Kindergarten
In the Islamic Academy of Alabama Kindergarten program, we emphasize providing an environment which encourages deep thinking, creativity and self-confidence in order to bring out the special and unique traits of individual students. We provide an academically stimulating program to teach our children to respect each other’s ideas, opinions, and backgrounds and our classroom environment is developed in a way which encourages positive cognitive, social, emotional, and motor skill development while building self-confidence. Our goal is to encourage and help our children strengthen skills that develop into the love of learning that they will carry with them throughout their lives.
By starting our day with feeling journals, morning bins, and morning daily routines, students learn to become more self-disciplined and confident, stimulate thinking, and improve overall well-being from the start of the day. In our English/Language Arts we include activities like read-aloud sessions that expose students to a large variety of literature and we engage in enriched discussions consistent with the weekly theme. In our Math curriculum, students learn the basics of shapes, numbers, and foundational math vocabulary. We also engage in STEM activities, projects, and activities throughout the academic year to introduce students to basic science and social studies concepts.
We strive to provide an enriching academic curriculum in English using the Reading Street curriculum (new curriculum in 2023-2024), in Math using the McGraw Hill My Math, in Science using the Interactive Science curriculum, and in Social Studies using thematic units in order to meet the Alabama educational standards for Kindergarten. Our core curriculum is implemented along with an enriched and unique Arabic and Islamic Studies program guided by experienced instructors.
Objectives/ Alabama State Standards
English/Language Arts
Foundational Skills
- Track print from left to right, top to bottom and page to page
- Point to words with one-to-one correspondence
- Recognize and name upper- and lowercase letters
- Recognize and produce rhyming words
- Segment words into individual sounds and blend sounds into words
- Produce sound for each consonant and vowel
- Read grade level high-frequency words by sight
- Read grade level texts with accuracy, purpose and understanding
Reading Standards for Informational Text and Literature
- Retell familiar stories; Ask and answer questions about key details of a text
- Identify characters, setting and major events in a story
- Identify front/back cover and title page of a book; Define role of author and illustrator
- Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding
- Compare and contrast texts on the same topic
- Make connections between self, text and the world
Writing Standards
- Use a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to express an opinion about a book
- Use a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to share information
- Use a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to tell a story
- Add details to strengthen writing Speaking and Listening Standards
- Participate in conversations about Kindergarten topics and texts
- Follow agreed upon rules for discussions (listening to others, taking turns talking, etc.)
- Describe familiar people, places, things and events
- Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly Language Standards
- Print many upper- and lowercase letters
- Use frequently occurring nouns, verbs and prepositions (to, from, in, out, etc.)
- Use inflections (re–, pre-, -s, -es, -ful, – less, etc.) in speaking and understanding language
- Understand and use questions words (who, what, where, when, how and why)
- Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I
- Recognize and name ending punctuation (? ! .)
- Write a letter for most consonant and short vowel sounds; Spell words phonetically
- Demonstrate an understanding of words by relating them to their opposites
Maths
Counting and Cardinality
- Count to 100 by ones starting from any given number
- Count to 100 by tens
- Write numbers from 0 – 20
- Count groups of up to 20 objects accurately
- Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 using less than, greater than or equal to
Operations and Algebraic Thinking/Numbers in Base Ten
- Represent addition and subtraction within 10 using objects
- Solve addition word problems within 10 using objects or drawings
- Solve subtraction word problems within 10 using objects or drawings
- Decompose numbers through ten in more than one way (5 = 2 + 3 and 5= 1+4)
- Find the number that makes 10 when added to a given number from 1 – 9
- Fluently add within 5
- Fluently subtract within 5
- Compose and decompose numbers from 11 – 19 into tens and ones (12 is ten and 2 ones)
Measurements and Data
- Describe attributes of objects, such as length or weight
- Directly compare objects to see which is heavier/ lighter, taller/ shorter, etc.
- Classify (sort) objects into categories and count the objects in each category Geometry
- Describe objects using names of shapes
- Describe relative position of shapes using terms such as above, below, in front of, behind and next to
- Identify shapes as 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional
- Identify 2 dimensional shapes: rectangle, triangle, square, circle, hexagon
- Identify 3 dimensional shapes: cube, cone, cylinder, sphere
Science
Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
- Investigate the resulting motion of objects when forces of different strengths and directions act upon them
- Use observations and data from investigations to determine if a design solution
- solves the problem of using force to change the speed or direction of an object
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Distinguish between living and nonliving things and verify what living things need to survive
- Gather evidence to support how plants and animals provide for their needs by altering their environment
- Construct a model of a natural habitat conducive to meeting the needs of plants and animals native to Alabama
- Identify and plan possible solutions to lessen the human impact on the local environment
Earth’s Systems
- Distinguish between living and nonliving things and verify what living things need to survive
- Gather evidence to support how plants and animals provide for their needs by altering their environment
- Construct a model of a natural habitat conducive to meeting the needs of plants and animals native to Alabama
- Identify and plan possible solutions to lessen the human impact on the local environment
Earth and Human Activity
- Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasts in planning for, preparing for, and responding to severe weather
Social Studies
- Sequence events using schedules, calendars, and timelines
- Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens within the family, classroom, school, and community
- Describe how rules provide order, security, and safety in the home, school, and community
- Differentiate between needs and wants of family, school, and community
- Differentiate between goods and services
- Compare cultural similarities and differences in individuals, families, and communities
- Describe roles of helpers and leaders, including school principal, school custodian, volunteers, police officers, and fire and rescue workers
- Recognize maps, globes, and satellite images
- Differentiate between landforms and bodies of water on maps and globes
- Apply vocabulary related to giving and following directions
- Identify symbols, customs, famous individuals, and celebrations representative of our state and nation
- Describe families and communities of the past, including jobs, education, transportation, communication, and recreation