Welcome to Grandview School

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Welcome to Grandview SchoolsKindergarten
Orientation
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Piscataway offers a full day kindergarten program
that uses the Tools of the Mind curriculum.
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Tools of the Mind is a child-centered program
that teaches every student at their own
level. Tools of the Mind is a program that is
filled with literature, comprehension strategies,
and writing.   Tools of the Mind teaches
mathematical concepts through hands-on
experiences. Tools of the Mind incorporates
Self-regulation, Science and Social Studies into
various themes throughout the year.
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A Day in the Life of a Kindergartner

• Arrival of bus students and walkers
• Morning Classroom Routines
• Your child needs to learn responsibility and
  unpack his or her belongings.

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Question of the Day

• Every day the students participate in opening
  activities. 
•  
• When the children enter the classroom, they
  answer a question of the day.  The question of
  the day changes throughout the year.  
•     Examples 
• Are you wearing ___?,
• identifying rhyming words
• same beginning/ending consonant sound
• parts to make a shape...
•  
• Students also participate in counting jar
  activities and attendance sticks.

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Morning Meeting

• Weather Graph- One space is filled in each day. 
  Students are asked questions about the data. 
•     Examples Most/Least, How many more/less
  than?...
•  
• Timeline- A linear calendar that shows the
  continuum of time.  We discuss days of the week
  and months of the year.  We record information on
  the calendar.
•  
• Message of the Day- A sentence written on the
  board using the stem, "We are going to ____."

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September and October

• The beginning of the year starts with fairy
  tales, such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks
  and the Three Bears, and The Three Billy Goats
  Gruff.
•   
• Students learn how to identify the characters,
  setting, plot, and solution to each story. 
•  
• Students are able to retell the beginning,
  middle end of the story.
•  
• Students are able to compare and contrast
  different versions of the fairy tales. 
• October to June
• Students will start to listen to The Magic Tree
  House chapter books.

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Storyboards
 
l                                l                
                l                              l  
                              l                   
           l                                l     
                         l                        
        l                              l          
                      l                           
   l                                l             
                 l                                
l                              l                  
              l                              l    
                            l                     
         l                     
Here is a sample Storyboard showing the
beginning, middle, and the end of Little Red
Riding Hood.
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Literacy Centers

• Each week children are assigned to groups that
  rotate to one center per day.  Groups are changed
  weekly.
•  
• Blocks- Large wooden blocks, Legos...
•  
• Math- Manipulatives for hands-on activities...
•  
• Dramatic Play- Housekeeping area
•  
• Literacy- Puppets, flannel-board magnetic
  characters...
•  
• Science- Sand table, different items to
  investigate...

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Center Plans

• Once a student goes to their center, the first
  thing they have to do is write what they plan to
  do in their center.
•  
• Students in a traditional program would write a
  string of letters together for a sentence.
•                               Example   imgtbdw 
•  
• Tools of the Mind teaches students to write with 
  a correspondence between spoken words and lines.
• ______   ___  _______  ____ 
  ____  ____  ______.
•  
•   
•     I            M       G              
  T         B         D           W      .
•           am     going           to      
  be      the       wolf
• Students draw a picture that corresponds with
  their sentence. When their plan is complete,
  they will act out the story in their center. The
  plan will remind them which character they chose.

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How do they know which letters to write?

• Students use something called a Sound Map" to
  help them write.  A sound map has all of the
  consonants with a corresponding picture to help
  students figure out which letter to use. 
• For example, if a student wanted to write the
  word "Mom", he or she would look at the sound map
  and locate the "monkey".  "Mom" and "monkey" both
  start with the "mmm" sound, so the student
  would write the letter "M". 
• There is also a "Vowel Map" with short and long
  vowel sounds, which is introduced after the
  consonants are learned.

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Teacher Scaffolding

• The teacher scaffolds each child's writing on his
  or her level.
•  
• Sample Scaffolds
• Picture, Message, Lines, Initial Sounds, Ending
  Sounds, Medial Sounds, Alphabetic Principle,
  Word Principle
•  
•  
• The teacher conferences weekly with each child to
  set goals and discuss whether or not the previous
  goal was achieved.  This encourages children to
  self-reflect on their own work and focus on one
  small area to improve.

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Mathematics

• Students complete daily hands-on math
  activities. 
•  
• Mathematical activities are a combination of
• Tools of the Mind and Scott Foresman
  Investigations. 

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Some of the math topics covered in kindergarten
include

•     Patterning
•     Calendar and timeline concepts
•     Developing number sense and 1 to 1
  correspondence
•     Counting and writing numbers above 50
  (preferably to
• 100)
•     Collecting, recording, interpreting data-
• graphs, tallies, survey questions, most, least,
  how
• many more/less than...
•     Exploring geometry-shapes solid figures
•     Simple problem solving and explanation
•     Ordering amounts -most to least, least to
  most
•     Money
•     Time
•     Indentifying parts of a whole
•     Simple addition and subtraction problems
•     Using math vocabulary

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Self- Regulation

• In order for children to be successful, they must
  develop self-regulation.
•   
•     The ability to stay on task
•     Ignore distractions
•     Remember on purpose
•     Hold two directions or strategies in mind at
  
• one time
•     The development of self-discipline
•     Motivation to succeed
• Students achieve this through songs, finger
  plays, Graphic Practice, Buddy Reading, Share the
  News, etc.

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Lunch

• Students may either bring a lunch from home of
  purchase lunch at school.
• Students will eat in the cafeteria.
• Sodexho PayPams- Pre-payment of food

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Special Areas

• The students are supported by a part time
  assistant in each classroom.
•  
•  
• The students participate in the following classes
  once a week
• Physical Education
•      Art
•      Music
•     

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Dismissal

• Students will be expected to pack up their
  belongings independently.

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Other Important Facts to Know

• Healthy Snacks should be provided every day for
  your child.
• Label ALL personal belongings and clothing with a
  permanent marker.
• Label lunch money with your childs name in
  either an envelope or a Ziploc Bag.
• The Magic Tree House series is used in our
  kindergarten curriculum. PLEASE do not read them
  to your child before we read them in class.
• You will receive a letter in August from your
  childs teacher stating which room your child is
  in and supplies that are needed.