Transktional Kindergarten (TK)
TK1 Class Overview:
TK1 is the precursor to TK2. TK1 focuses on preparing children for TK2 by teaching them the basic principles in math, social studies, language arts, and science. TK1 is a foundational step for TK2 that helps them best prepare for their academic career at Adda Clevenger School. TK1 focuses heavily on developmentally appropriate learning, social skills, and emotional regulation. One of the main goals for TK1 is to be introduced to a school setting that fosters independence.
Language Arts:
TK1 students will dive into the year learning the Alphabet. We will spend a significant amount of time reviewing letters using the ABC song and several letter identification activities. From there, TK1 begins early comprehension and social skills discovering Feelings and Emotions. These skills are useful in understanding character perspective and relatability. It also allows students to grow their social-emotional skills by identifying others and their own emotions. Come second semester, we will be expanding our letter identification, early reading comprehension, and fine-motor skills. Second semester takes a deep dive into early phonics. We will expand upon our letter identification and begin adding in their associated sounds. We then switch over to reading comprehension with sequencing. Sequencing is an important skill as it helps students predict and make connections between events. It also aids in summarization. Lastly, we end our school year with tracing. Throughout the school year, the TKs heavily focus on refining their fine motor skills, so that by the end of their first TK year, they have a strong fine-motor skill foundation that can then be applied to letter formation and pre-writing.
Math:
TK1 students begin their math education with shapes and colors. Students will participate in a number of activities - both individually and within a group - to identify the differences between shapes. We then explore both AB and ABC patterns in numerous formats. TK1 students will be asked to use colors, shapes, and manipulatives to create and finish patterns. We will finish our first semester in math discovering numbers. TK1 students will be asked to identify numbers 1-10 and count them using a pointer. The pointer is significant as it allows students to focus and supports accuracy in counting.
Come second semester, TK1 students will continue their number exploration. The longevity of this unit provides students with a strong foundation in number recognition which they will use for the remainder of their academic career. Students will then explore positionals (up,down, behind, over, and under). This provides students an opportunity to think about space beyond the limitations of 2-dimensions. This unit also aims at expanding their vocabulary to better describe the world around them. TK1 students will then dive into basic money functions. This will include counting money and identifying its use and recognition. This unit aims at introducing students to the concept of money rather than expecting a full understanding of how money works within the world. This unit is shorter than the rest due to its main goal being introduction of concepts. Our last two units in TK1 are simple math functions and measurements. In simple math functions, students will explore basic addition and subtraction concepts. TK1 students will use a number of manipulatives to explore these concepts - often asking students to take away a manipulative/add a manipulative and recount. The focus is not on mathematical function recognition and more on the very basic principles of taking away and adding into. Our very last unit in math focuses on basic measurement. We will use manipulatives such as counting blocks to determine the length and width of objects around the classroom. TK1 students will also be asked to compare the lengths of different objects/people. This is a fun activity for students as they are able to visually see their height differences and compare them.
Science:
TK1 students will dive into science learning about the signs and buildings in their world. This makes connections between what they are learning and their own personal world. TK1 students will explore how buildings are structurally sound using ideas of balancing and strong foundations. TK1 students will explore the surrounding neighborhood and be able to identify the different signs and their usage. From there, TK1 students begin exploring weather patterns, seasons, and days of the week. This ties back into discovering the world around them. TK1 students will contextualize material through songs and observations. Our last unit is a “rotating unit”. The goal is to explore a subject that most interests students in an attempt to capitalize on expanding understanding on a relative subject. In previous years we have explored light and space. We will begin our second semester exploring the Human Body. TK1 students will be introduced to the major organs of the human body and their function. Students will use activities such as puzzles and human figures to explore how the body works together in an efficient way. This will lead us into exploring Food. Our exploration of Food centers around categorizing and identifying different food groups. This unit attempts to make students more aware of the food they are eating so they are more knowledgeable in their decision making. Students will use food toys to categorize and explore. Come the middle of second semester, students will be introduced to the Life Cycle. Students will investigate the similarities and differences between the different animal and plant Life Cycles. TK1 students will be able to contextualize the Life Cycle using live butterflies and plants within the classroom. TK students vote on what they will like to grow and explore within the classroom setting. Our last unit in Science, capitalizes on the 3-year-old instinct to answer the “why” question. Students will use a basic outline of the Scientific Method to perform school-safe experiments. For example, students will hypothesize what will happen when you drop a mentos into coca-cola. From there, students will then test their hypothesis and revisit if they were correct in their educated guesses.
