Lutheran Elementary School of Bay Ridge

Language Arts

Language immersion is the guiding principle of the kindergarten language arts program. Students participate in listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities in the subject areas throughout the school day. Good listening skills are fostered when the children listen to the teacher read aloud, with audio books, during discussions, and while following directions for board games or pencil and paper activities. Listening for letter sounds during phonics activities or for rhyming words is another way skills are enhanced. Kindergarten students learn that there is a connection between spoken and written language as they dictate individual or group stories and subsequently observe their words in print. They begin the formal writing process by copying words or phrases. Gradually, they are asked to use their knowledge of phonics to approximate the correct spelling of words. Encouraging the use of phonetic spelling promotes writing fluency. As the school year progresses, the Kindergartners’ attention is called to the correct spelling of high frequency words. Specific writing activities include copying words, writing individual words or sentences for a group book, and journals. Emergent-reading skills involve retelling stories, working with poems, sharing books with friends, choral reading as a class, reading personally dictated material, and reading independently. A more sequential and structured component has been added to the language program. This will include phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, and beginning direct language instruction. Formal language arts lessons and activities are taught to the entire class. In addition, the children receive individual reading instruction at their level of ability.

Mathematics (Kindergarten – Grade 4)

Our students learn to see math in everyday life, and we constantly encourage our students to visualize numbers and look for mathematical patterns. At every grade level we learn that math is not an isolated subject. Students see patterns and geometric shapes in our gardening class, or bridge social studies and math by creating shops in class where items can be purchased reinforcing addition, subtraction, money sense, community, goods and service.

Students begin exploring numbers and mathematical ideas with concrete materials, progress to pictorial representations, and finally, reason abstractly with symbols. Our classes are structured so that they use a variety of manipulative materials, age-appropriate technology, and games to construct their own meanings for key mathematical concepts. We use flexible groupings and differentiate instruction so that each child feels competent and challenged. We recognize that enduring learning takes time and practice. Students master the basic number facts through the use of efficient strategies

Mathematics

Kindergarten students are guided towards discovering the relevance of math in their daily lives. Each day begins by counting the number of days in school and exploring how to use the calendar during their morning message. Children learn to count, use one to one correspondence, collect data, and compare number quantities. Kindergarten explores composing and decomposing numbers up to 20, learning through multiples of one and ten. Students learn to understand addition as putting sets together and adding to and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from. Understanding numbers and operations in base ten helps students develop a foundation for understanding place value. Students describe and identify objects based on attributes and recognize and describe simple repeating patterns. They are introduced to measurement, sorting, and classifying, and geometric shapes. The children work with a variety of manipulatives to help them visualize their thinking and solidify their understanding.

Science

Kindergarten children have a natural curiosity for the world around them. Our curriculum is designed to build on their curiosity and help children to ask questions and investigate our world. Children participate in small-group and whole class activities. The lessons are often integrated into our reading and social studies curriculum. Topics of study include weather and the water cycle; states of matter; the human body and nutrition; the rainforest; dinosaurs and fossils; insects and the life cycle of butterflies; and the ocean.

Social Studies

Culture plays an essential role in how children make sense of the world around them. Kindergarten students, while aware of their surroundings, are just beginning to understand more global concepts such as the Earth and its large land masses. In Kindergarten we will take an exciting trip around the world! With the stamp of a passport the children are transported to the 7 continents. As part of a rich exploration of the continent’s geography, climate and animal life we are bringing cultural awareness to our classroom Through story, art and guided lessons children are exposed to the diversity of our world's population.

Music