Kindergarten PSSA Online.

Preparation for the PSSA begins the first year of school, kindergarten.The foundations are laid with a strong curriculum.

The Houghton Mifflin reading series introduces learning to read independently through a word wall, phonics library readers, phonemic awareness activities, and shared reading.

New to Kindergarten this year is DIBELS, a district-wide assessment on literacy skills.

Starfall and Odyssey reinforce reading concepts on the computer.

The Harcourt Math series uses manipulatives and an interactive flip chart to teach math readiness. These skills are reinforced by calendar time and problem of the day.

Consistent vocabulary relating to PSSA items is used by kindergarten and then throughout the elementary school experience.

Transitional Kindergarten uses a Direct Instruction curriculum to meet the reading and math goals. This curriculum includes a district-wide assessment matrix to track students’ growth and progress from year to year.

Kidwriting encourages a gradual building of skills beginning with letter sound correspondence and leading to multi-sentence, independent writing by the end of the year.

Test preparation skills also begin at the kindergarten level by following directions and filling in bubble sheets during theme tests.