Program of Studies
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Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................1 Chicago Jewish Day School..................................................................................................... 2
Our Mission........................................................................................................2 Our Vision...........................................................................................................2 Educational Philosophy Statement........................................................................................ 4 Developmental Overview....................................................................................................... 7
Philosophy...........................................................................................................7 Description of 5-Year-Olds and 6-Year-Olds.......................................................7 Social and Emotional Development.....................................................................8 Play......................................................................................................................9 Curricular Highlights............................................................................................................ 10
Reggio Emilia Approach................................................................................... 10 Experiential Learning........................................................................................ 11 Integration......................................................................................................... 12 Kindergarten Theme and Highlights................................................................. 12 The City as Our Classroom............................................................................... 12 Academic Curriculum............................................................................................................ 13
Language Arts................................................................................................... 13 Portrait of a Literate Individual.......................................................................... 14 Hebrew and Judaic Studies................................................................................ 26 Mathematics......................................................................................................28 Social Sciences................................................................................................... 32 Science............................................................................................................... 33 Fine Arts, Physical Education, and Health......................................................... 34 Technology........................................................................................................ 36
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Introduction The curriculum of any school represents the integration of philosophy and practical application. The curriculum is the working, breathing, and organic tool which serves as a guide — a compass if you will — for our faculty. One of the most essential components in the creation of curriculum materials is the ownership and investment of the faculty. Another essential element is the internalization of academic standards by the faculty so that the standards are integrated into the objectives; therefore, curriculum documents inform practical application, unit development, and lesson planning. The partnership between parents and teachers is always important and, therefore, it is important for parents to understand that curriculum documentation is an ongoing process that is subject to review and change as a school’s curriculum evolves over time, always reflecting mission, vision, philosophy, and standards. We hope this curriculum summary serves as a guide for you, our parents, to navigate and understand in the broad strokes the skills, core concepts, and objectives that are part of your child’s experience at Chicago Jewish Day School.
Introduction
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Chicago Jewish Day School Educating our children in the richness of their past, the diversity of their present, and the possibilities for their future. Our Mission Chicago Jewish Day School creates for its students a standard of excellence in both Judaic and General Studies. Our students develop a passion for learning and a strong sense of themselves as Jews and as human beings. We inspire our students to: • develop a strong Jewish identity through an integrated curriculum within a nurturing, stimulating, and creative environment • become a community of Jewish learners • respect and appreciate diversity • love Torah, Israel, Hebrew language, and prayer • be contributing, caring, and knowledgeable members of our community, our country, and the world
Our Vision Chicago Jewish Day School provides a standard of excellence in both Judaic and General Studies through an integrated, multisensory curriculum that is attentive to students’ individual needs. Students learn a rich system of Jewish values, which stresses the practice of mitzvot and the development of ethical character. Through school experiences, our students gain creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills and develop a passion for lifelong learning. Chicago Jewish Day School serves the entire Jewish community and is a leader in promoting togetherness, cooperation, and respect across all Jewish denominations. Our educational approach appreciates and affirms differences in Jewish philosophy and background and values the range of Jewish religious practices among its students. At Chicago Jewish Day School, Jewish tradition informs our curriculum, calendar, celebrations, and daily schedule. We are committed to transmitting an in-depth knowledge of sacred Jewish texts and rituals, tradition and customs, and Jewish history. Our students gain fluency in reading, speaking, and understanding Hebrew language and literature, both classical and modern.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Students also discover how to have a significant and joyful relationship with God, how to pray as a Jew, and to appreciate the centrality of Israel — the people and the land. Through this knowledge and experience, our students build meaningful Jewish lives. We are equally dedicated to excellence in our General Studies program, encompassing language arts, mathematics, social and natural sciences, the humanities, and technology. Chicago Jewish Day School weaves values of Tikun Olam (repairing the world) into every aspect of the school experience. Faculty, students, and parents are strongly encouraged to participate in activities that improve the world and promote justice, peace, compassion, and respect. Our school operates as a community of learners with students, teachers, and families all partaking in the educational process. Our teachers and school staff care deeply about the school, the children with whom they work, and Jewish education. They understand and embrace the school’s mission, adopting and supporting the principles we value as a school community. Because we believe that students are inspired by adults who appreciate learning and who pursue their own emotional, intellectual, and religious growth, the school encourages and provides ongoing educational opportunities for teachers, parents, and all community members. Chicago Jewish Day School establishes a safe, supportive environment that fosters the kind of trust and warmth that lets students take risks and rise to challenges. Such an environment allows each student to shine, to strive for personal excellence, and to develop a strong sense of self.
Mission and Vision
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Educational Philosophy Statement At Chicago Jewish Day School we educate children to think clearly and deeply, to gain knowledge and acquire judgment, and to respect diversity. We are committed to developing critical thinking and socially engaged intelligence that enables each individual to understand and participate effectively in the affairs of their community, country, Israel, and the world at large in a collaborative effort to achieve a common good. At Chicago Jewish Day School, we strive for learning to be authentic and meaningful and to inspire a passion for life-long learning. This document defines our vision of excellence in education.
Deep Understanding At Chicago Jewish Day School, we focus our teaching around thinking, stressing knowledge over information. Our inquiry-based curriculum encourages a curious, questioning and critical stance and develops a deepening understanding of important ideas. Facts and skills are important in a context and for a purpose. We challenge students by inviting them to think deeply about the issues that matter, helping them understand ideas from the inside out, and making connections between ideas and concepts. Students can then actively use these insights to apply what they have learned to their daily lives, expand understanding and even take action. Through school experiences, our students gain creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills and develop a passion for lifelong learning.*
Active and Experiential Learning At Chicago Jewish Day School, curriculum is authentic and meaningful. Students understand that what they learn in school is applicable to the broader outside world. Learning is integrated between the disciplines to demonstrate to students how ideas span the different content areas. Students play a vital role in formulating the questions, seeking out and creating answers, thinking through possibilities, and evaluating how successful they have been. Students’ own questions are truly valued and integral to the learning process. Learning is a matter of constructing ideas rather than passively absorbing information or practicing skills.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Student-Centered Learning At Chicago Jewish Day School, we take our cue from the students — and are particularly attentive to student individuality. The question, “What is best for the student?” is at the core of all decisions. Each student is unique. Therefore, policies as well as learning and behavioral expectations are established in a broad manner that allows for individualized decision-making that reflects our respect for the individual student and his/her needs. We celebrate the developmental stages of learning and provide for each student’s unique timetable for unfolding his/her abilities. Chicago Jewish Day School provides a standard of excellence in both Judaic and General Studies through an integrated, multisensory curriculum that is attentive to students’ individual needs.*
Intrinsic Motivation At Chicago Jewish Day School, we offer our students more choices — and more responsibilities. Our educational policies and practices are driven by the central question, “What is the effect on students’ interest in learning, their desire to continue reading, thinking, and questioning?” This question helps to determine what students will and won’t be asked to do. Our goal is for each student to leave Chicago Jewish Day School with a passion for learning along with the academic tools they need to be life-long learners.
