Kindergarten Math Newsletter
What are students learning in unit 3?
The new curriculum (Curriculum 2.0) is built around developing students’ critical and creative
thinking skills, as well as essential academic success skills, which will lead to college and career
readiness in the 21st century.
The creative thinking skill is synthesis.
Students need to:
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Put things back together after they have taken them apart.
See how new ideas come from other ideas.
Make something new out of the parts they already have.
Organize their thoughts.
The academic success skill is effort/motivation/persistence.
Students need to:
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Challenge themselves to accomplish difficult tasks.
Know how to accomplish their goals.
Think of additional ways to reach their goals when things get difficult.
Never give up. They ask for help when learning is difficult for them.
OBJECTIVES
Measurement and Data
Students need to:
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Describe measureable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.
Describe several measureable attributes of a single object.
Directly compare two objects with a measureable attribute in common, to see which
object has “more of”/”less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example,
directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.
geometry
Students need to:
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Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative
positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind,
and next to.
Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, “flat”) or three dimensional (“solid”).
© Ronald McNair Kindergarten Team 2011-2012
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Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and
orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts
(e.g., number of sides and vertices/”corners”) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of
equal length).
Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls)
and drawing shapes.
Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes. For example, “Can you join these two
triangles with full sides touching to make a rectangle?”
VOCABULARY
Students need to know:
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Attribute – a characteristic of an object, such as size, shape or color
Circle – a closed plane shape that is round
Compare – how are they the same and how are they different
Cone – a solid figure having 1 circular face, 0 edges, and 1 vertex
Corner – a point where two sides meet
Cube – a solid figure having 6 square faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices
Cylinder – a solid figure have 2 circular faces, 0 edges, and 0 vertices
Edge – line segment where 2 faces of a solid figure meet
Height – how tall something is from top to bottom; taller/shorter (the vertical distance)
Hexagon – a closed plane shape with 6 sides and 6 corners
Length – how long something is from end to end; longer/shorter (the horizontal distance)
Measure – to find the size or amount of an object
Non-standard unit – using smaller objects end to end to measure other objects (i.e.,
pennies, paper clips, goldfish crackers, etc.)
Pentagon – a closed plane shape with 5 sides and 5 corners
Rectangle – closed plane shape with 2 pairs of equal and parallel sides (4 sides) and 4
right angles
Side – line on edge of a plane shape joining it’s vertices (corners)
Sphere – solid figure shape of a round ball
Square – a closed plane shape with 4 equal sides and 4 corners
Three-dimensional – solid
Triangle – a closed plane shape with 3 sides and 3 corners, regardless of size and
orientation
Two–dimensional – flat shape or plane shape (flat surface)
Vertex – a solid figure corner where three or more edges meet
Weight – how heavy something is; heavier/lighter
Width – how wide something is from end to end (also, horizontal distance)
© Ronald McNair Kindergarten Team 2011-2012
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BOOK LIST -
This list of book titles can help your child better understand the concepts.
Measurement:
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Albert’s Alphabet
Biggest House in the World
Blue Sea
Carrot Seed
House for Hermit Crab
How Big is a Foot?
Much Bigger Than Martin
Mysterious Tadpole
One Step, Two …
Pancakes for Breakfast
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Principal’s New Clothes
Story of Ferdinand
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
You’ll Soon Grow into Them, Titch
Geometry:
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A, B, See!
Circles, Triangles, and Squares
Color Zoo
Dots, Spots, Speckles and Stripes
Exactly the Opposite
Grandfather Tang’s Story
Here a Chick, There a Chick
Look Again!
Look! Look! Look!
Mango Tooth
Missing Pieces
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes
© Ronald McNair Kindergarten Team 2011-2012
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WEBSITES – This is a list of generic websites that can help your child better understand
the concepts. Please help your child choose an appropriate game for their level.
http://www.brainpopjr.com/math/
http://www.funbrain.com/kidscenter.html
http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activities.aspx?grade=1
http://www.mathsisfun.com/index.htm
http://www.softschools.com/counting/
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/
http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/math2002/na/grk.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/auto/13/1.html
http://www.teachrkids.com/
WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP (HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES)
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Choose a household object (e.g., a radio) and ask your child, “What could you measure on
this radio to find out about its size?” Your child may respond by saying, “I could measure
how tall it is, how long or wide it is, or how heavy/light it is.”
Ask your child to measure small objects with pennies. Place a penny along the length of
the object and ask, “How many pennies do you think it would take to measure the length
of this object?” Then let your child measure the object using pennies (end to end). Try
other objects.
Go on a shape hunt with your child. Find shapes in books, wallpaper, or clothing. Help your
child trace each shape with a finger and ask him/her to describe the shape.
Show your child a 3-dimensional object such as a cube. Ask him/her to find another
object that is the same shape. When a similar object is found, ask your child to describe
the shape. Repeat with a can-shaped object (cylinder). Repeat with other shapes.
For additional activities, visit http://www.free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=33 or
http://mathforum.org/mathtools/sitemap2/k/
© Ronald McNair Kindergarten Team 2011-2012
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ENRICHMENT/ACCELERATION
Curriculum 2.0 focuses on building stronger math students by building a stronger
foundation. The standards are new and internationally driven. Grade level material is challenging
and leads to deeper understanding of math. The content is rigorous and aligned with nations
that are known for high math achievement (Japan and Singapore). Mastery of a standard means
students demonstrate the concept in a variety of ways. If you would like more information
please visit http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/2.0/math/.)
We know that children can and will meet mastery at different times throughout the year.
Therefore it is necessary to enrich/accelerate their learning. For this unit, here are a few
suggestions to do at home:
 Use non-standard units (pennies, paper clips, etc.) to measure three or more objects by
length and then compare the lengths ordering them from smallest to longest. For
example, measure three different sized pencils using pennies. Then order the pencils
from shortest to longest not by the actual pencils but by their size based on the nonstandard units.
 Ask your child to estimate how many pennies do you think it would take to measure a
specific object? Have your child measure it using the pennies making sure the pennies line
up end to end. Then ask them to estimate another object of either longer or shorter size.
Afterwards ask them to actually measure the object. Is your child’s estimation getting
better? Keep estimating other objects. Change the non-standard unit to paper clips.
 Have your child put shapes together to create new shapes. Let them be creative.
 Have your child identify the three dimensional shapes in the world around them. For
example, a house can consist of a rectangular prism and a triangular prism or an ice cream
cone can consist of a cone and a sphere, etc.
 Although the measurement of time is not taught until first grade, all Kindergarten
classes use a calendar to measure time. Ask your child to name the months of the year.
Ask your child how many days are in a week. How many days or weeks are in a month? How
many days until a special occasion? Have your child be able to use a calendar to tell time.
© Ronald McNair Kindergarten Team 2011-2012
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