The International School

Yangon

Pre-Kindergarten

Curriculum Guide

2015-2016

 

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This curriculum guide provides its readers with a summary of grade level curriculum. Our goal is to clearly communicate with the student, parent, and community expectations at each grade level.

ISY Mission Statement

The International School of Yangon is a community that is committed to excellence. We inspire students with a challenging, international education, based on an American curriculum, in a nurturing learning environment that promotes responsibility and respect. We aim to develop socially engaged, self-motivated, creative, compassionate individuals who will be a force for positive change in their communities and the world.

Beliefs About Learning We believe that—

• Students are at the center of all our efforts.

• Cultural diversity enriches us all.

• Learning should be pursued for its own intrinsic value.

• Students learn in different ways.

• All students have the right to live and learn in a safe and nurturing

environment.

• Educating the whole person is vital to individual success.

• Education is a shared responsibility of students, family, school,

and the wider community.

• We are all responsible for our decisions.

• Challenging expectations promote individual growth and

organizational development.

• Creative and critical thinking and cooperative learning are

essential.

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ISY Expected Schoolwide Learning Results Embedded in all learning at ISY are the following learning outcomes combined with the IB Learner Profile traits (in parentheses) that all students should know, understand and be able to do upon graduation from ISY. ISY students will— Become Global Citizens who . . .

• Are environmentally aware and active (Caring)

• Contribute to the welfare of the world community (Caring)

• Respect the dignity and worth of others (Principled, Open-minded)

• Manifest the virtues of honesty and integrity (Principled)

• Understand and appreciate the values, traditions, and perspectives of others (Open-minded)

Be Successful Communicators who . . .

• Demonstrate the skills of effective collaboration (Communicators)

• Use appropriate technology as a tool to convey ideas (Communicators)

• Write, speak, read and listen with purpose (Communicators)

• Are multi-lingual (Communicators)

Demonstrate Complex Thinking and Creativity by . . .

• Gathering analyzing and processing information from a variety of sources (Thinkers)

• Being effective and creative problem-solvers (Thinkers)

• Being effective decision-makers (Thinkers)

• Pursuing inquiry and curiosity within learning (Inquirers)

• Building a foundation of knowledge and applying understandings to new situations (Knowledgeable)

Become Lifelong Learners who . . .

• Take responsibility for their learning (Reflective)

• Value all types of learning: academic, social, athletic, aesthetic and emotional (Balanced)

• Have the confidence to take on new challenges (Risk-takers)

• Give thoughtful consideration to their own learning (Reflective)

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A Standards-Based Curriculum

Academic standards, or learning outcomes, are the foundation of the ISY curriculum, and through standards, teachers identify the skills, knowledge, processes and understandings that are taught and assessed. Instruction is built upon rich scaffolded learning experiences that facilitate student attainment of the standards, and instructional resources are aligned to learning experiences. The ISY adopted standards provide coherent learning progressions beginning in pre-kindergarten continuing through to grade 12, and they communicate to students, parents, teachers, and administrators what students are expected to learn in each subject area and at each grade level.

Classroom assessments at ISY are based on the knowledge, skills, and learning targets derived from the standards. Students are given formative assessments, or assessments for learning, which provide them with valuable feedback. For teachers, formative assessments provide information to help inform instructional decision-making as learning occurs. Students use feedback on formative assessments to improve and revise their work and learning. Summative assessments typically occur at the end of an instructional unit and provide evidence of student achievement for the purpose of making a judgment about student proficiency.

In a standards-based system, behaviors that support learning, such as work habits, effort, responsibility, and attitudes are judged separately so that academic grades are accurate and reflect how a student performs and achieves in relation to the knowledge, skills, and understandings set forward by the standards. Such nonacademic factors are of equal importance to the development, success, and achievement of students and their learning, thus, performance in these areas of student learning are assessed, tracked, and reported distinctly from academic achievement.

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The Pre-Kindergarten Program

Provided is general information about each Pre-Kindergarten subject area along with subject ‘Essential’ standards. Essential standards are those standards which are taught and assessed with greater depth and focus. While all standards in a given subject are taught, ISY has identified the outcomes that embody the larger concepts, principles, or processes along with the key knowledge and skills that lead to student understanding of essential knowledge. To view the standards in their entirety, please visit the ISY web site.

Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics In Pre-Kindergarten, students begin to develop their foundational math sense: they learn what numbers are and what numbers do, they develop an understanding of patterns and how objects relate to one another, they learn how to sort and classify objects, and they begin to recognize shapes and spatial relationships and the concepts of time and sequence. These foundational math concepts are developed through engaging in imaginative play, through exploration of the environment and materials, and through discovery and interaction with others.

Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Essential Standards

Counting and Cardinality

• Know number names and the counting sequence.

• Recognize and name written numerals 0–20.

• Count to tell the number of objects.

• Understand the relationships between numerals and quantities up to ten.

• Count many kinds of concrete objects and actions up to ten, using one-to-one correspondence, and accurately count as many as seven things in a scattered configuration.

• Use comparative language, such as more/less than, equal to, to compare and describe collections of objects.

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Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.

• Use concrete objects to model real-world addition (putting together) and subtraction (taking away) problems up through ten.

Measurement and Data

• Recognize the attributes of length, area, weight, and capacity of everyday objects using appropriate vocabulary (e.g., long, short, tall, heavy, light, big, small, wide, narrow).

• Compare the attributes of length and weight for two objects, including longer/shorter, same length; heavier/lighter, same weight; holds more/less, holds the same amount.

• Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.

• Sort, categorize, and classify objects by more than one attribute.

Geometry

• Identify and describe shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles).

• Identify relative positions of objects in space, and use appropriate language (e.g., beside, inside, next to, close to, above, below, apart).

• Identify various two-dimensional shapes using appropriate language.

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Pre-Kindergarten Language Arts Children in Pre-Kindergarten are developing their abilities to express themselves and understand the world around them through language and literacy. The focus of language arts at this level is on oral language development, phonological/phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge, print knowledge, and invented spelling. Instruction is designed to stimulate verbal interaction, to enrich children’s vocabularies, to encourage talk about books, and to provide practice with the sound structure of words through play, exploration, and imaginative experiences.

Pre-Kindergarten Language Arts Essential Standards

Reading: Literature

• With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about a story or poem read aloud.

• With prompting and support, retell a sequence of events from a story read aloud.

• With prompting and support, make predictions about what happens next in a picture book after examining and discussing the illustrations.

• Listen actively as an individual and as a member of a group to a variety of age-appropriate literature read aloud.

Reading: Informational

• With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about an informational text read aloud.

• With prompting and support, represent or act out concepts learned from hearing an informational text read aloud (e.g., make a skyscraper out of blocks after listening to a book about cities or, following a read-aloud on animals, show how an elephant’s gait differs from a bunny’s hop).

• With prompting and support, describe important details from an illustration or photograph.

Reading: Foundational Skills

Print Concepts

• Handle books respectfully and appropriately, holding them right-side-up and turning pages one at a time from front to back.

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• Recognize and name some uppercase letters of the alphabet and the lowercase letters in one’s own name.

• Link an initial sound to a picture of an object that begins with that sound and, with guidance and support, to the corresponding printed letter (e.g., link the initial sound /b/ to a picture of a ball and, with support, to a printed or written ”B”).

• Recognize one’s own name and familiar common signs and labels (e.g., STOP).

Phonological Awareness

• With guidance and support, recognize and produce rhyming words (e.g., identify words that rhyme with /cat/ such as /bat/ and /sat/).

• Identify the initial sound of a spoken word and, with guidance and support, generate several other words that have the same initial sound.

Writing

• Dictate words to express a preference or opinion about a topic (e.g., “ I would like to go to the fire station to see the truck and meet the firemen.”).

• Use a combination of dictating and drawing to tell a real or imagined story.

Listening and Speaking

• Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (e.g., taking turns in talking, listening to peers, waiting to speak until another person is finished talking, asking questions and waiting for an answer, gaining the floor in appropriate ways).

• Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. • Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or

clarify something that is not understood. • Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

Language

• Demonstrate use of oral language in informal everyday activities: − Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. − Understand and use question words (e.g., who, what, where, when,

why, how).

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− Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).

− Demonstrate the ability to speak in complete sentences.