Social Justice (Tikun Olam) “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?” –rabbi hillel
A sense of community and responsibility for oneself and others isn’t confined to the classroom; indeed, students are helped to explore how they fit into widening circles of care that extend beyond self, beyond friends, beyond their own religious/denominational group, and beyond their own country. Opportunities are offered not only to learn about, but also to put into action, a commitment to diversity and to improving the lives of others. Chicago Jewish Day School weaves values of Tikun Olam (repairing the world) into every aspect of the school experience.*
Collaboration The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interactions. At Chicago Jewish Day School children learn with and from one another in a caring community in both social as well as academic learning. Interdependence counts at least as much as independence. We help learners engage with ideas and drive each other’s thinking — to build knowledge, to care and to act.
Educational Philosophy Statement
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Play Children learn through play. They must be active participants in the construction of knowledge and need concrete experiences to shape thoughts and concepts. Teachers provide materials and an enriched environment so that children can be challenged and totally involved in play. The teachers pose questions and elicit answers among the students to expand the experience, thus guiding in the discovery of knowledge and facilitation of play.
Attending to the Whole Child At Chicago Jewish Day School, we believe in educating the whole child — taking into account the social, emotional, academic, spiritual, physical, and creative needs of a student. We are concerned with helping children become good learners and furthermore good people. Our social and academic learning are intertwined and each one enhances the other. At Chicago Jewish Day School, we set the tone and atmosphere for students to learn outside of their comfort zone and take risks as part of the learning process. Chicago Jewish Day School establishes a safe, supportive environment which fosters the kind of trust and warmth that encourages students to take risks and rise to challenges.*
*Excerpt from Chicago Jewish Day School Mission and Vision statement.
Resources http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/articles/proged.html http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/progressive.htm Inquiry Circles, Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels Understanding by Design, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Developmental Overview Philosophy At Chicago Jewish Day School, we believe in an approach to learning in which all stages of development are celebrated. Each child is a unique individual with his or her own rate and pattern of maturation. The job of a teacher is to accept each student at his or her current stage and to facilitate his or her advancement to the next stage. Children are natural planners at all stages of development, and they respond well to a daily schedule. Clear boundaries and structure allow them to confidently participate in activities and games.
Description of 5-Year-Olds and 6-Year-Olds Five-year-olds accomplish great advances in social and academic areas. At times they are cautious and at other times they thrive on experimentation. Therefore, they benefit from both structured and exploratory environments. They are the centers of their own universe and have trouble seeing things from other people’s perspectives. Throughout the year children continue to work on initiating and sustaining cooperative play. Children at this age are literal thinkers and take comfort in following the rules. However, they begin to develop independence and test limits as the year progresses. Five-year-olds learn best through hands-on activities and play, and they still require a great deal of physical activity. At five, children are learning to take turns, negotiate and problem solve conflicts independently but often look to their teachers for approval. Six-year-olds demonstrate significant physical, cognitive, and social growth with considerable variation amongst the children. A hallmark of the 6-year-old is the developing ability to see the perspective of another person. They are now able to consider and understand rules and conduct with greater objectivity. The process is more important than the product for 6-year-olds, resulting in high enthusiasm for learning and work with less stress on the outcome. In the child’s social development, the importance of friends challenges the importance of parents and teachers. Six-year-olds have a broader perspective of the world that is less secure and more unpredictable than previously thought. The child works hard to make sense of and put structure to their world. Consequently, 6-year-olds tend to be sensitive to the words and tones — both positive and negative — of their peers, parents, and teachers. Six-year-olds are at a stage of transition where they are asserting their independence without fully being able to disconnect from their parents and teachers. They, therefore, may act out with cries of “I can do it!” while still seeking the encouragement and reassurance of their parents and teachers.
Developmental Overview
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Social and Emotional Development Academic achievement is advanced through an integrated social and academic curriculum. Research confirms that the time spent on social and emotional learning is earned back in classrooms that run more effectively and efficiently; however, we also know that social skills are not taught just so that children behave better in order to get on with the “real” business of schooling. Rather, social skills are intertwined with cognitive growth and intellectual progress. A person who can listen well and frame a good question, who has the assertiveness to pose questions, and who can examine a situation from a number of perspectives will be a strong learner. All of these skills — essential to academic learning — are modeled daily through our social-skills program, Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom is an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging, and joyful classrooms and schools. The Guiding Principles of Responsive Classroom
• The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum. • How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand. • The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction. • There is a set of social skills children need in order to be successful academically and socially: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES).
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• Knowing the children we teach — individually, culturally, and developmentally — is as important as knowing the content we teach. • Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children’s education. • How the adults at school work together is as important as individual competence — lasting change begins with the adult community. The Teaching Practices of Responsive Classroom
• Morning Meeting A daily routine that builds community, creates a positive climate for learning, and reinforces academic and social skills. • Rules and Logical Consequences A clear and consistent approach to discipline that fosters responsibility and self-control. • Guided Discovery A format for introducing materials that encourages inquiry, heightens interest, and teaches care of the school environment. • Academic Choice An approach to giving children choices in their learning that helps them become invested, self-motivated learners. • Classroom Organization Strategies for arranging materials, furniture, and displays to encourage independence, promote care, and maximize learning. • Working with Families Ideas for involving families as true partners in their children’s education.
Play Young children learn through play. They must be active participants in the construction of knowledge and need concrete experiences to shape thoughts and concepts. Teachers provide materials and an enriched environment so that children can be challenged and totally involved in play. Then the teachers can pose questions and elicit answers among the students to expand the experience, thus guiding in the discovery of knowledge and facilitation of play.
Developmental Overview
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Curricular Highlights Reggio Emilia Approach At the core of this approach, children are honored as we embrace the knowledge and wonder that children bring to the learning experience. The environment inspires their exploration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving as they build a deeper understanding of the world around them. As a Jewish school, Judaism serves as the lens in which we educate our children. Key elements of a Reggio-inspired classroom include: • Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interactions with others. – There is a strong focus on social collaboration where each child’s thoughts and questions are valued. – Working in small groups enables children to grow and develop through their interactions with peers, educators, and the world around us. • Children are natural communicators and use the Hundred Languages of Children to investigate, explore, and reflect on their experiences. – The concept of The Hundred Languages of Children, created by the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, Loris Malaguzzi, encourages children to express their ideas, wonders, and explorations through words, movement, drawings, paintings, buildings, sculptures, photos, etc. • The classroom environment acts as the third teacher. – The environment is recognized for its potential to inspire children. – The environment is filled with beauty and order and every material is considered for its purpose. – The classroom environment is ever-changing to encourage the children to delve deeper into their interests. – The space encourages collaboration, communication, and exploration. – Children are respected as capable and provided with authentic materials and tools. – The space is cared for by the children and adults. • An emergent curriculum develops from the collaboration of the teachers and children where educators serve as mentors and guides. – The role of the educators is to observe children, listen to their questions and stories, find what interests them and then provide them with opportunities to explore these interests further.
