K-3 Curriculum Themes for 2008-2009

1st Quarter
Getting To Know Each Other/Feelings and Emotions (1 Week)
Week of August 20th- 22nd, 2008
Working on getting to know the children. Talk about their feelings about coming to school. Establish
classroom routines, schedules, and limits with the children. Start to assess children’s skill levels.

All About Me/Family and Friends (2 Weeks)

Weeks of August 24th-September 5th, 2008
All About Me -Learn about what makes each one of us special. Learn about each child’s likes and
dislikes, favorite colors, foods, etc. Discuss feelings and behaviors and ways of expressing these in appropriate
manners.
Family and Friends – Learn about different kinds of families. Discuss the importance of families in our
lives. Encourage family involvement in the classroom and school community. Learn about friendship in classroom
discussions and activities. Encourage taking turns, sharing, and cooperation with others in our class.
Letters – “Aa” and “Ii” *Focus on assessing children’s skills, language, and behaviors
during this theme.

Circus/Colors and Shapes (2 Weeks)

Weeks of September 8th – 19th, 2008
Circus –Learn about life in a circus. Opportunities to talk about family life in a circus and multicultural
issues. Encourage children’s use of language as they explore this theme.
Colors and Shapes –Using the circus theme learn about different colors and shapes.
Letters -“Cc” and “Ee” *Focus on language skills, fine and gross motor skills, and use of
shapes and colors in patterning and design activities.

Nursery Rhymes/Folktales (2 Weeks)

Weeks of September 22nd – October 3rd, 2008
Nursery Rhymes –Learn nursery rhymes to promote literacy development, rhyming sounds,
memorization, and children’s ability to repeat rhyme. Rhymes are also a good way to teach opposite and spatial
concepts (under, over, down, up).
Folktales –Folktales are used to explore storytelling and learn about different cultures. Children are
encouraged to reenact stories.
Letters – “Nn” and “Gg” *Focus on literacy and early language skills. Explore spatial
concepts, sequencing, and classification.

Community Helpers/Transportation (1 Week)

Weeks of October 6th – 10th, 2008
Community Helpers –Learn about different types of work people do in and outside of the home. Explore
different types of jobs people do and special tools people use in their workplaces.
Transportation –Learn about different types of transportation, on land, on sea, and in the air. Talk
about different types of vehicles us for different reasons; at home, on the job, and at play.
Letters – “Oo” *Focus on social studies concepts, work with math concepts; one-to-one
correspondence, classification, sorting, and counting skills.
2nd Quarter
Community Helpers/Transportation (1 Week)
Weeks of October 13th – 17th, 2008
Community Helpers –Learn about different types of work people do in and outside of the home. Explore
different types of jobs people do and special tools people use in their workplaces.
Transportation –Learn about different types of transportation, on land, on sea, and in the air. Talk
about different types of vehicles us for different reasons; at home, on the job, and at play.
Letters – “Tt” *Focus on social studies concepts, work with math concepts; one-to-one
correspondence, classification, sorting, and counting skills.

Creepy Crawlers/Day & Night (2 Weeks)

Weeks of October 20th –31st, 2008
Creepy Crawlers –Learn about spiders, bugs, and other small creatures such as; bats and rats.
Incorporate these into Halloween time and early fall. Learn about the importance of these creatures in our
environment.
Day & Night –Learn about nocturnal animals and different things that happen during the night.
Letters – “Hh” and “Mm” *Focus on science concepts involving spiders, bugs, and
nocturnal animals. Explore language and storytelling along with math concepts.

Fall Changes (2 Weeks)

Weeks of November 3rd– 14th, 2008
Fall Changes – Explore changes that take place in the weather and environment during the fall season.
Work with science concepts of earth, air, and water.
Thanksgiving – Learn about the celebration of “Thanksgiving”. Discuss with children the things that they
have to be thankful for, such as families, friends, and faith.
Letters – “Ff” *Focus on science concepts of nature changes during fall, storytelling, and
simple basic math skills.

Thanksgiving & Nutrition (2 Weeks)

Weeks of November 17th –28th, 2008
Thanksgiving – Learn about the celebration of “Thanksgiving”. Discuss with children the things that they have
to be thankful for, such as families, friends, and faith.
Nutrition – Learn about food and nutrition. Talk about different types of fall vegetables, fruits, and
nuts. Discuss ways of making healthy food choices.
Letters – “Pp” *Focus on science concepts of healthy eating, and classifications and data
collection.