• Demonstrate understanding of concepts by sorting common objects into categories (e.g., sort objects by color, shape, or texture).

• Apply words learned in classroom activities to real-life examples (e.g., name places in school that are fun, quiet, or noisy).

• Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and play.

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Pre-Kindergarten Science Pre-Kindergarten age children have an inherent curiosity about the world around them, leading them to consider how and why questions about the way things work in their everyday environment. This is scientific thinking in action: gathering information and explaining ideas based on what they see, hear, and observe. In Pre-Kindergarten, students harness this wonder by engaging in exploratory hands-on experiences that allow them to ask questions, make predictions, and develop generalizations. Topics of scientific investigation in Pre-Kindergarten include: the basics of weather, climate, and seasons; farm animals; babies born alive versus those hatched from eggs; trees and plants; and the basic functions and care of our bodies.

Pre-Kindergarten Science Essential Standards

Scientific Thinking

• Children ask questions and make predictions based on observations and manipulation of things and events in the environment.

− Uses senses to gather, explore, and interpret information. − Makes observations and describes changes in objects, living things,

and natural events in the environment. − Asks “why,” “how,” and “what if” questions and seeks answers

through experimentation and investigation. − Gives oral, written or graphic explanations of what he/she wants to

learn. − Records and organizes data using graphs, charts, science journals,

or other means of recording. − Compares and contrasts attributes of objects, living things, and

events in the environment to organize what they have learned. − Shares ideas about objects, living things and other natural events in

the environments through words, pictures, and other representations.

Earth and Space Science

• Children observe and describe characteristics of earth and space.

− Makes simple observations of the characteristics and movements of sun, moon, stars, and clouds.

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− Observes and discusses changes in weather and seasons using common weather related vocabulary (rainy, sunny, snowy, windy, cloudy, etc.).

− Expresses ways the environment provides natural resources that are needed by people (wood for lumber to build shelter, water for drinking).

− Demonstrates ways that each person is responsible for protecting our planet (recycling plastic, glass, and cardboard, reusing a plastic container sandwich box, mending clothing rather than throwing away, etc.).

Living Things

• Children observe and describe characteristics of living things.

− Observes and discusses similarities, differences, and categories of plants and animals.

− Identifies things as living or non-living based on characteristics, such as breathes, moves by itself, and grows.

− Explains why plants and animals need water and food. − Describes and identifies the different structures of familiar plants

and animals. (Plants have stems, roots, leaves; animals have eyes, mouths, ears, etc.).

− Recognizes that plants and animals have some characteristics of their “parents”.

Physical Properties

• Children acquire knowledge about the physical properties of the world. − Describes, compares, and categorizes objects based on their

properties. − Uses senses to explore different environments (classroom,

playground, field trips).

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Pre-Kindergarten Social Studies During this time in children’s development, as they venture out from the familiarity of their homes into the community, children begin to understand their role in their families and in their communities. In Pre-Kindergarten social studies, students work toward knowing and understanding themselves and their world; they learn about social responsibility and why it is important to follow directions; they explore the cultural experiences of their own community and of others; they begin to understand the concept of “then” and “now”; and they understand that all people have basic needs and respect is for everyone.

Pre-Kindergarten Social Studies Essential Standards

Geography and History

• Children develop a basic awareness of self as an individual.

− Identifies him/herself by using characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, race, religion, language and culture.

− Discusses that each person has likes and dislikes. − Describes how each person is unique and important.

• Children demonstrate an awareness of self within the context of family.

− States how families are similar and different.

• Children develop an understanding of self within the context of community.

− Describes his own community and/or cultural group. − Describes how people within a community are alike and different

(e.g. eat different foods, wear different clothing; speak different languages).

− Understands that communities are similar and different.

• Children demonstrate awareness and appreciation of their own culture and other cultures.

− Talks about and/or shows items related to his/her family and cultural traditions to others.

− Questions why and/or how people are similar/different. − Describes some of the holidays, dances, foods, costumes and

special events, related to his/her own culture.

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• Children demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between people, places, and regions.

− Names the neighborhood, and city where he/she lives. − Is aware of his/her surroundings.

• Children develop an understanding of how people and things change over time and how to relate past events to their present and future activities.