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• Documenting children’s thoughts, ideas, questions, and interests makes learning visible. – Educators carefully document children’s thoughts and ideas through transcripts, photos, videos, and visual representations. – This documentation is displayed and shared in a manner that makes learning visible to the children, their parents, and the community. – Documentation brings further depth to children’s learning as they revisit their experiences and reflect on their learning. – Documentation demonstrates a respect for children’s work. – The documentation informs the educators of the ideas, thoughts, questions, and interests of the children. It is from studying these documentations that the educators make planning decisions based on what individuals or groups of children find interesting, stimulating or challenging. • Parents are partners in education. – Parents are respected as a critical component of their child’s learning community.
Experiential Learning Experiential learning at Chicago Jewish Day School encourages a sense of ownership, allowing students to construct their own learning and make it come to life. Students have the opportunity to acquire and apply knowledge in a setting that is both appropriate and relevant. The students will interact directly with the area of study, resulting in an authentic and meaningful learning experience. Rather than merely thinking or reading about the topic, the students live and breathe it!
Curricular Highlights
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Integration Integration is a central component of Chicago Jewish Day School’s curriculum. Integrated learning allows children to broadly explore knowledge in various subjects as they relate to a certain theme. At Chicago Jewish Day School, we strive to integrate all of the curricular disciplines, such as the humanities, communication arts, natural sciences, mathematics, social studies, music, art, and physical education. Judaic Studies and Hebrew are integrated throughout all of these disciplines in meaningful and authentic ways. This holistic approach to learning reflects the real world, which is interactive, and promotes lifelong learning.
Kindergarten Theme and Highlights Community • Kehilla
Throughout the school year, we will integrate the theme of Kehilla (community). Our goal is for our students to leave Kindergarten with a strong sense of belonging to a community of learners that is based on mutual respect, trust, kindness, and responsibility. Our community will be built as we learn about our Jewish traditions, holidays, and values and as we form habits of goodness in our daily language and social interactions. We will learn about our responsibility toward the different aspects of a community with our thematic units on names, friendship, family, animals, and Israel. Kehilla will guide us as we learn, play, explore, and discover together. Classroom Highlights
At Chicago Jewish Day School, students are regularly provided with experiential learning opportunities. From language arts to math, science, social studies, and Hebrew and Judaic Studies, students are frequently engaged in active learning. A Kindergartner can be found cooperatively working to build and manage a stuffed-animal shelter during the animal unit, creating structures using different solid materials in the solids and liquids unit, and working on a kibbutz (a communal settlement in Israel) as we explore Israel. They are encouraged to act out a story they have just read in shared reading or play a math game to reinforce concepts introduced earlier in the day.
The City as Our Classroom We are devoted to the idea of exploring our environment and acquainting ourselves with the sights, smells, and culture of our surrounding community. Throughout the year, we will take walks around the neighborhood; visit local museums, synagogues, libraries, and the lakefront; and attend plays and symphonies. We look forward to learning from our community and inviting people who live and work around us into our classroom. We feel that their presence and knowledge enhances our learning. We believe there is tremendous value in connecting to the larger community and encourage our students to take care of each other and the world.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Academic Curriculum Chicago Jewish Day School provides a standard of excellence in both Judaic and General Studies through an integrated, experiential curriculum that is attentive to students’ individual needs. We align our learning expectations with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Through school experiences, our students gain creative-thinking and critical thinking skills and develop a passion for lifelong learning. In the following pages, you will learn in detail about Chicago Jewish Day School’s curriculum in language arts, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, mathematics, social sciences, science, fine arts, physical education, health, and technology.
Language Arts In our study of language arts at Chicago Jewish Day School, we strive to encourage a love of language and consistent exposure to the written word. Language experiences are woven into the fabric of our daily curriculum. Our language arts program is designed to produce readers who read for pleasure, information, and knowledge, and writers who write to communicate meaning. Through the study of the language arts, students will learn to read fluently and understand a broad range of written materials. They must be able to communicate well and listen carefully and effectively. They should develop a command of the language and demonstrate their knowledge through speaking and writing for a variety of audiences and purposes. In addition, students must be able to study, retain, and use information from many sources. Teachers strive to create literate classrooms in which students are offered abundant opportunities to speak, listen, read, and write. Phonemic awareness, phonetics, shared reading, and journaling are stressed in the Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten classrooms. Beginning in Grade One, students learn in a reading and writing workshop model that teaches new literacy skills daily and gives children the freedom to work at their own pace and learning level. Language Arts Components
• Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate sound units (phonemes) in spoken language. Children look at words independent of their meaning, see associations between sounds and words, and rearrange sounds to construct new words. Some examples include: listening for and identifying rhyming words; identifying beginning, middle, and end sounds; and counting and clapping out the number of sounds in words. • Shared Writing In shared writing, the teacher and students brainstorm ideas and thoughts together, and the teacher acts as a scribe, writing the text as it is composed. Shared writing allows students to actively participate in the thought process involved in writing and not focus on the physical aspect of writing. Shared writing is also an effective method of teaching key concepts and skills needed in the writing process.
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• Journaling Journaling can take many forms depending on the developmental level of the student. From dictating their thoughts and ideas to a teacher to independently writing about their daily lives and feelings, students express themselves to their teachers and classmates in journals. Journals can also be used to tell stories and write scientific observations, literature responses, and mathematical explanations. • D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) D.E.A.R. provides students with time to read self-chosen texts. It promotes enjoyment of reading and allows children to see that reading for fun and pleasure is a valuable experience. • Buddy Reading Buddy reading is a time for students to read in multi-age groups. Students of different grade levels read to each other, practicing reading with fluency and expression, as well as developing listening and comprehension skills. This time also promotes relationships across the grade levels. • Shared Reading/Read Aloud This is a time for students and teachers to come together to read a common text. The teacher models appropriate reading skills, such as expression and fluency. This is an opportunity for teachers and students to read together, as well as share their thoughts and ideas. • Speaking and Listening The development and use of communication and language is at the heart of children’s learning. Our students develop speaking and listening skills across the curriculum through daily sharing, Morning Meeting, book talks, oral presentations, question and answer sessions, and small and large discussion groups.
