Pre-K Expectations

The following benchmarks highlight the understandings and abilities that the Pre-Kindergarten students will develop, or begin to develop, by the time they enter kindergarten.

The students will be able to...

Phonemic Awareness:

• Produce the corresponding sound when presented a capital letter.
• Identify consonant sounds at the beginning of spoken words.
• Select, recall, and invent alliterative words that begin with a specific sound.
• Recognize and invent spoken rhymes.
• Participate in word play games.

Reading, Writing, ad Listening:

• Recognize the shapes and provide the names for capital letters.
• Recognize their own names and some familiar words or logos in print.
• Write their names and the alphabet letters, and copy familiar words.
• Draw pictures to illustrate nouns and to connect meaning to words.
• Use letters or letter-like forms to write names and messages.
• Use written words to share their ideas by telling an adult what to write.
• Participate in shared reading experiences including stories, recipes, ad poetry.
• Identify the primary parts of a book such as the cover, author, illustrations and print.
• Demonstrate an understanding that text can be read.
• Engage in conversation about the content of book and link to class lessons.
• Explore books on their own.
• "Read" job charts, calendars, and signs.
• Participate in cooperative story writing experiences.
• Identify the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts.

Language Development:

• Expand their understanding and speaking vocabulary.
• Correctly use and respond to positional words such as under, inside, and above.
• Correctly use new words related to specific topics covered in class.
• Relate personal experiences in the order they occurred.
• Retell or act out stories that have been read to them.
• Participate in story telling that involves puppetry and flannel boards.
• Invent stories to describe pictures.
• Participate in ritualized conversations such as greetings, weather discussions , and repetitive play.
• Initiate and respond to spontaneous conversations.
• Express needs and wants to teachers and classmates.
• Talk about their feelings such as pride, worry, frustrations, and excitement.
• Follow directions that include 2-3 related steps or actions.
• Participate in whole-group discussions with appropriate, on-topic, contributions.

Numeration and Counting:

• Recognize and name the numbers 0-20.
• Say the numbers 1-20 by rote.
• Count objects in groups of 12 or less.
• Match written numbers with the corresponding number of objects.
• Compare groups containing the same, more or fewer objects.
• Use written numbers as symbols of number concepts within their daily lives.

Operations:

• "Add" two groups of objects by moving them together to make a larger group.
• "Take away" a specific number of objects from a larger group to make a smaller group.
• Test these relationships by counting.
• Correctly use terms same, more, and less.
• Divide a group of objects or a single object into parts that are the same or different sizes.
• Break an item or group of items into smaller portions to share with classmates.

Passage of Time:

• Begin to use timing phrases like in a few minutes, yesterday, and next month.
• Differentiate between past, now, and future.
• Describe events that happened in the past.
• Describe plans for the future.
• Identify clocks and calendars as objects that mark the passage of time.

Qualities, Sorting, and Patterns:

• Describe objects based on qualities such as soft, red, big, bright, or sweet.
• Sort and classify people, objects, and ideas based on whether they are the same or different for a single quality.
• Recognize and name opposites such as short/tall, happy/sad, and wet/dry.
• Order two or three objects based on a specific quality such as short/shorter/shortest or small/medium/large.
• Identify common patterns such as stripes, polka dots, and checkers.
• Describe a pattern based on a quality such as color, shape, or letter.
• Create a pattern based on a single quality using tangible materials such as pom-poms, beads, or blocks.

Geometry and Measures:

• Count the number of sides of a shape.
• Identify and name basic shapes such as triangle, square, rectangle, oval, and circle.
• Identify and name basic 3-dimensional objects such as cone box and a ball.
• Measure the length of an object by starting at one end and counting the number of reference objects that line up next to it.
• Compare objects based on length and size, correctly using vocabulary such as longer/shorter, bigger/smaller, and same.

Self-Esteem and Self-Care:

• Label picture that show people expressing feelings such as happy, sad, scared, and mad.
• Begin to name their feelings and talk about how they feel.
• Show self-assurance in speaking their opinions and making choices.
• Show pride in their accomplishments.
• Show responsibility for their own behavior and belongings.
• Begin familiar tasks independently.
• Try new things and take intellectual risks.
• Ask for help when they don't know what to do, and wait for that help if necessary.
• Show persistence and continue challenging tasks without immediate success.
• Show confidence to cope with mistakes.
• Demonstrate some flexibility with changes.
• Demonstrate impulse control by raising hands, taking turns, and being quiet when appropriate.
• With adult support, express frustration and negotiate conflict with words, without using their bodies in anger.

Multicultural and Diversity Awareness:

• Treat all classmates with respect and fairness.
• Show appreciation for their own talents and the talents of classmates.
• Actively participate in games, stories, and songs from other countries and cultures.
• Tell the class about their own family traditions and listen to others'.

Families:

• Describe their family in words and pictures.
• Name common family roles.
• Respect other students' family organizations.
• Participate in discussions of family traditions such as foods, holidays, or bedtime routines.
• Recognize that all families are unique, and that's great.

A Community of Learners:

• Perform classroom jobs such as a line leader and snack helper.
• Take out tools and clean up with guidance.
• Listen politely to teachers and classmates.
• Ask questions and share information with adults and students.
• Participate in group decision-making.
• Show responsibility for their own behavior and belongings.
• Accept and follow classroom rules.
• Show respect for others by taking turns and speaking kindly.
• Show empathy and caring for others.
• Work and play independently.
• Work and play cooperatively with one or two friends or in a whole-class group.

