful and well organized, it must become the responsibility of the entire classroom community.  Therefore, I have established a bulletin board within the classroom; it will post weekly jobs in which the children will be responsible. Some of the jobs will be completed in the morning, while others will be completed immediately before dismissal.  These jobs will be reviewed and role played with the children at the beginning of the school year. 

Authors of the Week

Each week I will select one published children’s literature author and two students to serve as authors of the week.  During the week I will read books by the chosen published author and discuss their writing style.  The two student authors will share the written communication that they have produced each day with the class.  These student authors will also enjoy other privileges within the classroom. This allows the children to understand that their writing is something that others can enjoy.

Acts of Kindness Jar

This jar will serve to honor acts of kindness that are displayed by the class within the school community.  Glass pebbles will be placed in the jar when acts of kindness, respect and responsibility are noticed.  Once the jar is filled with pebbles a reward will be provided to the entire class. This instills within the children that being a productive and kind member of the community has great rewards.