Portrait of a Literate Individual Based on the Common Core State Standards As students advance from Kindergarten through Grade Eight and master the standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, they are able to exhibit with increasing fullness and regularity these capacities of the literate individual. They demonstrate independence.
Students can, without significant scaffolding, comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a range of types and disciplines, and they can construct effective arguments and convey intricate or multifaceted information. Likewise, students are able independently to discern a speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask relevant questions. They build on others’ ideas, articulate their own ideas, and confirm they have been understood. Without prompting, they demonstrate command of standard English and acquire and use a wide-ranging vocabulary. More broadly, they become self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and using resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital reference materials. They build strong content knowledge.
Students establish a base of knowledge across a wide range of subject matter by engaging with works of quality and substance. They become proficient in new areas through research and study. They read purposefully and listen attentively to gain both general knowledge and discipline-specific expertise. They refine and share their knowledge through writing and speaking.
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They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
Students adapt their communication in relation to audience, task, purpose, and discipline. They set and adjust purpose for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use as warranted by the task. They appreciate nuances, such as how the composition of an audience should affect tone when speaking and how the connotations of words affect meaning. They also know that different disciplines call for different types of evidence (e.g., documentary evidence in history, experimental evidence in science). They comprehend as well as critique.
Students are engaged and open-minded — but discerning — readers and listeners. They work diligently to understand precisely what an author or speaker is saying, but they also question an author’s or speaker’s assumptions and premises and assess the veracity of claims and the soundness of reasoning. They value evidence.
Students cite specific evidence when offering an oral or written interpretation of a text. They use relevant evidence when supporting their own points in writing and speaking, making their reasoning clear to the reader or listener, and they constructively evaluate others’ use of evidence. They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.
Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use. They tailor their searches online to acquire useful information efficiently, and they integrate what they learn using technology with what they learn offline. They are familiar with the strengths and limitations of various technological tools and mediums and can select and use those best suited to their communication goals. They come to understand other perspectives and cultures.
Students appreciate that the twenty-first-century classroom and workplace are settings in which people from often widely divergent cultures and who represent diverse experiences and perspectives must learn and work together. Students actively seek to understand other perspectives and cultures through reading and listening, and they are able to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds. They evaluate other points of view critically and constructively. Through reading great classic and contemporary works of literature representative of a variety of periods, cultures, and worldviews, students can vicariously inhabit worlds and have experiences much different than their own.
Reading Literature Key Knowledge
General terms • A text is a book or other written piece of work. • A story is a narrative, either real or imaginary, designed to interest, amuse or instruct the hearer or reader. • Text types: storybooks, poems
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• Differences between prose and poetry (e.g., structure, form) • The author is the person who writes the story. • The illustrator is the person who produces the pictures in a story (i.e., the illustrations). Literary terms • Characters are people, things, or animals that play a part in a story. Characters often face trouble or have problems to solve. Characters can be described in terms of how they look, think, feel and act. • The setting is where and when a story takes place. • The problem in a story is the challenge or trouble faced by the main character(s) in the story. The solution or resolution in a story is how the problem ends, or is solved or fixed. • An event is something that happened in a story. A major event in a story is an event that has a strong relationship to the problem. The events in a story happen in a sequence (an order). • The central message of a story is the main point, big idea, or lesson that the author wants the reader to take away from the story. Skill-based terms • Retelling is telling a story again in your own words, including the key details in the story while staying true to the central message of the story. • The key details are the most important details about some element of the story (e.g., a character, setting, problem, lesson) Essential Skills (Standards)
With prompting and support... 1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2. Retell familiar stories, including key details. 3. Identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. 4. Name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story. 5. Describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts). 6. Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. Independently... 7. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. 8. Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems). 9. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Reading Informational Text Key Knowledge
General terms • The author(s) is the person who writes the text. • The illustrator is the person who produces the pictures or photographs in a text. Text types, features, and structures • A text is a piece of written work. An informational text gives true/accurate information (facts) and/or expresses opinions about a topic. • A fact is something that can be proven as true. • There are different types of informational texts about many kinds of topics. • The topic is the main focus, thought, or subject of a written work. Topics of informational texts can include people, events, processes (how-to), or places related to science, history, technology, the arts, etc. • An event is something that happens. • Informational text comes in different forms (e.g., books, articles, short paragraphs). – Books have front and back covers and a title page. • Characters are people, things, or animals that can help provide information in a narrative informational text (e.g., Ms. Frizzle in Magic School Bus). • Text features in informational text make the text easier to read. Examples of text features include a glossary, table of contents, captions, and labels. Terms related to opinion texts • An opinion is what someone thinks, prefers, or believes about something (e.g., a topic, a book). • A point is an important idea related to a topic that an author wants the reader to remember, agree with, or take away. • A reason is an explanation for why an author thinks something is important or has a particular opinion (i.e., why he/she thinks a certain way). Skill-based terms • The key details are the most important pieces of information in a text. • Retelling is telling the about a topic [of an informational] in your own words, including the key details. Essential Skills (Standards)
As applied to a range of grade-level complex informational text... With prompting and support... 1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2. Identify the main topic and retell key details in a text. 3. Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. 4. A sk and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
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5. Describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts). 6. Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. 7. Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). Independently... 8. Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. 9. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text. 10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Foundational Skills Key Knowledge
Prerequisite Knowledge • The English alphabet has 26 letters (21 consonants and 5 vowels). • Letters can be consonants or vowels. (The letter “y” acts as a consonant or a vowel, depending on the word.) • Letters and letter combinations make sounds. Letters and letter combinations can make more than one sound. Different letter combinations can make the same sound. • Vowels can be short or long (in the sounds they make). • Words are built from/made up of vowels and consonants. We read words on page from left to right, top to bottom, and page to page. • Words rhyme when they have the same or similar ending sounds. • All words can be “broken up” into one or more syllables. A syllable is a word part that contains a single vowel sound. • Some words “show up” in reading more often than others, i.e., they’re high-frequency words. Continuing/Targeted Key Knowledge • Sight words are words that readers can memorize and read “whole”— without sounding them out. (They know the words by sight!) Sight words are usually shorter words that show up a lot in reading (they’re high-frequency). Memorizing sight words can make reading “faster.” • Adding, substituting or taking away letters in a word can make new words. Often, the “old” word and the “new” word rhyme. • An inflectional ending is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning (e.g., -s, -es, -ed, -ing). • Words can be categorized/organized according to patterns they follow (in how they’re spelled, how they sound). Some words follow patterns that are easier to “see” or hear than other words.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
