 Language and Early
Literacy |
Fine Arts |
Technology
Applications |
| Mathematics |
Health
and Safety |
Acknolwedgements |
| Science |
Personal and Social Development |
|
| Social
Studies |
Physical
Development |
Research confirms the value of
early education for young children. Preschool programs
that
support
effective
teaching practices have been shown to lead to important growth in
children’s
intellectual and social development, which is critical to their future
academic
success.
Quality programs that provide
challenging but achievable curriculum engage children in
thinking,
reasoning,
and communicating with others. With teacher direction and
guidance,
children
respond to the challenge and acquire important skills and
concepts.
The following curriculum
guidelines are based on knowledge of theory and
research about
how children develop and learn; they reflect the growing
consensus among early childhood
professional organizations that a
greater
emphasis be placed on young children’s conceptual
learning, acquisition
of
basic skills, and participation in meaningful and relevant learning
experiences. The guidelines also delineate the content that
children are
to learn and what they should be able to achieve.
The guidelines describe specific
goals for preschool children in each
content area. The intent
of this organizational design is to
ensure
that our
students have the opportunity to strive towards
these goals. Due to age differences and
previous
experiences, however, children will have a
great diversity of
knowledge. Some children, regardless of
their age level,
will be at the beginning
of the learning continuum, while others will
be
further along. Children with
disabilities may
need accommodations and modifications of the
guidelines in
order to benefit from them. To use
these guidelines to the best
advantage
and to extend the learning of skills and concepts, teachers
must build
on
children’s existing competencies.
These guidelines are important
tools to help our teachers define and
implement a
comprehensive curriculum. Such a curriculum helps to build
connections between subject matter
disciplines by organizing the large
amounts
of information children must learn into a set of
meaningful concepts. Using concepts from
the guidelines, our teachers
can work across disciplines
to provide many opportunities for children
to
achieve knowledge and skills.
During the preschool years,
children’s experiences with communication
and literacy begin to
form the basis for their later school
success.
Given adequate opportunities to interact with
responsive adults and
peers in
language and print-rich environments, young children develop
vocabulary,
extended language skills, and knowledge of the world around them.
They
develop
listening comprehension and phonological awareness;
understanding of
the everyday functions of
print; motivation to read; appreciation for
literary
forms; and print awareness and letter
knowledge. They learn what
books
are and how to use them. Understanding the value of literacy
as a
means
of communication, and learning to enjoy reading, are typical
accomplishments of
future
good readers.
(1)
Listening
Comprehension
Preschool-age children are able
to comprehend what they hear in
conversations and in stories
read aloud with increasing accuracy,
though
three-year-old children may respond in single words or
brief phrases to
some
questions, especially “why,” “how,” and “when” questions.
Children
demonstrate understanding through their questions, comments, and
actions.
The child:
(2) Speech
Production and Speech Discrimination
Young children must learn to
vocalize, pronounce, and discriminate the
sounds and words
of language. Although most children in preschool
can
accurately perceive the difference
between similar-sounding words, they
continue to acquire new sounds and may mispronounce words
quite often
in their
own speech. The ability to produce certain speech sounds such as
/s/ and
/r/ improves with age.
The
child:
(3) Vocabulary
Preschool children experience
rapid growth in their understanding of words
and word
meanings. Vocabulary knowledge
reflects children’s previous experiences and growing knowledge of
the
world
around them and is one of the most important predictors of later
reading
achievement.
As children learn through experiences, they develop
concepts, acquire new words, and increasingly
refine their
understanding of
words they already know.
The
child:
(4) Verbal Expression
Effective communication requires
that children use their knowledge of
vocabulary, grammar,
and sense of audience to convey meaning.
Three- and
four-year-old children become increasingly adept at using language to
express
their needs and interests, to play and pretend, and to share
ideas. Children’s use of invented words and the
overgeneralization of language
rules
(for example, saying “foots” instead of “feet”) is a normal part of
language
acquisition.
The
child:
(5) Phonological
Awareness
Phonological awareness is an
auditory skill that involves an
understanding of the sounds of
spoken words. It includes
recognizing and
producing rhymes, dividing words into syllables, and
identifying words
that
have the same beginning, middle, or ending sounds. Phonological
awareness
represents a crucial step toward understanding that letters or groups
of
letters can
represent phonemes or sounds (i.e., the alphabetic
principle). This understanding is highly predictive
of success in
beginning reading.
