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Junior Kindergarten

The core curriculum standards will be met through a play based model of learning. Each day there will be structured and unstructured activities following a regular schedule that will broaden knowledge and skills in a wide spectrum of areas including gross and fine motor control, social awareness, independent and collaborative work as well as a progression of skills designed to increase every student’s autonomy and independence.

Core Curriculum

This Junior Kindergarten Scope and Sequence shows a progression of interdisciplinary learning throughout the year in three sections. In order to ground children in their own experiences and expand their understanding of the people and world around them with increasing complexity, Junior Kindergarten students move through three main themed areas of study. This learning path and the development of inquiry and critical thinking will be a consistent thread throughout all themes and units.

Themes:

  • My Community and Me
  • My Environment and Me
  • Change and Growth All Around Me

The units provide opportunities for content exploration and skill building that are aligned with the Junior Kindergarten Social Studies and the NGSS Science Scope and Sequence. These units will assist students in developing inquiry, language and problem solving skills through their organization of the classroom environment, interactions with students, use of books and other texts, incorporation of new vocabulary, use of purposeful play, and family engagement practices.

Social Studies:

Social Studies in prekindergarten focuses on children’s natural interest in learning about themselves and other people, what they do, what languages they speak, and their roles and responsibilities. Junior Kindergarten children begin to become curious about places and events that are meaningful to them within the context of their own lives. They also have a strong sense of fairness and are honing their understanding of right and wrong in the greater community. This natural curiosity about people sets the stage for teachers to incorporate learning experiences that help children learn more about themselves and others. The Social Studies Practices, especially civic participation (e.g., following rules in the classroom) and gathering as well as interpreting and using evidence (e.g., asking questions to clarify something), should be woven into Junior Kindergarten classroom practices.

Units of Study:

Individual Development and Cultural Identity

  • Develops a basic awareness of self as an individual, self within the context of group, and self within the context of community
  • Demonstrates awareness and appreciation of their own culture and other cultures

Civic Ideas and Practice

  • Demonstrates an understanding of roles, rights, and responsibilities
  • Begins to learn basic civic and democratic principles

Humans, Geography and the Environment

  • Demonstrates knowledge of the relationship between people, places, and regions

Time, Continuity and Change

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

Economic Systems

  • Develops a basic understanding of economic concepts within a community

Science:

Following the Next Generation Science Standards, science is fully integrated into the classroom, through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics)

Unit of Study:

  • Welcome to Junior Kindergarten: How do we explore, investigate and understand the world around us?
  • My Five Senses
  • All About Us
  • Where We Live
  • Transportation
  • Light
  • Water
  • Plants
  • Babies
  • Transformation

Field Trips:

All field trips in Junior Kindergarten support the curriculum in the classroom, are local and involve no transportation other than walking.