• Words can have beginning/initial sounds, medial/middle sounds and ending/final sounds (a.k.a., the first speech sound, the last speech sound). • The sounds in a word can be blended or separated/segmented to “make” or “read” the word. • Chunking is a strategy for decoding longer or unfamiliar multi-syllable words that don’t follow simple patterns. • Readers read words in a context. Context can refer to the words around a word, the kind of text in which the word appears, and what’s happening in the text when and where the word appears. Readers can use and think about context by re-reading one or more sentences (as well as pictures). • Fluency is the ability to read something “smoothly” and easily. Fluency comprises accuracy (decoding words correctly), rate (decoding words an appropriate speed/flow), and expression (reading and interpreting the words as they are intended to be read). Essential Skills (Standards)
Print Concepts 1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. • Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page. • Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters. • Separate words by spaces in print. • Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet. Phonological Awareness 2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). • Recognize and pronounce individual consonant and vowel phonemes at level of developmental readiness. • Recognize/produce rhyming words. • Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words. • Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single syllable spoken words. • Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.) • Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words. Phonics and Word Recognition 3. K now and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. • Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant. • Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
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• Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does). • Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ. Fluency 4. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge Key Knowledge
• Research is the process of seeking out and gathering information to answer a question. • Inquiry is the act of asking for information or thinking about something unknown [questioning/wondering]. • A source is a person, place, or thing that can provide information. It’s where information can “come from.” • A source can be print-based, web-based, or electronic and can provide information through text and illustrations/pictures. • Researchers can use a source to check facts. • A fact is something that can be proven as true. • Text features in some sources can help researchers find information AND themselves provide information. Examples include headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons, captions, and labels. • Researchers can use technology to find or gather information from a source during the research process. Technology can sometimes make research process “faster” or “easier” than it might have otherwise been. Essential Skills (Standards)
With guidance and support from adults… 1. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). 2. State (or re-state) a research question. 3. Recall information from experiences to answer a research question. 4. Gather information from different kinds of provided sources to answer a research question. 5. Share recalled or gathered information through speaking/drawing/writing.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Informative/Explanatory Writing Key Knowledge
• A topic is person, thing, or idea that you’re writing or telling about. • A fact is something that can be proven as true (e.g., Pugs have short hair.) • An opinion is what someone thinks, prefers, or believes about something (e.g, a topic). (e.g., Pugs are the best dogs to have.) • A source is a person, place, or thing that can provide information. Writers can use a source to check facts. (For more Key Knowledge related to finding, selecting, and evaluating sources, see Reading Informational Text scope and Research scope.) • Closure is how a writer “wraps up” an informative/explanatory piece. For example, “That’s what I learned about frogs.” “Now you’re ready to eat the sandwich.” Closure makes the piece “feel” finished versus suddenly “cut off.” • Formats/models for informative/explanatory writing include labeled depictions with or without explanations, lists, how-to’s/directions, recordings/oral reporting, completed graphic organizers, observation journals, Q&As. Essential Skills (Standards)
With prompting and support... 1. Distinguish fact from opinion. 2. Generate ideas for where to find information (e.g., possible sources). 3. Select a topic to give information about or explain. 4. Identify facts/information to explain a topic. 5. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to share information or explain something. 6. End an informative/explanatory piece with some sense of closure.
Opinion Writing Key Knowledge
• An opinion is what someone thinks, prefers, or believes about something (e.g., a topic, a book). • A fact is something that can be proven as true. • A topic is the main idea the writer is writing about. • A reason is an explanation for why someone thinks something. • Examples help show and prove reasons and opinions. • The title is the name of a book (or other written piece). Essential Skills (Standards)
With prompting and support... 1. Tell the difference between fact and opinion. 2. Identify a book or topic and state an opinion about it. 3. Combine pictures, dictation, and writing to create an opinion piece. 4. Support an opinion or preference with reason(s), example(s), and/or fact(s).
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Narrative Writing Key Knowledge
• A narrative – tells about two or more events in sequence; – can be real or imagined; and – includes reactions. • An event is something that happened. • The topic of a narrative is a person, thing, or event(s) that the writer is telling about. A topic and an event are not the same thing (e.g., “My dog” is a topic; “My dog ate my new toy” is an event). • The events in a narrative can be told in sequence from beginning to end. • A reaction is a response to something that happened (why the event important, how it made someone feel or act). • Details are specific piece of information about people and events in a narrative. • Narratives use temporal words like first, next, then, after that, last, finally to signal event order. Examples other time/order words and phrases can refer to specific days, segments, or periods of time (e.g., Saturday, next week, one time, when I was a baby). • Closure is how a writer “wraps-up” or finishes a narrative. • Formats/modes for narrative writing include drawings/pictures and words, journal entries, storyboards, multi-page stories, and poems. Essential Skills (Standards)
1. Use a combination of pictures/drawing and words to describe events in a narrative. 2. Choose a narrative focus that is event-based (e.g., what happened over my weekend — went to a friend’s house, went to synagogue; going to friend’s house; going to synagogue; what happened at the birthday party). 3. Recount two or more appropriately sequenced events (i.e., zooming in on events within a shorter amount of time). 4. Use temporal words to signal event order in a narrative. 5. Use details to describe events/people in a narrative. 6. Include reaction(s) to events/people in the telling of narratives. 7. End a narrative with a sense of closure.
Production and Distribution of Writing Key Knowledge
Key Elements of Writing and their Attributes • A topic is a person, place, thing, event, problem, or idea that the writer focuses on. • Details are carefully chosen, well-organized pieces of information that can help make a piece of writing more precise, vivid, convincing, or interesting.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Production and Distribution • The writing process involves multiple stages/steps. – Prewriting happens when a writer is coming up with ideas for writing, often in response to a prompt or task. During prewriting, the writer might engage in drawing, planning, brainstorming, researching, outlining, and/or storyboarding. – Drafting is the writer organizing and developing ideas into pictures (K), words, sentences, paragraphs – Conferencing/Conferring occurs when a writers meets with a peer or a mentor to about a written draft receive and respond to questions and suggestions for improvement. – Revising is the process of rereading a draft(s) and making changes to improve its content (focus, organization, word choice, sentence structure, etc.) – Editing is the process of rereading a draft(s) and making changes to improve correct errors in conventions (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.). – Publishing happens when a piece of writing has gone through all the steps in the writing process and is ready to share with an audience. • A piece of writing is finished when it has gone through the writing process and is ready to be shared (distributed). Writers work alone and with others to decide when their writing is “finished.” The Role of Technology (in Production and Distribution) • Writers can use a variety of digital tools (e.g., online or platform- or programbased) in the production and distribution of writing. Specifically, writers can use such tools to research, draft, collaborate, revise/edit, and publish/distribute. Essential Skills (Standards)
With guidance and support... 1. Students will take a topic/idea through the writing process to create a “published” piece. 2. Respond to questions and suggestions from peers and/or adults about a piece of writing. 3. Add details to strengthen writing as needed. 4. Explore and use variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Key Knowledge
Defining Words and Phrases • Some words for things are spelled the same and sound the same but have a different meaning (e.g., duck). • A word’s beginning and ending (affixes, inflections) can provide clues about its meaning. • A phrase is a small group of words that are “strung together” for a specific meaning. Some phrases are used by many people (i.e., they are common).