The
child:
(6)
Print and
Book
Awareness
Through their daily experiences
with reading and writing, preschool children
learn basic
concepts about print and how it works. They learn
that print
carries meaning and can be used
for different purposes. They
begin to
differentiate writing from other graphic symbols and
recognize some of
the
common features of print (for example, that writing moves from left to
right
on
a page and is divided into words).
The
child:
(7) Letter Knowledge
and Early Word Recognition
Letter knowledge is an essential
component of learning to read and
write. Knowing how
letters function in writing and how these
letters
connect to the sounds children hear in words is crucial to children’s
success
in reading. Combined with phonological awareness, letter
knowledge is the
key to children’s understanding of the alphabetic principle.
Children
will use this sound/letter connection to begin to identify printed
words.
The
child:
(8) Motivation to
Read
Preschool children benefit from
classroom environments that associate
reading with pleasure
and enjoyment as well as learning and skill
development. These early experiences will come to
define their
assumptions and expectations about becoming literate and influence
their
motivation to
work toward learning to read and write.
The
child:
(9) Developing
Knowledge of Literary Forms
Exposure to storybooks and
information books helps preschool children
become familiar with
the language of books and story forms.
Children
develop concepts of story structure and knowledge
about informational
text
structures, which influences how they understand, interpret, and link
what
they
already know to new information.
The
child:
(10)
Written Expression
Preschool-aged children generate
hypotheses about how written
language works and begin
to explore the uses of writing for
themselves.
They also begin to ask adults to write signs and letters for
them.
Through these early writing experiences, young children develop initial
understandings about the forms, features, and functions of written
language. Over time, children’s writing attempts more closely
approximate
conventional writing.
The
child:
Mathematics learning builds on
children’s curiosity and enthusiasm, and
challenges
children to explore ideas about patterns and relationships,
order
and predictability, and logic and
meaning. Consequently, quality
instruction occurs in environments that are rich in language,
encourage
children’s thinking, and nurture children’s explorations and
ideas. These
ideas include
the concepts of number pattern, measurement, shape,
space, and
classification.
(1)
Number and Operations
Understanding the concept of
number is fundamental to mathematics.
Children come to school
with rich and varied informal knowledge of
number. A major goal is to build on this informal base
toward
more
thorough understanding and skills. Children move from beginning
to
develop basic
counting techniques in preschool to later understanding
number
size, relationships, and operations.
The
child:
(2)
Patterns
Recognizing patterns and
relationships among objects is an important
component in
children’s intellectual development. Children learn
to
organize their world by recognizing patterns
and gradually begin to use
patterns as a strategy for problem-solving, forming generalizations,
and
developing the concepts of number, operation, shape, and space.
Pattern
recognition is the first
step in the development of algebraic thinking.
The
child:
(3)
Geometry and Spatial Sense
Geometry helps children
systematically represent and describe
their world. Children learn to
name and recognize the properties
of
various shapes and figures, to use words that indicate direction, and
to use
spatial reasoning to analyze and solve problems.
The
child:
(4)
Measurement
Measurement is one of the most
widely used applications of
mathematics. Early learning experiences with measurement should
focus on
direct comparisons of objects. Children make decisions about size
by
looking, touching, and comparing objects directly while building
language to
express the size relationships.
The
child:
(5)
Classification and Data Collection
Children use sorting to organize
their world. As
children recognize similarities and
differences, they begin to
recognize
patterns that lead them to form generalizations. As they
begin to
use
language to describe similarities and differences, they begin sharing
their
ideas and
their mathematical thinking. Children can be actively
involved
in collecting, sorting, organizing,
and communicating information.
The
child:
Young children are natural
scientists. They are eager to discover
all they can about the world
in which they live. In preschool,
children
participate in simple investigations that help them begin
to develop
the skills
of asking questions, gathering information, communicating findings, and
making
informed decisions. Using their own senses and common tools, such
as a
hand lens, students
make observations and collect information.
Through
these processes, preschool children learn about
their world.
Children enter the preschool
classroom with many conceptions about the
natural and
constructed world-ideas that they have gained from prior
experiences. Meaningful science
learning experiences help
children
investigate those pre-existing ideas while building a foundation
for
additional
knowledge. These meaningful experiences increase children's
understanding
of the
natural world, living things, cycles, change, and
patterns—concepts that
organize the learning of
science.
(1)
Science Processes
Children use the processes of
science to develop an understanding about
their world. They use
their senses to gather information, make
tentative
statements about events and relationships, and begin to test
observations, draw
conclusions, and form generalizations. Children learn by
participating in
a simple investigation (for example, adding water to a dried-up
sponge), and
then thinking about it, and finally discussing what happened. This
inquiry
approach enables students to build understanding over time.
