Grade K Family and Community Resources Home Page

Overview

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is nationally recognized as a leader in teaching and learning. Our rigorous instructional program engages students in learning through relevant, real-world classroom experiences. The HCPSS curriculum is written by Howard County teachers and is designed to provide students a thorough grounding in essential knowledge and skills that will give them a leading edge in tomorrow's global environment. Our curriculum challenges students to think strategically, solve problems, innovate, collaborate, communicate effectively, and achieve goals.

The HCPSS curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards. These standards for literacy and mathematics education resulted from a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The Standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. Additional information about the Common Core State Standards.

HCPSS Curriculum Is...

1. Deep: Mastery of essential skills is emphasized at each level, so students build the skills and confidence to tackle more advanced concepts.

2. Broad: Instruction crosses content areas – for example, science and social studies curriculum incorporates reading, math, and writing skills

3. Relevant: Classroom lessons are reinforced through hands-on activities and real-world experiences.

4. Active: Students learn by exploration, using creativity, critical thinking and analysis to discover answers to problems, and practice collaboration and effective communication.

Early Childhood Programs

The purpose of the kindergarten program is to provide high-quality early childhood education that is rigorous yet developmentally appropriate. The program provides comprehensive support for early childhood education, including Kindergarten programming and professional learning for teachers. In addition, it supports family and community outreach in order to promote school readiness. A focus on “birth to five” is crucial and an important first step on the path to college and career readiness.

Full-day kindergarten is provided in all forty-two elementary schools. The curriculum is comprehensive, focusing on literacy and mathematics, as well as science, social studies, and health education. Teachers emphasize thinking, inquiry, and problem solving across the curriculum, as well as skills and processes. Specialists provide instruction in the areas of media, physical education, technology, and fine arts.

Young children learn best when given opportunities to participate in a variety of experiences including teacher-directed tasks, hands-on learning, active exploration, and investigations. Early childhood educators balance rigorous instruction with opportunities for play, music, movement, and oral language development. Kindergarten instruction is provided through meaningful activities in a variety of instructional groupings, including one-to-one and in small and large groups. Lessons help develop positive attitudes toward learning while children increase their knowledge and skills.

Instruction at the Kindergarten Level

1. Ensures that each student develops the academic, social, and emotional knowledge, strategies, and skills needed to participate responsibly in a diverse and changing world;

2. Incorporates interdiscplinary and developmentally-appropriate instruction to prepare students for success as lifelong learners;

3. Utilizes a child-centered approach to ensure that each child develops a love of learning; and,

4. Supports adjustments to the social setting of a formal classroom so that students can actually attain the skills and knowledge of the curriculum while learning how to function effectively in the classroom setting.

This course content is offered under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted.