Welcome to Kindergarten!
“Children grow into the intellectual life around them.” - Lev Vygotsky

Walla Walla Public Schools has a full-day kindergarten program at all six district elementary schools.  The typical school day begins between 8 and 8:30 a.m., and it ends between 2:30 and 3 p.m. 

Kindergarten curriculum includes reading, language arts, math, science and social studies.  Students have two 30-minute music classes per week and they visit the library at least once per week as part of their regular curriculum.  Physical education is also offered to kindergarten students at many of our schools.

Enrollment for the next year’s kindergarten program traditionally takes place during the two weeks prior to spring break at all of our elementary schools.  More information will be published in school newsletters, the local newspaper, and on the district website.

Note: Students must turn five no later than August 31st of the year in which they enroll for kindergarten.    Younger students, who turn five between September 1 and October 31, may be tested for early entrance, but there is no guarantee of placement.   For more information, please contact the district Curriculum Department, 526-6735.

The following files are in PDF Format, you will need -->

• Kindergarten Enrollment Information - English
• Kindergarten Enrollment Information - Spanish
• Readiness Checklist and Reading List

• Boundary Map (Revised) (pdf)

Kindergarten Learning Targets

Learning Targets
Learning Targets for Reading
Learning Targets for Writing
Learning Targets for Math
Learning Targets for Social Studies
Learning Targets for Science
Learning Targets for Health & Fitness/Physical Education

What are “learning targets?”
The State of Washington has established standards that identify a basic level of proficiency in skills, knowledge and understandings essential to student success and well-being. These standards are called the State of Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements. The EALRs identify learning targets in reading, writing, math, social studies, science, health and fitness, communication, and the arts for all students in the State of Washington. The Walla Walla School District is in the process of aligning their curriculum content areas with the EALRs and supports all children in their continuous progress toward these standards of achievement.

Student-Centered Learning
All students do not learn at the same rate because they develop at different rates. Children have their own developmental timelines for learning to walk or talk. They also have their own developmental timeline for learning. The goal of the Walla Walla School District is to support students through continuous levels of learning that match individual learning needs.

Curriculum
Walla Walla School District's curriculum frameworks identify and organize concepts, essential understandings, processes, skills and critical content that students need to know and be able to do at each grade level. Critical content is outlined in the state's curriculum frameworks as well as in the Walla Walla School District's contentspecific curriculum guides. These guides outline the most important topics and factual knowledge required for study in each academic content area. Students are taught basic skills and processes in reading, writing and math and are encouraged by their teachers toward a greater depth in thinking and learning. Many of the content areas organize learning around essential questions or “big ideas” that encourage investigation and exploration of topics and ideas.

The following information identifies the learning targets in reading for students who are in kindergarten in the Walla Walla School District.

By the end of Kindergarten, most children will:

• understand that pictures and text convey meaning;
• show an awareness of print in the environment;
• know and use letters and their sounds to predict and confirm text;
• recognize some words in different contexts;
• understand the way we read affects the meaning of what we read;
• reread a range of books and explore new ones.

Kindergarten Reading Expectations

Uses Skills and Strategies

• hears sound sequence in words
• recognizes and names all upper and lower case letters
• uses letter-sound links (including initial and final)
• matches spoken and written word
• is able to distinguish when letter names and sounds match
• can distinguish similar and dissimilar sounds in groups of words
• identifies repetition of sounds, words, or phrases
• uses simple plural forms

Understands what is Read

• focuses on text detail to identify or confirm
• recognizes some words in different contexts
• uses pictures to predict text
• identifies the beginning, middle, and end of a story
• retells a simple text in sequence
• connects characters with actions
• recounts information gained from books
• interprets and uses pictures, labels, photographs
• reads labels and captions around the classroom
• reads and follows simple directions and symbols
• understands that some words name or describe actions, ideas, or information

