Kindergarten+GPS

This information is from GeorgiaPerformanceStandards.Org
 * Reading Georgia Performance Standards**

Children enter kindergarten with a wide variety of life experiences and abilities. They continue to transition from oral literacy to written literacy during the kindergarten year. Kindergarten students begin learning concepts about print— how to hold books, how to track print, and how to distinguish words from pictures and letters from words. By the end of the year, kindergarten students should know the basics of the sound-print code—that words contain sounds that are represented by letters, and that letters combine to make words. Kindergarten students develop the ability to write letters and the ability to represent words with letters. They learn that pictures are different from words. When they begin to write, drawings represent words. During the kindergarten year, they begin to identify some basic sight words. A beginning understanding of the conventions of language is a part of the kindergarten experience. Students begin to recognize sentences, and they begin to learn that those sentences begin with capital letters and end with some type of punctuation. In kindergarten, students read and listen to several books for a variety of purposes and from various genres. They develop the ability to sustain their attention for an age-appropriate length of time, moving towards becoming independent readers. They increase the complexity of their spoken language, both with longer sentences and with more complex vocabulary through retelling and reenacting stories. Oral and written language becomes a vital part of the school day and provides the foundation for success in all aspects of learning. Students will begin to write in a variety of genres.


 * Mathematics Georgia Performance Standards**

K-12 Mathematics Introduction The Georgia Mathematics Curriculum focuses on actively engaging the students in the development of mathematical understanding by using manipulatives and a variety of representations, working independently and cooperatively to solve problems, estimating and computing efficiently, and conducting investigations and recording findings. There is a shift towards applying mathematical concepts and skills in the context of authentic problems and for the student to understand concepts rather than merely follow a sequence of procedures. In mathematics classrooms, students will learn to think critically in a mathematical way with an understanding that there are many different ways to a solution and sometimes more than one right answer in applied mathematics. Mathematics is the economy of information. The central idea of all mathematics is to discover how knowing some things well, via reasoning, permit students to know much else—without having to commit the information to memory as a separate fact. It is the connections, the reasoned, logical connections that make mathematics manageable. As a result, implementation of Georgia’s Performance Standards places a greater emphasis on problem solving, reasoning, representation, connections, and communication.

The Georgia Performance Standards are designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills for proficiency in science at the kindergarten level. The Project 2061’s Benchmarks for Science Literacy is used as the core of the curriculum to determine appropriate content and process skills for students. The GPS is also aligned to the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards. Technology is infused into the curriculum. The relationship between science, our environment, and our everyday world is crucial to each student’s success and should be emphasized. The performance standards should drive instruction. Hands-on, student-centered, and inquiry-based approaches should be the emphases of instruction. This curriculum is intended as a required curriculum that would show proficiency in science, and instruction should extend beyond the curriculum to meet student needs. Safety of the student should always be foremost in science instruction. Science consists of a way of thinking and investigating, as well a growing body of knowledge about the natural world. To become literate in science, therefore, students need to acquire an understanding of both the Characteristics of Science and its Content. The Georgia Performance Standards for Science require that instruction be organized so that these are treated together. Therefore, A CONTENT STANDARD IS NOT MET UNLESS APPLICABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE ARE ALSO ADDRESSED AT THE SAME TIME. For this reason they are presented as co-requisites. This Performance Standards include four major components. They are The Standards for Georgia Science Courses. The Characteristics of Science co-requisite standards are listed first, followed by the Content co-requisite standards. Each Standard is followed by elements that indicate the specific learning goals associated with it. Tasks that students should be able to perform during or by the end of the course. These are keyed to the relevant Standards. Some of these can serve as activities that will help students achieve the learning goals of the Standard. Some can be used to assess student learning, and many can serve both purposes. Samples of student work. As a way of indicating what it takes to meet a Standard, examples of successful student work are provided. Many of these illustrate how student work can bridge the Content and Characteristics of Science Standards. The Georgia DOE Standards web site will continue to add samples as they are identified and teachers are encouraged to submit examples from their own classroom experiences. Teacher Commentary. Teacher commentary is meant to open the pathways of communication between students and the classroom teacher. Showing students why they did or did not meet a standard enables them to take ownership of their own learning.
 * Kindergarten Science Curriculum**

In kindergarten, the students begin to understand the foundations of the social studies strands: history, geography, government, and economics. Students begin their introduction to United States history through the study of important American holidays and symbols. Basic concepts of cultural and physical geography are presented. Civics provides students with an introduction to rules and character traits of good citizens. Basic economic concepts are also introduced.
 * Kindergarten SYMBOLS OF AMERICA**