How Do I Help My Kindergartener?.

Make it stand out.

You clicked this page because you have a child in Kindergarten and a desire to get them off to a good start.

The experiences and skills that your child will bring to kindergarten may be very different the other children in class. Some may have attended a play-based preschool, some have been learning letters and numbers since they could speak, and still others may have just stayed with Grandma to enjoy one last year of no schedule.

There is not just one standard experience. The range of knowledge
and abilities of these new little students presents challenges for their  Kindergarten teacher. They will need your help!

Your role in our partnership in Kindergarten will be to introduce and practice letters, sounds, counting, writing numbers and setting the foundation for your child to be a reader, a writer, a scientist, an artist, and a mathematician.

Must Do Math

  • Your child should be able to count objects.

    They should use words like more and less to demonstrate their understanding of simple addition and subtraction.

  • Identify different shapes.

    Use words like above, below, inside, outside, together to move them around.

Must Do Language Arts

  • Your child should be learning to identify letters by name and sound.

    This includes vowels that may sound as their name.

    They should be practicing to write them.


    Your child should be learning to identify letters by name and sound.

    This includes vowels that may sound as their name.

    They should be practicing to write them.

  • Your child should be separating the beginning, middle and end sounds in words like CAT and DOG and blending them back together.

  • Your child should be able to discuss what they read in all types of texts (informative and fictional, stories and books).

    This includes identifying and describing characters, and summarizing events in what they read.

Writing

  • K.W.1
    I can use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book.  

    K.W.2
    I can use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

    K.W.3
    I can use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened..  

    K.W.4
    With guidance and support from adults, I can respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.  

    K.W.5
    With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

    K.W.6
    I can participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them).  

    K.W.7
    With guidance and support from adults, I can recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

  • K.L.1
     I can use conventions of standard English grammar when writing and speaking.  

    *I can print all upper and lowercase letters.

    *I use frequently occurring nouns and verbs

    *I can form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).

    *I can understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).

    *I can use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).

    *I can produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

    K.L2
     I have command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.  

    *I can capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.

    *I recognize and name end punctuation

    *I write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

    *I spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.  

    K.L.2
     Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content

    *I can identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck).

    *I can use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes (e.g., -ed, -s, re-, un-, pre-, -ful, -less) as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word.

    K.L.3
    I can with guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.  

    *I can sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

    *I can demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms).

    *I can identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful.)

    *I can distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.

Math

  • K.CC.1
    *I can count to 100 by ones and by tens.  

    *I can count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).  

    K.CC.2
    *I can write numbers from 0 to 20

    *I can represent a number of objects with a written numeral  0–20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).

    K.CC.3
    Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.  

    *When counting objects, I can say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.

    *I understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted.

    *I know he number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

    *I understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.

    K.CC.4

    I can count to answer how many questions about up to 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, a circle, or up to 10 things in a scattered configuration.

    Count objects from 1–20.

    K.CC.5
    I can identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies  

    K.CC.6
    I can compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals. 

  • K.OA.1
    I can represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings,2 sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

    K.OA.2
    I can solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.

    K.OA.3
    I can decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1)

    K.OA.4
    I can, for any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record the answer with a drawing or equation.

    K.OA.5
    I can fluently add and subtract within 5.

  • K.NBT.1
    I can compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 18 = 10 + 8); understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.

  • K.MD.1
    *I can describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.

    *I can describe several measurable attributes of a single object.  

    K.MD.2
    I can directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has more of/less of the attribute, and describe the difference.

    For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter..  

    K.MD.3
    I can classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.

  • K.G.1
    *I can identify and describe shapes  (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres).  

    *I can describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.  

    K.G.2
    I can correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size  

    K.G.4
    I can identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, flat) or three-dimensional (solid).

    K.G.5
    I can analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/corners) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).

    K.G.6
    I can model shapes in the world by building shapes from components
    (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.

    K.G.7
    I can compose simple shapes to form larger shapes.

    For example, Can you join these two triangles with full sides touching to make a rectangle?

Reading

  • K.RF3.3 
    I know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words both in isolation and in text. 

    *I can identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes

    *I can decode words with common Latin suffixes (-tion, -ive, -er)

    *I can decode multi-syllable words

    *I can read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words. 

    K.RF3.4 
    I can read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

    *I can read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

    *I can read on-level text with purpose and understanding.

    *I can read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

    *I can use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

  • K.RL.1
    With prompting and support, I can ask and answer questions about key details in a text.  

    K.RL.2
    With prompting and support, I can retell familiar stories, including key details.

    K.RL.3
    With prompting and support, I can identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.  

    K.RL.4
    I can ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.  

    K.RL.5
    I can recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems, fantasy, realistic text).

    K.RL.6
    With prompting and support, I can name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.  

    K.RL.7
    With prompting and support, I can describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts.)  

    K.RL.9
    With prompting and support, I can compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.  

    K.RL.10
    *I can actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. 

    *I can activate prior knowledge related to the information and events in texts.  

    *I can use illustrations and context to make predictions about text.

  • K.RI.1
    With prompting and support, I can ask and answer questions about key details in an informational text.  

    K.RI.2
    With prompting and support, I can identify the main topic and retell key details in a text  

    K.RI.3
    With prompting and support, I can describe the connection between two individuals, events, or ideas in a text.    

    K.RI.4
    With prompting and support, I can ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text  

    K.RI.5
    I can identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book  

    K.RI.6
    I can name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text  

    K.RI.7
    With prompting and support, I can describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear.  

    K.RI.8
    With prompting and support, I can identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.  

    K.RI.9
    With prompting and support, I can identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic

    K.RI.10
    *I can actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

    *I can activate prior knowledge related to the information and events in texts.  

    *I can use illustrations and context to make predictions about text