Reads Fluently

• develops a memory for text
• pauses and sometimes reruns or self-corrects if meaning is lost
• rereads to gain confidence and pace in known text

Shows Effort to Become a Life-Long Reader

• participates in the reading of stories, poems, songs
• asks for nonfiction as well as fiction books to be reread
• explores new books, including nonfiction
• returns to read and/or review favorite books
• responds to acknowledgement and encouragement

The district adopted the Trophies/Trofeos reading program in 2006. It was among three programs recommended by the state of Washington after a careful review of resources available at that time. Our teachers have been using the materials for their reading instruction since the Fall of 2006 and have participated in numerous professional development sessions to help them use the program more effectively. It is available in English (Trophies) and Spanish (Trofeos).

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The following information identifies the learning targets in writing for students who are in kindergarten in the Walla Walla School District.

By the end of Kindergarten, most children will:

• identify topics by talking, drawing, thinking, or writing;
• recognize and use beginning, middle and end;
• begin to dictate and write complete sentences;
• share illustrations and writing with different audiences;
• begin to use correct manuscript formation and spacing.

Kindergarten Writing Expectations

Writes clearly and effectively

• demonstrates main idea or topic by listening or illustrating
• identifies topics by talking, drawing, and thinking
• illustrates or dictates with detail
• uses a variety of forms in illustration and dictated texts (fiction, non-fiction)
• recognizes and/or uses beginning, middle and end
• organizes ideas using graphic organizers (lists, clustering/webbing)
• identifies and uses transitional words and phrases
• develops an awareness of imagery
• dictates sentences with a variety of lengths and types
• begins using letters to represent words
• is aware of subject-predicate agreement
• begins to learn correct manuscript letter formation
• writes for own satisfaction and/or purpose

Writes in a variety of forms for different audiences

• matches writing to audience expectations
• shares writing with many audiences
• identifies fiction and non-fiction
• writes labels, signs, or captions for drawings and models

Understands and Uses Steps of Writing Process

• identifies topic and organizes ideas
• begins to identify and use resources in schools, libraries, and community
• becomes aware of writing conventions (grammar, punctuation, letter form and spelling)
• reads own writing
• begins to use a picture dictionary
• sometimes asks for and willingly accepts additions and changes to writing
• begins to add missing or necessary words
• shares published work with pride

Analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of written work

• reflects on and improves writing when prompted
• seeks, offers, and may employ feedback

There is not a specific writing curriculum for the district. Teachers use a variety of sources, including Harcourt Trophies/Trofeos, 6+1 Trait, Structure and Style, and 4-Square. In addition, three common writing assessments are given each year to all K-5 students. Results of those assessments help guide both instruction and remediation.

The following information identifies the learning targets in math for students who are in kindergarten in the Walla Walla School District.

Numbers/Operations
Students begin to develop basic notions of numbers and use numbers to think about objects and the world around them. They practice counting objects in sets, and they think about how numbers are ordered by showing the numbers on the number line. As they put together and take apart simple numbers, students lay the groundwork for learning how to add and subtract.

Operations/Algebra
Students also learn what it means to add and subtract by joining and separating sets of objects. Working with patterns helps them strengthen this understanding of addition and subtraction and moves them toward the important development of algebraic thinking.

Geometry/Measurement
Students develop basic ideas related to geometry as they name simple two- and three-dimensional figures and find these shapes around them. They sort and match shapes as they begin to develop skills that serve them well in both mathematics and reading.

Students informally develop early measurement concepts as an important precursor to Core Content on measurement in later grades, when students measure objects with tools.

Reasoning/Problem Solving/Communication
Students begin to understand that doing mathematics involves solving problems and discussing how they solved them. Problems at this level emphasize counting and activities that lead to emerging ideas about addition and subtraction. Students 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?”

