Cobb County School District Parent’s Guide to LEARNING in Kindergarten GAYVIOO LEARNING he Cobb County School District is committed to providing your child an academic experience that will develop his or her knowledge and skills at every grade-level and to ensuring a strong foundation is established for your child to reach his or her greatest potential. Our teaching is aligned with content standards and our teachers bring those standards to life for your child through various strategies designed to meet your child's learning strengths and needs. In Cobb County classrooms, students are immersed every day in learning experiences based on exploration, problem-solving, and critical thinking in all content areas, including the core areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science; and in specialized content including Health, Physical Education, Visual Arts, Music, and Technology. Excellence in teaching guides your child's educational experience from Kindergarten to graduation and into life. Below is an overview of what your child will be learning this year. SEN. Students in Kindergarten are excited to learn how to read, write, and communi- ate on grade level Students are immersed in Eee Kindergarten students are part of an active class! Foom where they explore! their responsibilities as citizens and community Kindergartners are learning foundational skills inmath that are the basis of Successful students and 2 love of numeracy, ‘Science in Kindergarten enters on a hands-on. Student-centered explora- {lon of our natural wort Earth Life and Physical letter recognition, phonics, } ! Students grow their skills Science are studied siving | | members. The Importance and early reading skills. In in and understanding of Students opportunities to ‘Sndnistory of American Sddition, students learn to counting, addition and build their understanding of! folidays and symbols is @ Fead with purpose and |} subtraction. They learn |} Core ideas. Kindergarten focus of their learning. Understanding, and partici- | about shapes and how to students explore the world Students also use maps to ate in group discussions describe, compare and of plants and expand their develop @ basic under- bout texts. Listening and |! compose basie shapes, peels alone Standing of geography. A isms. They learn about nan living matter and how to. recognize similarities and differences in living ana oneliving things. Finally, they beain basic explore: tions of rocks, gravity. and matter as they uid their early conceptions of the world ‘writing skills help students | Communicate thoughts land opinions about books. Enrly learners enjoy visits to their classroom and schoo! library to explore the world of books, Students work on literacy skills tnat include expres Sion, grade level phonies, and vocabulary. ‘They use math concepts to learn about the world around them and how to ‘pply math in their dally lives and when problem- solving. Students use hands-on resources such 2s shapes, numbers and ‘other manipulatives, tunit on the economy starts Kindergarten students on ‘a path to understanding how money is used in basic commerce, and in their daily ives. Litem EC] ‘Young learners enjoy the creative process in the Fine Arts classes Zach's the Wavalavt and Music tare students Bes earning Dally reading as» family ison enjoyable and important | | basic'et vocabulary and produce art with diferent subects and way to grow fove of learning Cree time to esd {hemes n Musi they perform and Gumanstates base uncer during Breskfat or nthe evering betore bed, Share ereclor eee ere oe end cae oes cee craatsceria your ewm favorite chiluhood books anda about why | | explore maversent lear to share ape fake turn, Westh cose the book's one yoursiave. Visit your local ibvary and | prepares them to be safe students earn Now to compare and! tate advantage of school book fare and tarsay avants: | Sorut'a’Sidang phewestion stars by sharing what you love about roading and showing tem now mmuch fmesns fo you ay reading with thor, students will see how Important literacy isin their lives.Cobb County School District Parent’s Guide to ASSESSING in Kindergarten GAYVIOO ASSESSING standardized assessments that are used to gauge how well your child is doin: level expectations. to each student. support learning across the academic year in key content and specials areas. ‘our child will have a variety of classroom assessments that will aid his or her teacher in knowing how to provide the best possible instruction for your child. Also these assessments will help you know how well your child is learning and what extra support may be needed. in addition, your child will participate in Jased upon his or her grade In Kindergarten, teachers assess student progress using the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS). Teachers record progress on the GKIDS throughout the year. The GKIDS helps teachers identify strengths and needs of your child, and teachers adjust their instruction so learning is personalized Kindergarten students take a pre-test in August and a post-test in May as part of the measurement of Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). These assessments allow teachers to make instructional adjustments that continue to personalize student learning. SLOs show student growth between two points in time and PSS MARK THE CALENDAR: GKIDS: on-going throughout the year Student Learning Objectives (SLOs): August & May skills. Students respond to teacher prompts and multiple-choice questions, called selected-response. Questions are Fead aloud so young learners have a better chance of successfully completing all questions. Questions relate to Subject areas, such as English Language Arts and Math, and encourage students to apply @ broad range of thinking skills QUESTION TYPES: kindergarten assessments include observations, analysis of student work, and direct assessment of ONE TEAM ONE GOAL STUDEAT sUCEESS