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Word Relationships and Nuances • Things (words, objects) can share characteristics and be sorted into categories that represent those characteristics (e.g., shapes, foods). • Some words “show up” in reading/writing more often than others, i.e., they’re high-frequency words. • Many action words (verbs) and describing words (noun) have opposites. The opposite of a word can be used to define that word. • Some action words (verbs) have similar meanings but describe actions that different from one another (e.g., jog, run, sprint). Essential Skills (Standards)
1. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Kindergarten reading and content by a. Identifying new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck). b. Using 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. 2. With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings by a. Sorting common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent. b. Demonstrating understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms). c. Identifying real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful). d. Distinguishing shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings. 3. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.
Language: Conventions of Standard English Key Knowledge
Standard English is guided by Conventions of/in: • Grammar — the rules that govern how words, clauses and phrases are put together • Capitalization — which or what kinds of words begin with a capital letter • Punctuation — the symbols within, between, before, and after words that structure and organize language so that it can be written/spoken as intended • Spelling — writing words using the correct or widely-accepted sequence of letters Conventions are determined or altered by the writer’s or speaker’s: • Purpose/Choice • Context • Tone • Style
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
In order to gain: • Effect • Clarity • Consistency • Precision • Conciseness • Efficiency Essential Skills (Standards)
• Use frequently occurring nouns. • Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes). • Use frequently occurring verbs. • Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with). • Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how). • Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities. • Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I. • Recognize and name end punctuation. • Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes). • Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
Speaking and Listening Key Knowledge
• A conversation is a spoken exchange of feelings, opinions, and thoughts between two or more people. Conversations usually happen around a topic or text and for a particular purpose or reasons. • Another name for conversation is a discussion. • People in a conversation agree to follow rules for discussion. For example: – Listen to others. – Take turns talking. – Stay on topic. (Remember what the discussion is about!) • To participate in a conversation is to engage in it through listening and/or speaking. • Questions in a conversation (or in response to text or information presented orally) might begin with who, what, where, when, why, how, or is/are. • Information, stories, and texts that we “hear” can be presented orally or through other media. • To present is to orally share ideas, information, and work with others. A presentation can use pictures/drawings or other visuals to help the presenter explain and the audience understand. People can present alone or with others. (Presentation in Kindergarten will most often involve informal presentations and sharing through conversations.)
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Essential Skills (Standards)
Discussing and Collaborating Around Topics and Texts 1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about Kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. – Follow agreed-upon rules for discussion. – Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. Comprehension (of spoken information, of a speakers words/message) 1. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or informational presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions key details. 2. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or informational presented orally or through other media by requesting clarification if something is not understood. 3. A sk and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. Presenting Knowledge and Ideas
4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events (in presenting knowledge and ideas) and with prompting and support, provide additional detail. 5. Add drawings or other visual displays as desired to provide additional detail (in presenting knowledge and ideas). 6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Hebrew and Judaic Studies Students at Chicago Jewish Day School develop a love for Judaism, its culture, language, and traditions. They explore and experience Judaic Studies through activities including art, music, drama, and stories. In addition, they make connections to Jewish values as they study the weekly Parasha (Torah portion). Through their study of Hebrew, our students are able to read and understand both modern and ancient texts. Teachers guide students toward developing a deep bond with Israel as they examine its history and current culture. Our general and Judaic curricula are interwoven, ensuring that our students feel a connection to their heritage in everything they do. Kindergarten Hebrew and Judaic Studies Learning Standards
In Kindergarten the students develop their knowledge of the Aleph Bet by learning how to identify the letters and their sounds. One of the objectives in Kindergarten includes the desire for students to develop a love for Judaism, its culture, language, and traditions. Kindergartners explore and experience Hebrew and Judaic Studies through activities which include art, music, drama, imaginative play, and stories. The theme Kehillah (community) ties together the units of study in General Studies and expounds upon the student’s role in their class, school, and the greater community.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Students will develop an understanding of Shabbat. Students will be able to: • identify the beginning and ending of Shabbat • develop familiarity with Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdallah • identify the days of week • understand the idea of rest and family time on Shabbat • make a connection between Shabbat and the creation story of God resting on the seventh day • recognize Shabbat ritual objects, their use, and corresponding brachot • recite the Brachot for candle lighting, Kiddush, Hamotzi, and Havdallah in order • understand these rituals as a reflection of the Mitzvot Students will develop an understanding of Jewish holidays. Students will be able to: • demonstrate knowledge of historical stories and figures associated with a holiday • demonstrate knowledge of customs and rituals associated with a holiday • participate in sensory experiences associated with holiday • recognize symbols and ritual objects associated with the holiday • recite Brachot and songs associated with holiday • understand the difference between Jewish and secular holidays Students will develop an understanding of the importance of Torah. Students will be able to: • demonstrate knowledge of the parts of a Torah scroll including adornments • demonstrate knowledge of the names of the five books of the Torah • demonstrate knowledge of Parashat HaShavuah • understand the cycle of Torah reading • demonstrate knowledge of selected stories, characters, and Mizvot associated with the weekly Parasha Students will develop an understanding of the importance of Israel to the Jewish people. Students will be able to: • understand the Jewish connection to Israel through exposure to personal experiences of Israel and Israeli culture • connect the stories in the Torah to the land of Israel • recognize the symbols of the State of Israel, including the Star of David, Israeli flag, and Menorah • demonstrate familiarity with selected important religious sites • sing Israeli music and songs about Israel • recognize the map of Israel • identify general locations of selected cities and regions on a map of Israel • differentiate between a map of Israel and a map of the United States
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Students will develop an understanding and use of Tefillot (prayers). Students will be able to: • understand that prayer is a means to connect with God • recite selected Brachot • know the difference between prayer and classroom singing • demonstrate knowledge of the order of Tefillah • identify characteristics of houses of prayer and their different names Students will develop an understanding and use of Hebrew. Students will be able to: • use emergent written and oral Hebrew • recognize all of the Hebrew letters • demonstrate Hebrew phonemic awareness • listen to, understand, and reproduce simple spoken Hebrew • respond to questions or participate in discussions with single-word or short answers • demonstrate an increasing mastery of Hebrew vocabulary • use vocabulary that integrates what they are learning in General Studies • use vocabulary reflecting their school and home environments • use pre-reading skills • recognize sight words used in the classroom • begin to form Hebrew letters and words Students will develop an understanding of Jewish values. Students will be able to: • perform acts of Chesed to members of their community • demonstrate kindness and helpfulness • understand the Mitzvah of giving Tzedakah • work to support a Tzedakah organization • understand what it means to be part of a community • understand their role in the school, in the Jewish community, and in the greater community