Note: More specific information on each of the above areas and general examples can be found in the April 2008 Math Standards document

Teaching resources for math include:

• Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, Dale Seymour Publications. This program was developed at TERC (Technical Education Research Center) and is an innovative approach to teaching mathematics based on engaging activities and group learning experiences. The curriculum at each grade level is organized into units that offer from three to eight weeks of mathematical work in number, data analysis, and geometry. The units link together to form a complete K-5 curriculum that teachers can adjust to fit their classroom needs.
• ORIGOmath, Origo Publishing. This program offers an alternative for teaching computation. This program draws on a range of visual models and concrete materials with appropriate practice to develop skills in all aspects of computation.
• First Steps in Mathematics, Pearson Professional Learning. This program enables teachers to assess and monitor their students' mathematics progress, and provides links to developmentally appropriate teaching strategies and learning activities.
• Everyday Counts, Great Source Publishing. Aligned with NCTM Standards, this program provides lessons and activities to preview, review, and discuss critical math concepts and skills, build math understanding, and help improve test scores in a few minutes each day.

The following information identifies the learning targets in social studies for students who are in kindergarten in the Walla Walla School District.

Most five-year olds can begin to combine simple ideas into more complex relations. They have an interest in their community and the world outside their own. The social studies curriculum should provide a rich environment of printed materials to stimulate the development of literacy skills in meaningful contexts and include a variety of experiences to develop students’ cognitive, physical, emotional, and social capacities.

Learning About Myself and My Classroom Community
History

• Describe personal changes that have occurred over time related to physical development, personal interests, and ideas about who s/he is and what s/he can do and achieve.

Civics

• Explain how one’s feelings and actions can be similar or different from those of others.
• Describe situations that are fair in relation to him/her and others.
• Identify classroom rules and explain how the rules balance the needs of individuals and groups.
• Explain why it is important for people to work together to solve problems.

The Food We Eat
History

• Compare and contrast the kinds of foods we eat today with food eaten in the past.
• Compare and contrast how foods are preserved and prepared today with the past.
• Describe how technology has changed how people prepare and get food today.

Geography

• Explain that people in every culture may eat different foods because of location, culture, and personal taste.
• Identify foods/meals that are eaten for special occasions and recognize the diversity of foods/meals among families.

Economics

• Explain that food is a basic need providing nutrients needed to build strong and healthy bodies.
• Explain that people make choices about the food they eat, based on cost of food, availability of food, family customs, religious beliefs and personal taste.

Kindergarten teaching resources for social studies include:

• All About Me, Harcourt Brace & Company
• World/U.S. Wall Map and Globe

Science Standards for Kindergarten and First Grade focus on eight major areas within Life, Physical and Space Sciences. These standards are taught during a two-year grade span, with only four areas taught in depth each year. Science is not to be taught in isolation, but in conjunction with content in major disciplinary areas such as reading, mathematics and social studies.

Following are the eight major areas for Kindergarten and First Grade science instruction, followed by a brief explanation of each. For more in-depth information, please refer to the K-12 Science Standards which can be found on the OSPI website: www.k12.wa.us.

Push-Pull and Position: Students learn to use appropriate words to describe the position and motion of objects and the effects of forces on objects. Students start with words that describe the position of an object with respect to another object (e.g., in front, behind, above, and below) and then describe motion as a change in position. Forces are introduced as pushes and pulls that can change the motion of objects, and students see that some forces act through contact, while others act from a distance (without touching the object). These basic concepts provide a foundation for later understanding of frames of reference and the interaction of forces and matter.

Air and Water: Students learn about the properties of air and water. Even though we can’t see air, we know it is all around us because we can feel it. Moving air (wind) can even make things move. Balloons illustrate that air will fill up a container completely. Liquids, on the other hand, do not fill a container completely. They take the shape of the part of the container that they occupy. Cooling a liquid can turn the liquid into a solid (as water to ice), and when that occurs it retains its shape, regardless of its container. These observations about the properties of materials, and how some materials can change from liquid to solid and back again, begin to build an understanding of matter and its transformations that will be formalized as states of matter during the grade 2-3 band.