Social Studies:
TK1’s first unit in Social Studies hones in on their developmental stage of self. This unit is designed to make connections within the classroom setting while also holding onto students' individual self. Students are challenged to discuss their life - home life, likes and dislikes, and even minor details such as the color of their backpacks. This sets the foundation for “self” which can then be expanded upon to compare and contrast themselves to others. This challenges students to look beyond themselves and think about others around them. TK students then take a turn and dive into learning about Community Helpers. Community Helpers are people within our community - such as policemen, firefighters, nurses, and doctors - that help us stay safe. This is an important topic as it provides students with a sense of safety within their communities. TK1 students then use these same concepts and apply it to themselves in our “Community Leaders” unit. TK1 students are challenged to uphold safety within their community (school setting), and how they can set an example for others to follow. This unit helps students become more integrated into the school community while providing a sense of safety. Come second semester, students will explore hygiene - why and how we keep ourselves clean and safe. This unit is especially important as students will begin navigating the school by themselves. For example: the first semester TK1 students are accompanied by an adult to the bathroom; however, come the second semester, TK1 students will have more freedom to use the potty by themselves. Focusing on hygiene now prepares students to not only be hygienic but also strong community leaders. Students will use tactiles such as shaving cream to explore why tooth brushing is important, and why washing our hands is important. Our last unit in Social Studies is titled “Around the World”. This unit aims to connect students to the larger world. TK1 students explore land masses - such as oceans, mountains, and plains. They will complete activities designed to compare and contrast different land masses and even connect it to the places they live. TK1 students are also introduced to all 7 continents through music. We then finish this unit by exploring holidays that cultures might celebrate. Some holidays TK1’s have explored in the past are: Kwanzaa and Diwali.
Adda Clevenger School - Transitional Kindergarten (TK2)
Class Overview:
Our class uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate. Some important focal points in TK are developing a positive sense of self, developing and sustaining relationships with teachers and peers, working both independently and cooperatively, identifying emotions, following rules, and meeting expectations.
For TK2’s core subject matter, we bridge preschool content with the ACS kindergarten focus, all while exceeding the Transitional Kindergarten California Common Core Standards for each subject. This means we keep elements of preschool (sensory play, creativity, dramatic play, social and emotional learning, etc.) along with the goals and purpose of each subject’s content matter.
Mathematics:
In TK2, we begin the year by teaching and reiterating counting (the sequence of 1-10, and later on, up to 100, 200, and so on), and writing numbers, and there will be dedicated time to refresh our knowledge of geometry. We will also start to understand number sense in questions and learn to be thoughtful in terms of solving problems with numbers. As the school year progresses, we will dig deeper into number sense by using counting and matching strategies to solve problems, and understanding and completing addition and subtraction. Additionally, we will cover the unit of measurement, where we will compare and contrast measurable attributes of various objects, record data, and classify/sort.
English Language Arts:
We will master our knowledge of the alphabet and learn letter sounds. Students will become more familiar with listening and recalling stories, predicting the endings of stories, and answering questions about the stories. They will also become familiar with recalling the sequence of events in stories and recognizing the parts of a book such as an author, illustrator, characters, and events. Additionally, students will gain familiarity with the concept of reading -- left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
Students will begin to read high-frequency words and sound out their letters. They will start to learn or reiterate the concept of writing by practicing writing the letters, writing with uppercase first letters, and making spaces to separate words when writing. Students will work on creating sentences each week by creating their own class books and being the authors and illustrators of our books. The TK2 students will also learn about syllables, onset rimes, and rhyming words. Each week, students focus on a specific letter and learn to write both uppercase and lowercase D’Nealian handwriting. Each day, the TK2 students will be working on learning a new word and its definition.
Civility:
TK2 students will begin learning about themselves, and what makes them different and unique from their peers. They will learn about what they have in common with their peers in regard to likes and dislikes, families, and communities. We will start with the theme At School, and continue to other themes throughout the year including “ All About Me, and Our Community. We will also be focusing on The Six Pillars of Character: Caring, Responsibility, Respect, Trustworthiness, and Fairness. Students practice empathy and respect in class and school and will start to understand that their actions affect the things around them. At the beginning of the second semester, students will be joining the whole school in Team Building. Each student will be placed in different groups which consist of students and teachers from all grade levels. Team building is a class where students work together on projects or general activities. This is to help all students get to know each other and give them the opportunity to build strong bonds throughout different ages and grades. It is a great way for older students to learn about compassion and kindness with the younger students, and in turn, our younger students get to learn from them and make older friends.
Social Studies:
There will be an introduction to U.S. geography and the continents by viewing maps. Students will learn about past, present, and future events through their personal experiences, and stories told by others, and will begin to distinguish what happened in the recent past from those that happened “long ago.” The TK2 students will discuss the variety of traditions and cultures around the world, and actively participate in some of these activities. We will also cover international holidays, learn about the traditions and culture behind each, celebrate birthdays, and each other’s individuality. In addition, we will be learning about economics and how people need money in order to buy goods and services and that products in stores come from somewhere else before getting to the store. We will be learning about community workers and the role they play in our community.
Science:
TK2 students will have many opportunities to observe, experience, and experiment using their senses to investigate. We will record findings as a class and introduce the beginning of the scientific method by describing characteristics and physical properties. Students will work together, performing experiments as a group, and create new sensory materials together.
Some of the themes we will cover in science are ocean/sea life, the five senses, the human body, teeth and dental hygiene, landforms and bodies of water, and the animals that inhabit each. The students have a chance to explore with sensory activities, which change upon the theme. This invites and encourages positive interactions and behavior among the students while getting a great hands-on feel for the theme they are learning about.