− Identifies routines and common occurrences in his/her life. − Identifies changes over time in him/herself, his/her families, and in

his/her wider community. − Uses words and phrases that differentiate between events that

happen in the past, present and future, e.g., uses phrases like “when I was a baby…” or “before I moved to my new house.”

Civics, Citizenship, and Government

• Children demonstrate an understanding of roles, rights, and responsibilities.

− Recognizes that all children and adults have roles, rights, and responsibilities at home, school, in the classroom and in the community.

− Expresses that rules are for everyone. − Describes possible consequences when rules are not followed. − Follows rules and may remind others of the rules. − Applies the skills of communication, cooperation, respect and

empathy with others.

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Pre-Kindergarten Physical Fitness and Health In Pre-Kindergarten Physical Fitness and Health, students learn basic locomotor skills and develop physical coordination through a comprehensive and sequentially planned Physical Fitness and Health program. In addition to learning how to jog, run, hop, skip, and jump both safely and with proper technique, Pre-Kindergarten students learn how to cooperate, share, and participate with others in group activities. At this level, students engage in a wide variety of activities and games all of which are designed to promote healthy bodies, self-esteem, confidence, and a physically active lifestyle.

Pre-Kindergarten Physical Fitness and Health Essential Standards

Gross Motor Physical Development

• Children demonstrate coordination and control of large muscles.

− Displays an upright posture when standing or seated. − Maintains balance during sitting, standing, and movement

activities. − Runs, jumps, walks in a straight line, and hops on one foot. − Climbs stairs using alternating feet.

Physical Fitness

• Children engage in a variety of physical fitness activities.

− Engages in large motor activities, (e.g., marching, hopping, running, jumping, dancing) in increasingly longer periods of time as skill and endurance develops.

− Explores, practices, and performs skill sets, (e.g. throwing, pushing, pulling, balancing, catching, etc.).

− Participates in activities designed to strengthen major muscle groups and to promote balance and flexibility.

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Pre-Kindergarten Music In Pre-Kindergarten Music, students have the opportunity to explore music and engage their singing voices using a variety of songs and games. They also practice steady beat using body percussion (clapping, patting, stepping) and respond to music through movement (swaying, skipping, twisting, etc.).

Pre-Kindergarten Music Essential Standards  Musical Expression

• Children will express themselves by engaging in musical activities.

− Participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities including listening to music, singing songs, performing finger plays, and experimenting with various musical instruments.

− Enjoys singing, making up silly and rhyming verses, imitating rhythmic patterns, and using music to tell stories and express feelings.

− Engages in music activities having different moods, tempos, and rhythms.

− Creates sounds using traditional instruments (bells, drums, recorders, etc.) and non-traditional instruments (tin cans, oatmeal boxes, containers filled with water).

Response to Music

• Children will respond and react during musical activities.

− Moves and keeps rhythm to different kinds of music. − Reacts to music through oral, written or visual expression. − Expresses his/her preference for certain kinds of music. − Repeats, responds and/or reacts to lyrics and/or melodies.

 

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Pre-Kindergarten Art Pre-Kindergarten Art lays the foundation for the development and exploration of a variety of art skills. Taught once a week for thirty-five minutes, Pre-Kindergarten Art introduces students to basic drawing, painting, and sculptural techniques. Students develop an understanding that art is found all around them in the natural and human environment. Pre-Kindergarten students create portfolios and participate in the Elementary Art Evening.

Pre-Kindergarten Art Essential Standards

Expression Through Visual Art

• Children will express themselves and represent what they know, think, believe and feel through visual arts.

− Experiments with a variety of mediums and methods of using art materials (such as: using a big brush to paint broad strokes, combining colors, etc.).

− Shows an interest in what can be created with tools, texture, color and technique.

− Uses materials to build and create “pieces” that represent another item (blocks become a castle; clay becomes a snake)

− Chooses materials and subjects with intent and purpose. − Paints, draws and constructs models based on observations.

Response to Visual Art

• Children respond and react to visual arts created by themselves and others.

− Expresses an interest in drawings, sculptures, models, paintings, and art creations of others.

− Identifies similarities and differences among samples of visual art. − Share opinions about visual arts, creations, and experiences.