Observing the Sun and Moon: Students learn that some of the objects that they see in the sky, such as clouds and birds, change from minute to minute, while other things, such as the Sun and Moon, can be seen to follow patterns of movement if observed carefully over time. The Moon can sometimes be seen during the day and sometimes at night, and its shape seems to change gradually during the month. Study of the sky can help young children realize that they can learn about the world through their own observations.

Earth Materials and Weather Changes: Students learn about Earth materials and weather through their own observations. They learn to distinguish between natural materials and those made by people. They study natural substances such as leaves, rocks, and soil, and find that these Earth materials are made up of smaller parts and different kinds of materials. They use appropriate terms, such as hard, soft, dry, wet, heavy, and light, to describe what they see. They also observe weather conditions and use appropriate terms to describe these conditions (hot, cold, rainy, clear). Students also notice that weather changes gradually from season to season. These observations help students become familiar with Earth materials and changes in the world around them, including short-term and long-term changes, as well as what stays the same.

Organisms Change and Grow: Students learn that all living things have basic needs, and they meet those needs in various ways. Just as humans have body parts with different functions to meet their needs, animals and plants also have body parts with different functions to meet their own needs. A magnifier reveals further details of plant and animal parts that are not easily seen with the unaided eye alone. Learning about the diverse needs of plants and animals and the various ways they meet their needs will help to prepare students to understand more detailed structures beginning at the grade 2-3 levels.

Meeting Basic Needs: Students learn that habitats (ecosystems) meet the needs of a variety of different plants and animals. Earth has many different habitats, and these different habitats support the life of many different organisms. Humans have the ability to make rapid changes in natural habitats. They also have the ability to keep a habitat from deteriorating so that living conditions can be maintained.

Classifying Organisms: Students learn that some objects are alive and others are not, and that many living things (organisms) can be classified as either plants or animals. Plants and animals can be further classified into smaller groups such as insects and trees. Even these groups can be further subdivided. Classification provides a way to order and appreciate the amazing diversity of Earth’s organisms.

Kindergarten teaching resources for science include the following kits:

• GEMS Ladybugs – Children learn about ladybug body structure and symmetry, life cycle, defensive behavior, and foods. Math is an integral part of this unit and role-playing is interwoven in the activities. In “Ladybugs Rescue the Orange Trees,” children learn important lessons about the environmental role of ladybugs and interdependence found in nature.
  • GEMS Sifting Through Science – Children learn about objects and their properties. They investigate material properties, including those of materials that sink and float, magnetic and non-magnetic objects, and a sand-and-bean mixtures whose elements can be sifted and separated. Each student is given a “garbage dump” of various materials with which they learn about recycling and the environment.

GEMS = Great Explorations in Math and Science, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley

The following information identifies the learning targets in health and fitness for students who are in kindergarten in the Walla Walla School District.

Health
By the end of Kindergarten, students will begin to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain an active life and healthy life, including movement, physical fitness, nutrition, safety, and reducing health risks.

Lessons focus on:

• Disease prevention
• Safety (street crossing, fire prevention and escape, vehicle safety for passengers)
• Refusal skills
• Medicine safety (What are medicines?)
• Wellness
• Exercise

Fitness/Physical Education
By the end of Kindergarten, students will begin to know and apply the core concepts of health and fitness and to provide opportunities to become responsible citizens, contribute to their own economic well-being and that of their families and communities, and enjoy productive and satisfying lives.

Students will:

• Demonstrate body control while performing a variety of basic physical skills (e.g., jumping, hopping)
• Demonstrate safe movement, follow directions and demonstrate sportsmanship
• Begin to develop an introductory fitness vocabulary
• Participate in rhythmic activities

Kindergarten teaching resources for health and fitness include:

• Your Health by Harcourt-Brace Publishing
• Second Step, A Violence Prevention Curriculum from Committee for Children