Mathematics Chicago Jewish Day School math program is centered on creating a mathematical environment in which children are encouraged to think, invent, investigate, and make connections. The teachers pose questions and set up challenges and then observe, question, and listen as children get busy building meaning for themselves. Every child will bring something personal and unique to the exploration and will glean something different from the experience. Various problem-solving strategies are accepted and, in fact, encouraged, as they help children gain confidence and take risks. Our goal is to produce mathematically powerful thinkers and problem-solvers who are confident and feel comfortable using mathematics in their daily lives. We celebrate the diversity of thinking and focus on the children’s ideas, their reasons and explanations, rather than solely on answers.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
At CJDS, our math instruction is tightly aligned to our general education philosophy and our vision of excellence. As with other subject areas, our math curriculum emphasizes deep understanding, active and experiential learning, student-centered learning, intrinsic motivation, and collaboration. We strive to create math students who can think critically about the concepts studied, communicate their reasoning and knowledge, take risks and demonstrate flexibility in their thinking, and solve a variety of problems or challenges effectively. We value cultivating both a depth of understanding as well as a breadth of knowledge of mathematical content. The Common Core State Standards include two groups of standards: Standards for Mathematical Content and Standards for Mathematical Practice. The Content Standards define the mathematical content to be mastered at each grade. The Practice Standards define the processes and habits of mind students need to develop as they learn the content for their grade level. The dispositions and habits of mind we strive to cultivate in our students are aligned with the Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice, which describe proficient math students as those that can: • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. • Reason abstractly and quantitatively. • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. • Model with mathematics. • Use appropriate tools strategically. • Attend to precision. • Look for and make use of structure. • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. At CJDS math students are called to develop these proficiencies daily. The emphasis here is on “doing math.” During math class students are asked to investigate a variety of mathematical problem situations; they are required to think, plan, reason, compute, and evaluate their approaches and solutions. Teachers act as skillful guides in this process — carefully selecting rich mathematical tasks, facilitating reflective conversations to summarize learning and draw conclusions, and providing supports and extensions when necessary. Kindergarten Overview
Based on the Common Core State Standards In Kindergarten, instructional time should focus on two critical areas: (1) representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects; (2) describing shapes and space. More learning time in Kindergarten should be devoted to number than to other topics. 1. Students use numbers, including written numerals, to represent quantities and to solve quantitative problems, such as counting objects in a set; counting out a given number of objects; comparing sets or numerals; and modeling simple joining and separating situations with sets of objects, or eventually with equations such as 5 + 2 = 7 and 7 – 2 = 5. (Kindergarten students should see addition and subtraction equations, and student writing of equations in kindergarten is encouraged, but it is not required.) Students choose, combine, and apply effective strategies for answering
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quantitative questions, including quickly recognizing the cardinalities of small sets of objects, counting and producing sets of given sizes, counting the number of objects in combined sets, or counting the number of objects that remain in a set after some are taken away. 2. Students describe their physical world using geometric ideas (e.g., shape, orientation, spatial relations) and vocabulary. They identify, name, and describe basic twodimensional shapes, such as squares, triangles, circles, rectangles, and hexagons, presented in a variety of ways (e.g., with different sizes and orientations), as well as three-dimensional shapes such as cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres. They use basic shapes and spatial reasoning to model objects in their environment and to construct more complex shapes. Kindergarten Standards of Mathematical Content
Counting and Cardinality • Know number names and the count sequence. • Count to tell the number of objects. • Compare numbers. Operations and Algebraic Thinking • Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from. Number and Operations in Base Ten • Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value. Measurement and Data • Describe and compare measurable attributes. • Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category Geometry • Identify and describe shapes. • Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes. Kindergarten Standards of Mathematical Practice
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. In Kindergarten, students begin to build the understanding that doing mathematics involves solving problems and discussing how they solved them. Students explain to themselves the meaning of a problem and look for ways to solve it. Younger students may use concrete objects or pictures to help them conceptualize and solve problems. They may check their thinking by asking themselves, “Does this make sense?” or they may try another strategy. • Make sense of your problem. • Reflect on your thinking as you solve your problem. • Keep trying when your problem is hard.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
• Check whether your answer makes sense. • Solve problems in more than one way. • Compare the strategies you and others use. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Kindergarten students begin to recognize that a number represents a specific quantity. Then, they connect the quantity to written symbols. Quantitative reasoning entails creating a representation of a problem while attending to the meanings of the quantities. • Create mathematical representations using numbers, words, pictures, symbols, gestures, tables, graphs, and concrete objects. • Make sense of the representations you and others use. • Make connections between representations. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Kindergarten students construct arguments using concrete referents, such as objects, pictures, drawings, and actions. They also begin to develop their mathematical communication skills as they participate in mathematical discussions involving questions like, How did you get that? and, Why is that true? They explain their thinking to others and respond to others’ thinking. • Make mathematical conjectures and arguments. • Make sense of others’ mathematical thinking. 4. Model with mathematics. In early grades, students experiment with representing problem situations in multiple ways including numbers, words (mathematical language), drawing pictures, using objects, acting out, making a chart or list, creating equations, etc. Students need opportunities to connect the different representations and explain the connections. They should be able to use all of these representations as needed. • Model real-world situations using graphs, drawings, tables, symbols, numbers, diagrams, and other representations. • Use mathematical models to solve problems and answer questions. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. Kindergarten students begin to consider the available tools (including estimation) when solving a mathematical problem and decide when certain tools might be helpful. For instance, kindergarteners may decide that it might be advantageous to use linking cubes to represent two quantities and then compare the two representations side-by-side. • Choose appropriate tools. • Use tools effectively and make sense of your results.
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6. Attend to precision. As young children begin to develop their mathematical communication skills, they try to use clear and precise language in their discussions with others and when they explain their own reasoning. • Explain your mathematical thinking clearly and precisely. • Use an appropriate level of precision for your problem. • Use clear labels, units, and mathematical language. • Think about accuracy and efficiency when you count, measure, and calculate. 7. Look for and make use of structure. Kindergarten students begin to discern a number pattern or structure. For instance, students recognize the pattern that exists in the teen numbers; every teen number is written with a 1 (representing one ten) and ends with the digit that is first stated. They also recognize that 3 + 2 = 5 and 2 + 3 = 5. • Look for mathematical structures such as categories, patterns, and properties. • Use structures to solve problems and answer questions. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. In the early grades, students notice repetitive actions in counting and computation, etc. For example, they may notice that the next number in a counting sequence is one more. When counting by tens, the next number in the sequence is 10 more (or one more group of 10). In addition, students continually check their work by asking themselves, “Does this make sense?” • Create and justify rules, shortcuts, and generalizations.
