Syllabus
Desert Mountain School
Kindergarten Syllabus
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ELA at a Glance
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Quarter 1: Focus on concepts of print (how students engage in a text) Begin reading various types of text and discussing story elements as a class Learn and apply basic handwriting skills Understanding word meanings Quarter 2: Phonics practice Rhyming words Begin building and reading CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant) words (Ex: cat, bat, mat, etc.) Asking and answering questions about a text Basic reading comprehension Quarter 3: Compare and Contrast texts Apply phonics for decoding Retelling key elements of text Apply letter concepts to writing Blending and Segmenting words Quarter 4: Apply phonics for decoding Retelling key elements of text Compare and Contrast texts Word relationships High Frequency Words Phonetic Spelling |
Math at a Glance
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Quarter 1 Numbers to 10 Quarter 2 2-D and 3-D Shapes Comparison of Lengths, Weight, Capacity and Numbers to 10 Quarter 3 Number Pairs Addition and Subtraction to 10 Quarter 4 Number 10-20 and Counting to 100 Analyzing, Comparing and Composing Shapes Overview of Arizona State Standards: Please use the links below to access resources related to each of the subjects taught through the AZ Standards. We use HMH Into Reading to guide ELA instruction and we use the Eureka Math curriculum. Teachers will provide students with a variety of resources and teaching methods to ensure all students are successful in the learning environment. Resources for parents and guardians: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES (PLC’s) Most Fridays, students will be released early so that we are able to participate in PLC work. This work is directly related to the planning, instruction and interventions we implement in our classrooms to ensure that students master the standards. A professional learning community is a group of educators that meet regularly and work Collaboratively to improve teaching practices and the achievement of students. The questions that drive the work of PLC’s are: ● What do we want all students to know and be able to do? ● How will we know if they learn it? ● How will we respond if some students do not learn? ● How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient? Please be sure to read the weekly newsletter for ongoing information regarding the content of each early release day. HOMEWORK & GRADES Homework: Teacher will provide additional information at Meet the Teacher. Grades: Grades are a reporting tool utilized to reflect what a student knows and is able to do in a content area. We measure achievement, not effort or behavior, in our grading system. PowerSchool is an essential resource for parents and students. It is not only a tool for communication regarding grades, it is a resource for our students and parents to check progress, missing work, and what is being taught/learned regularly. Please ensure that you and your child have access (separate accounts) and even sign up for the app and push notifications or weekly email updates as an option in PowerSchool. WHY STANDARDS BASED GRADING?: Parents: ● Progress reports are less mysterious and have more meaning ● Parents are aware of exactly what their child knows, is able to do, and next steps for progress ● Parents know in what areas their child needs more support ● Parents are empowered to increase their child's confidence and help their student set goals Students: ● Learning targets are clearly defined and aligned with state standards. ● Students are offered multiple opportunities and ways through which to demonstrate proficiency ● Students monitor their own progress toward the achievement of specified targets ● Specific feedback on progress helps build self-esteem, pride, and motivation Teachers: ● Teachers know exactly where students stand in their progress toward learning targets and what support needs to be provided ● Teachers of the same courses have aligned expectations and standards ● Assessment results help teachers determine when students need extra help and when they need more challenging work K-6 GRADING SCALE (select your scale) GRADING PRACTICES: GRADE SCALESK-2 Grade Scale Students in Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades will receive marks for their proficiency toward the grade level standards using the following scale. 4 = Applies grade level skills with greater depth or complexity 3 = Demonstrates grade level proficiency 2 = Approaches grade level proficiency 1 = Displays a significant lack of grade level proficiency Students in 1st and 2nd grades will receive marks for their overall performance in each course of study using the following letter grade scale. E = Excellent (87%-100%) S = Satisfactory (58%-86%) N = Needs Improvement (42%-57%) U = Underperforming (0%-41%) PROCEDURES FOR RE-ASSESSMENTS AND LATE WORK In Kindergarten a majority of assignments are completed as a class with support and guidance. Students will be prompted and reminded to turn in work following each lesson. If a student needs support with specific assignments, that will be addressed in a small group setting and work will be collected at that time. ● Students needing extra help will receive it from their teacher during Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in class ● In order to accurately reflect a student’s academic performance level, teachers will accept late work and missing work for full credit if the work is submitted within the timeframe and procedures developed by the school and before the end of the grading period. ○ Students will still be responsible for turning in late work in addition to their current coursework, which results in the natural consequence of a heavier workload. The primary consequence for students not completing the work is to complete the work. Kindergarten students are given multiple opportunities to show mastery and understanding of a particular skill. There will be multiple assignments to measure understanding throughout the grading period. Learning is a journey that is often not linear. Some students learn content and skills quickly while others may require more time or feedback in order to learn. The primary objective of grades is to report where a student is in the learning process, regardless of how much time or effort the student needs to get there. ● Students will be afforded extra time for learning; however, there is an ending point for each course in which final reports on a student’s learning must be conveyed. ● Final assessments or end of term capstone projects and performance assessments will not be eligible for retakes. ● Assessments/assignments may be in an alternate format for reassessment. ● Students are required to show evidence of learning and applying the teacher’s feedback in order to earn a reassessment opportunity. PBIS All students are taught to follow the HAWK expectations: Honorable, Accountable, Willing Attitude and Kind. These expectations are outlined in this HAWK Matrix. Students earn Hawk Bucks for demonstrating these expectations that they can use to purchase items or experience coupons in the Hawk’s Nest. All Things EQ We have implemented a philosophy called “All Things EQ.” While your IQ is your book smarts or school smarts, your EQ is your emotional quotient or self-smarts. The EQ philosophy focuses on the following key questions:
To reinforce the EQ philosophy our 6th graders are trained to be our EQ Ambassadors so they can be role models for the rest of the students. In addition, each teacher is holding class meetings every Friday, showing videos that focus on the four key questions and we have daily announcements focused on the core questions and weekly motto. LLM/Generative AI Student Statements After careful consideration and in alignment with the developmental needs of our students and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), DVUSD has determined that the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, is not suitable for students in grades K-8 (13 years of age and younger) and will not be utilized or endorsed in academic contexts.
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