Kindergarten

List of 6 items.

• ELA

  Beginning in Kindergarten, Lower School reading teachers utilize an Orton-Gillingham approach to literacy. This approach is an “explicit, direct, sequential, systematic, multi-sensory instruction to teach reading” that is based on scientific evidence surrounding best practices in literacy instruction. As such, we focus heavily on phonics, “red” words (words that do not follow an expected phonemic pattern), proper letter formation, and writing with sound-to-symbol correspondence. 

  
  

  In Kindergarten, we combine whole group and fluid, differentiated small group instruction with guided independent practice to best suit our students’ instructional needs. Each day, students read decodable books in guided groups and are exposed to rich texts via read-alouds. By the end of the year, students are able to decode and blend to read words in isolation and in stories, encode sounds to spell words in their daily journals, manipulate phonemes, identify rhyming words, count syllables in words, and more. We informally assess students’ literacy skills on a daily basis and formally at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.

  
  

  In Kindergarten, students enjoy a dedicated one hour reading block each morning. In addition, literacy (reading, writing, and speaking) is intentionally woven throughout nearly all instructional activities at Nardin.

   

  Citation: https://www.orton-gillingham.com/approach/

• Math

  The Lower School math program follows the tenets of the Singapore Math method where there is a focus on mastery achieved through intentional sequencing of concepts.  Students learn to think mathematically as problem solvers via their depth of knowledge gained from previous lessons.  Key features of the approach include the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract). 

  
  

  In kindergarten, students develop a number sense that proves foundational to all future math endeavors. Throughout the year, we focus on numbers 1-20, counting, addition and subtraction, problem solving, quantitative reasoning, geometry, positional words, ordinal numbers, measurement, and more. Students routinely work with manipulatives and hands-on activities to engage with math concepts in small and whole groups and independently.

• Social Studies

  In social studies, Kindergarteners learn about what it means to be a “good citizen:” in the classroom, at home, and in their community. We learn about and practice following rules daily. We celebrate various holidays and enjoy learning about traditions and cultures both familiar and different from our own.

   

  Kindergartners enjoy relevant field trips throughout the year that support our social studies and science curricula, which include a local urban farm, the Botanical Gardens, the Buffalo Zoo, and more.

• Science

  In science, Kindergarteners learn about the world around them through various units about plant and animal life cycles, habitats and ecosystems, sunlight and weather, pushes and pulls, and more. Kindergartners are frequently outdoors interacting with and learning from the natural world. The Kindergartners also regularly partner with other grades to complete cross-curricular STEM projects. For example, each year we read “The Three Little Pigs” with the fourth grade class and then design and build a house that can’t be blown down by the Big Bad Wolf (or in our case, a hairdryer!).

   

  Kindergartners enjoy relevant field trips throughout the year that support our social studies and science curricula, which include a local urban farm, the Botanical Gardens, the Buffalo Zoo, and more.

• World Language

  In foreign language classes, the students take a half a year of Spanish and a half a year of French. The classes are taught with a semi-immersion technique that includes a majority of the target language spoken. Students have fun putting the language to use through different activities that engage all students in a communal and ludic classroom. We work with a program that is only taught in the language so students can understand that what they already know can transfer directly into whichever language we are engaged in.

• Religion

  In Kindergarten, students learn that we are all a part of God’s beloved family. As such, we learn to love all in the way that God loves us. We celebrate holidays together as a classroom and school community and have dedicated time in our weekly schedule to learn about God, Jesus, and Christian values. Students say a daily morning prayer and regularly attend Mass on campus.