Social Sciences The study of the social sciences at Chicago Jewish Day School helps prepare students to become part of society. It allows them to learn about the past to understand the present and future. Our social science program provides students with experiences that help them decide what they would like their role in society to be. It presents opportunities for exploration and focuses on children’s curiosity, creativity, and interests. Kindergarten Social Science Learning Standards
The study of social science helps students develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good. Students are preparing to become citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. The curriculum integrates the disciplines of social science to promote civic competence. Students will understand political systems, with an emphasis on Illinois and the United States. Students will be able to: • identify rules at home and school and tell how rules keep us safe • recognize the flag as a symbol of our country • recite the Pledge of Allegiance
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Students will understand economic systems, with an emphasis on Illinois and the United States. Students will be able to: • develop an awareness that workers provide goods and services for others • explore the difference between a need and a want and recognize that everyone has needs and wants • apply the concept of trade to classroom situations • recognize the use of money as an exchange for goods and services Students will understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other nations. Students will be able to: • explore the concept of past, present, and future time • develop an awareness of important people, events, and special celebrations in American history Students will develop an understanding of world geography and its effects on Illinois, the United States, and other nations. Students will be able to: • identify the globe as a model of the Earth and recognize that maps and globes represent the Earth • distinguish between water and land on a globe and a map • describe daily weather and observe seasonal changes • develop an awareness of natural resources Students will understand social systems, with an emphasis on Illinois and the United States. Students will be able to: • recognize that families may vary in size and composition • explain what it means to be a friend • demonstrate ways to be helpful to one’s family and friends
Science Science is a set of processes that includes asking questions to gain a better understanding of our world. Our science curriculum focuses on encouraging students’ curiosity, creativity, and interest. Through hands-on experiences, students use the process of scientific inquiry, learn new skills, and gain an understanding of key scientific concepts. Students’ ability to investigate scientifically helps them in all areas of learning. Kindergarten Science Learning Standards
The goal of science education is to develop in learners an understanding of the inquiry process as it is related to key concepts and principles of the life, physical, and earth/space sciences. The curriculum addresses the integration of the sciences with technology and society as students learn to connect the importance of scientific knowledge to its application in everyday life.
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Students will understand the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments, and solve problems. Students will be able to: • use the five senses, as appropriate, to observe an object or event • describe observed changes in objects or events • generate possible solutions to a simple scientific problem Students will understand the fundamental concepts, principles, and interconnections of the life, physical, and earth/space sciences. Students will be able to: • classify and describe characteristics of living and non-living things • compare, contrast, and categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features • recognize characteristics of living things as related to their environments • identify the sun as a source of light and energy • sort materials by physical properties • identify objects that a magnet will attract and repel • observe and describe the properties of sand, soil, and water • distinguish land and water masses on a globe • describe how people, plants, and animals adapt to weather and seasonal changes Students will understand the relationships among science, technology, and society in historical and contemporary contexts. Students will be able to: • demonstrate safety precautions as set up by the teacher in the classroom • name how scientists use the five senses to gather information • choose standard and nonstandard units of measure during scientific activities • identify a variety of materials that can be reused and recycled
Fine Arts, Physical Education, and Health Throughout the day, children will have opportunities to dance, design, compose, move, and sing. We believe in educating the whole child and allow plenty of time to nurture creative and artistic skills. Children will be instructed in rhythmic activities and fitness, healthy living, interactive listening and expressive music, and the organizational principles of design, as well as the expressive qualities of the visual arts. Kindergarten Fine Arts Learning Standards
In addition to their intrinsic value, the arts contribute to children’s development and enrich the quality of life. The fine arts — dance, drama, music, and visual arts — are fundamental ways of knowing and thinking. The fine arts curriculum addresses the language of the fine arts, sensory elements, organizational principles, expressive qualities, and how the arts are similar, different, or related to one another. Students also learn how to interpret visual images, sounds, movement, and story. The creation and performance of the arts is emphasized along with the role of the arts in civilization.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
Students will know the language of the arts. Students will be able to: • describe a variety of sensory elements • recognize simple patterns Students will understand how works of art are produced through creating and performing. Students will be able to: • explore basic locomotor and non-locomotor movements • recognize a variety of sounds and sound sources • name simple materials and tools used to paint, draw, and construct • demonstrate the safe use of materials and tools Students will understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. Students will be able to: • listen to and observe performances and artworks • explore movements, sounds, and visual images in artwork Kindergarten Physical Education Learning Standards
Physical development programs offer students the opportunity to enhance the capacity of their minds and bodies. Healthy minds and bodies contribute to academic success. Students will develop movement skills related to physical activity. Students will be able to: • develop fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills • explore spatial awareness and relationships to objects and people • demonstrate knowledge of rules and safety strategies during physical activity Students will achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness. Students will be able to: • experience the effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity (such as increased heart and breathing rates) • participate in sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity that promotes cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and range of motion Students will develop team-building skills. Students will be able to: • follow directions and class procedures while participating in physical activities • apply safe practices and procedures with peers during physical activities Kindergarten Health Learning Standards
Healthy minds and bodies are basic to academic success and, later in life, to enhancing the ability to contribute to a productive work environment. The health curriculum focuses on health promotion, safety, and understanding the human body and how it grows and develops. Problem solving, communication, responsible decision making, and team-building skills are major emphases as well.
Academic Curriculum
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Students will understand principles of health promotion and the prevention and treatment of illness and injury. Students will be able to: • identify general signs and symptoms of illness • state various ways to take care of one’s health • identify dangerous situations and safety methods to reduce risks Students will understand human body systems and factors that influence growth and development. Students will be able to: • identify all major external body parts • name the five senses and their corresponding body parts • explain how the senses help keep people safe • list ways to keep the senses safe Students will promote and enhance health and well-being through the use of effective communication and decision-making skills. Students will be able to: • differentiate between positive and negative behaviors • recite their name, address, and telephone number
Technology Chicago Jewish Day School technology education program is centered on providing students with learning tools that are accessed throughout the day to support and augment their achievement of learning objectives in all classes. As students become increasingly literate and responsible in the digital sphere, they will develop computational thinking, problem-solving, and acquire transferable technological skills. Our goal is to prepare our students to become digital citizens of the world and to prepare our students to use technology to go forward, better themselves, and to better the world around them. Kindergarten students are introduced to basic technological skills, personalizing, documenting and reflecting on their own learning. As they delve into different topics of study, the flexibility of the technology curriculum facilitates and accommodates a variety of digital tools and media that would best enhance the learning experience.
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Kindergarten Program of Studies
3730 North California Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60618 phone 773 271 2700 fax 773 271 2570 www.chicagojewishdayschool.org info@chicagojewishdayschool.org