Economics:

• Recognize pieces of money.
• Exchange money for goods in pretend play.
• Discuss and act out various career roles.

Visual Arts:

• Express their ideas and feeling through a variety of visual art forms.
• Work with a variety of age appropriate media of varying thickness and texture, such as dough, feathers, beads, clay, and wood.
• Use and care for paintbrushes, scissors, glue, and other artistic tools.
• Use original ideas to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional art from a blank page.
• Follow instructions to assemble a specific art project.
• Observe and discuss famous works of art as well as artwork by their classmates.
• Identify and name basic colors.
• Combine primary colors to make secondary colors using a variety of media.
• Practice developing fine-motor skills such as cutting in a straight line, tearing and folding paper, blending colors.

Music:

• Listen to talk about music of various styles.
• Use musical vocabulary to talk about what they hear, such as high/low, soft/loud, and fast/slow.
• Copy rhythms with their bodies by clapping, stomping, swaying. etc.
• Play age-appropriate instruments such as drums, triangles, tambourines, and kazoos.
• Sing songs and perform finger plays individually and with a group.
• Play with their vocal range of sound by imitating animals, copying silly voices, and matching simple musical intervals.
• Repeat and memorize the words and motions to class songs.

Dance and Drama:

• Express their feelings and ideas through movement with and without music.
• Use their own ideas to act out animals, feelings, stories, and ideas in pretend play.
• Retell stories by making up actions and words for story characters.
• Use their bodies and the space around them in open-ended creative movement.
• Follow a leader to move and dance as a class.

Performance:

• Show respect for each student's contribution by listening and taking turns.
• Share their ideas and work with classmates to prepare for a class performance.
• Perform music, songs, movement, and speaking-individually, in small groups, and as a whole class.
• Express their pride and happiness for a job well done!

Life Science:

• Correctly label objects as living or non-living
• Recognize and name common animals, mimicking behavior or sounds if appropriate.
• Match animal babies to adult forms.
• Name animal body parts.
• Categorize animals based on where they live, such as a farm, ocean, zoo, or sky.
• Name primary parts of plants and types of plants such a flower, stem, leaf, and tree.
• Name and locate the primary parts of their human bodies.
• Match different body parts with actions such as run, see, hear, and hug.
• Categorize familiar foods based on basic food groups.
• Categorize familiar foods as healthy or unhealthy (treats).
• Practice healthy habits such as washing hands, brushing teeth, and covering coughs.

Earth Science:

• Describe current weather conditions.
• Identify appropriate clothing for various types of weather.
• Recognize and describe seasonal changes in the world around us.
• Investigate and describe ways that animals change with the seasons.
• Make simple observations about light and shadows.
• Use language and develop vocabulary to describe items in nature such as rocks, lakes, fields, and clouds.
• Recycle items in the classroom and discuss ways to save resources such as paper, water, and classroom supplies.

Physical Science:

• Use their senses to explore a variety of materials in nature and in the classroom.
• Use language and develop vocabulary to describe objects by their qualities such as hard, smooth, fluffy, and wet.
• Identify samples as solid or liquid.
• Participate in experiments showing how substances change with temperature changes.
• Use a play with simple machines and tools such as wheels, pulleys, screws, hammers, and shovels.

Scientific Method:

• Ask questions about the world around them and look for answers through class activities.
• Make predictions of possible answers to class science questions.
• Make observations and collect information with teacher guidance.
• Talk about their explorations.
• Record observations or opinions with pictures, words, or charts.
• Follow teacher-lead discussion, describe data the class has collected on a chart.
• Use a magnifying glass or binoculars to make objects look larger, and identify ways the objects look different.

Using Computers:

• Identify and name primary computer parts such as monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
• Follow specific steps to turn on a computer and choose a program.
• Use a mouse to click, drag, and drop selections.
• Use a keyboard to type letters and words.
• Play computer games that allow them to practice developing skills.
• Explain that the need to ask a parent or teacher before using a computer.

Audio-Visual Tools:

• Expand their understanding of classroom topics by watching educational material on video or DVD.
• Listen to recorded stories and answer questions about what they have heard.
• Record and hear to their voices on tape.
• Operate a cassette or CD player to turn on and off music and stories.
• Plan and take photographs with a camera.
• Perform the role of class photographer.
• Develop vocabulary to talk about their own and their friends' photos.

Large Motor Development:

• Basic loco-motor movements such as walking backward, marching, running, sliding, galloping, skipping, jumping, and hopping.
• Loosely structured activities such as playing with parachutes and rolling or kicking balls.
• Creative movement to music or rhythm.
• Controlled movements that develop balance, strength, and coordination such as climbing, tumbling, pushing, and pulling.

Fine-Motor Development:

• Grasping and holding crayons, markers, and pencils, to develop finger and wrist strength.
• Eye-hand coordination for stacking, placing, balancing, or picking up pieces.
• Finger dexterity necessary to put on a coat or sweater and close buttons or zippers.
• Lacing and threading skills
• Picking up small objects with large tweezers, spoons, scoops, or eye-droppers.
• Building hand strength and control to use scissors to cut a straight line.
• Independent finger control as used in finger plays and counting gestures.

Outdoor Play:

• Play outside everyday, weather permitting.
• Develop strength and coordination by using their bodies in vigorous play.
• Play cooperative games with simple rules.
• Apply the social skills practiced in the classroom in a less-structured environment.