The Five Senses/Christmas (3 Weeks)

Weeks of December 1st – 19th, 2008
The Five Senses – Learning to explore with our five senses during the holiday season. Sort and classify
using sight, sound, taste, tactile, and hearing.
Christmas – Learn about the celebration of Christmas. Discuss the real reason for Christmas – The
Birth of Jesus!
Letters – “Jj” and review of previous letters explored. *Focus on the five senses and the
season of faith.
3rd Quarter

Winter (2 Weeks)
Weeks of January 5th – 16th, 2009
Winter – Learn about the season of winter. Talk about the changes in weather and how this affects
people, plants, and animals. Learn about our bodies and healthy practices. Visit with children about their
Christmas Break.
Letters – “Ww” and “Qq” *Focus on the season of winter and healthy bodies. Explore
language skills, storytelling, and science concepts.

Dinosaurs (3 Weeks)
Weeks of January 19th – February 6th, 2009
Dinosaurs – Learn about dinosaurs. Talk about how dinosaurs became extinct, what their world looked
like, and different types of dinosaurs.
Letters – “Dd” and “Xx” *Focus on math concepts, one-to-one correspondence,
classification and data collection, number sense, counting, and problem-solving.

Valentines (1 Week)
Week of February 9th –13th, 2009
Valentines- Discuss important people in our lives. Valentines day is a day when we give cards
and gifts to others.
Letter – “Vv” *Focus on names,and learning about people in our lives and how we can
show them how much we care.

Farm/Stock Show and Rodeo (2 Weeks)

Weeks of February 16th – February27th, 2009
Farm/Stock Show and Rodeo – Learn about farm and ranch life, animals, and products produced on
farms and ranches. Talk about the Stock Show and Rodeo, which takes place in San Antonio this month. Learn
about classifying different types of animals; farm, pet, zoo, wild. Talk about care of animals and farming.
Letters – “Ll” *Focus on learning about animals, crops, the farm/ranch culture, and
developing and extending language and vocabulary skills.

Sand and Deserts (2 Weeks)

Weeks of March 2nd- 13th, 2009
Sand and Deserts – Learn about desert environments. The plants, animals and people who live in these
areas. Compare this environment to the woods and rainforests. Talk about some of the same issues in the
rainforest; ecology and preservation. Explore geography and plant and animal life.
Letters – “Ss” and “Yy” *Focus on learning a desert environment, animals, and plants.
Great for science concepts, sensory exploration, and expanding language and vocabulary skills.
4th Quarter

Spring/Bugs/Butterflies (2 Weeks)
Weeks of March 23rd- April 3rd , 2009
Spring – Learn about the season of spring. The changes in weather and how this affects animals, plants,
and humans.
Butterflies – Learn about butterflies, bugs, and bees and their relationship with flowers and plants in
our gardens. Talk about different types of bugs; harmful and beneficial. Learn about life cycles and talk about
the concept of “change”.
Letters – “Bb” and “Kk” *Focus on the season of spring and changes in nature. Explore
science concepts connected with insects; learn about life cycles, and plants. Great for
developing literacy and math skills using this unit.

Easter (1 Week)
Week of April 6th -10th, 2009
Easter – Learn about the Easter celebration, rebirth, and new beginnings.
Letters – Review letters *Focus on the Easter season and new life. Great for developing
math skills during this theme.

Space (1 Week)
Week of April 13th-17th, 2009
Space – Learn about the importance of space, the planets, and space travel.
Letters – “Uu” *Focus on learning about planets and space exploration.

Texas (1 Week)
Weeks of April 20th– 24th, 2009
Texas – Learn about our state of Texas and the Fiesta celebrations here in San Antonio. Great unit for
having children explore their creativity; creating bluebonnets, dancing to music, and creating Fiesta floats.
Letters –“Zz” *Focus on learning about Texas and Fiesta

Rainforests and Woods (2 Weeks)

Weeks of April 27th- May 8th, 2009
Rainforest and Woods – Learn about woods and forests and the animals in these environments. Talk
about geographical areas and products produced in the rainforest. Encourage children’s interest in learning
about the importance of these environments, ecology, and getting involved in preservation.
Letters – “Rr”, and review *Focus on learning about wood and rainforest environments,
ecology, and preservation. Great for learning about geography. Children love dictating stories
and learning about animals.

Water and Oceans (2 Weeks)

Weeks of May 11th –22nd,2009
Oceans and Water – Learn about oceans and water environments. Learn about plants and animals that
live in and around these areas. Explore geography of oceans and waters and talk about the importance of these
environments. Again talk about ecology and preservation of water environments.
 Letters – Review letters *Focus on water and ocean environments, plants, animals, etc.
Talk about importance of these areas and products produced from these environments. The
children really enjoy learning about oceans and it keeps their interest high in learning at the end
of the year. Opportunities for language, math, science, social studies, and much more during
this unit.

Clean Up & Moving On (1 Week)

May 25th – 28th, 2009 Last Week of School – Preparing classroom and children for the end of school!
Talking about moving into K-4 at St. Anthony or at other schools.
 K-3 Curriculum Themes for 2008-2009
A theme-based curriculum provides opportunities for children to be introduced and
explore early childhood content areas (Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science,
Social Studies, Fine Arts, Health and Safety, Personal and Social Development, Physical
Development, and Technology Applications) centered on a specific topic or topics.
*Language and literacy areas are explored in these themes with introduction of letters,
dictated stories, vocabulary skills, etc. during these units.
*Math areas: number sense, counting, classification, etc. are explored with each unit.
First Quarter
• Getting to Know Each Other (1 Week) August 20-22, 2008
Assess children’s skill levels; establish classroom routines, schedules, and limits

• All About Me/Family and Friends (2 Weeks) August 25-Sept. 5, 2008

Start letter introduction. Explore self-concept, feelings and language skills
Letters: A & I

• Circus/Colors and Shapes (2 Weeks) Sept.8-19, 2008

Explore math concepts; shapes, colors
Letters: C & E

• Nursery Rhymes/Folktales (2 Weeks) Sept. 22-Oct.3, 2008

Explore language and literacy concepts; rhyming, storytelling, language sounds
Letters: N & G

• Community Helpers/Transportation (1 Week) Oct.6-10, 2008

Explore sense of community and introduce math concepts
Letters: O

2nd Quarter
• Community Helpers/Transportation (1 Week) Oct.13-17, 2008
Explore sense of community and introduce math concepts
Letters: T

• Creepy Crawlers/Day & Night (2 Weeks) Oct. 20-31, 2008

Explore science; spiders, insects, nocturnal animals
Letters: H & M

• Fall Changes (2 Weeks) Nov. 3-14, 2008

Explore seasonal changes in nature around us
Letters: F
 • Thanksgiving/Nutrition (2 Weeks) Nov.17-25, 2008
Learn about Thanksgiving, nutrition and healthy food choices
Letter: P

• The Five Senses/Christmas Traditions (3 Weeks) Dec.1-19, 2008

Explore five senses and the season of faith
Letter: J

3rd Quarter
• Winter (2 Weeks) Jan.5-16 2009
Explore seasonal changes and learn about our bodies and healthy practices
Letters: W & Q

• Dinosaurs (3 Weeks) Jan. 19-Feb.6, 2009

Learn about dinosaurs. Explore math concepts, classification, number sense
Letters: D & X

• Valentines (1 Week) Feb. 9-13, 2009

Explore the important people in our lives
Letter: V

• Farm/Stock Show and Rodeo (2 Weeks) Feb.16-27, 2009

Explore farm and ranch lifestyle, animals, products from farms and ranches
Letters: L

Sand and Deserts (2 Weeks) March 2-13, 2009

Explore sand and desert environments; animals, plants, ecology, preservation
Letters: S & Y

4th Quarter
• Spring/Bugs/Butterflies (3 Weeks) March 23-April 3, 2009
Explore seasonal changes, insects and life cycles, and the season of faith
Letters: B & K

• Easter (1 Week)April 6-10, 2009

Explore Easter celebrations, rebirth, and new beginnings.
Letters: Review

• Space (1 Week) April 13-17, 2009

Learn about space and planet facts
Letters: U
• Texas/Fiesta (1 Week) April 20-24, 2009
Learn about Texas and Fiesta celebration
Letters: Z

• Rainforests and Woods (2 Weeks) April 27-May 8, 2009

Explore wood and rainforest environments; animals, plants, ecology, preservation
Letters: R and letter review

• Water and Oceans (2 Weeks) May 11-22, 2009

Explore water and ocean environments; animals, plants, ecology, preservation
Letter Review

• Moving On/Summer Plans (1 Week) May 25-28, 2009

Prepare classroom and children for the end of the school year, moving to next
class, and summer.