The
child:
(2)
Science Concepts
As preschool children learn
science skills, they develop concepts about
the natural and
constructed environment. They identify components
of the
natural world including rocks, soil, and
water. Children observe
and
describe changes, and they name organisms and describe basic needs
of
living
things. Preschool children observe cycles (for example, wet and
dry) and
structures (such
as fences or buildings) and describe simple patterns
that help
predict what will happen next.
They compare and sort objects and
organisms based on observable differences and similarities.
The
children
begin using what they know to solve problems, such as where to hang a
wet cloth
so it
will dry quickly. Preschool children can also develop an
awareness
that investigations help them
learn about the natural world, that
certain
questions can be answered by investigations, and that
those answers can
change
as new observations are made.
The
child:
Social studies concentrate on
the nature of people and their world, the
heritage of the past,
and contemporary living and culture. The
social
studies are both integral to young children’s lives
and of great
interest to
them. Driven by a desire to know and achieve mastery over self
and
their
environment, children are eager to gain understanding of the many
aspects of
their cultural
and environmental world. Through social studies,
children
begin to develop the self-understanding
that will serve as a foundation
for
learning about others and the world around them.
Although all aspects of
education have the goal of preparing children to
become
contributing members of society, social studies are particularly
well
suited to foster the skills
and attitudes necessary for participation
in a
democracy. Skills such as problem-solving,
decision-making, and
working
independently and with others in a classroom prepare children to
become
fully
functioning citizens.
(1) Individual,
Culture, and Community
All children live in some type
of group or social organization.
Preschool children must learn
the skills of communicating, sharing,
cooperating, and participating with others. These individual
skills are
necessary for all groups to function successfully and fairly. The
better
children are able
to understand others, the more they will feel a sense
of
community and connection with other people
and with their world.
The
child:
(2) History
Preschool children are aware of
time and begin to organize their lives
around it. Three-
and four-year-old children learn to depend on
events
and routines that occur in a regular and
predictable order. They
begin to
understand past events and how these events relate to present
and
future
activities, demonstrating evidence of their growing understanding of
time,
change,
and continuity.
The
child:
(3) Geography
Geographic thinking for young
children begins with the concepts of
location and direction.
Children use directions to locate their
relative
position in space and to locate their home and school
in their
community.
They learn to recognize common features in their immediate environment
and
begin to represent them symbolically through drawings and constructions.
The
child:
(4) Economics
In preschool, children learn
about the world of work in their
community. They explore the
roles and relationships of consumers
and
producers, and become aware that people produce services
as well as
goods. Children learn that their community benefits from many
different
people working
in many different ways.
The
child:
Young children express their
ideas, thoughts, and feelings
using a variety of symbols. Through
their art, music, and
dramatic play,
children actively engage in representing what they know and how
they
think,
using problem-solving strategies to express ideas in different
forms. The
fine arts
enhance children’s ability to interpret symbols and are
associated
with growth in all areas of
development, including academic learning.
Children explore a wide variety
of materials and make discoveries about
color, shape, and
texture through art experiences. They learn to
express
what they know and begin to recognize how
others express themselves
through
art. They also begin to gain control of fine-motor muscles
and
practice
hand-eye coordination.
The
child:
(2)
Music
Preschool children express
themselves through singing and movement, and
by playing
simple instruments. Like art, music is a form of
experiencing,
learning, and communicating with
others. Children learn to
experiment
with music concepts, volume, tempo, and sound. They begin
to appreciate
different types of music.
The
child:
(3)
Dramatic Play
Creative drama in preschool
involves young children in expressive and
spontaneous
productions. Children demonstrate their unique
interpretation
to music, songs, and stories
through movement and dramatic
experiences.
These experiences contribute to children’s ability
to communicate more
effectively and engage in cooperative activity with others.
The
child:
Young children learn
health-promoting habits and routines in preschool.
In these early years,
they develop basic concepts, attitudes, and
skills about
nutrition, safety, hygiene, and physical
activity that contribute to
their well
being. Children’s experiences with their health and discovery
of
ways to
improve it enhance their desire and ability to make wise decisions for
healthy
living in
the future.
(1) Health
Health education includes
personal hygiene and nutrition
education. Children learn that
regular hygiene routines and good
nutrition are important to their health.
The
child:
(2) Safety
Preschool children acquire
everyday routines and procedures to remain
safe and avoid injury.
They learn about fire, traffic,
environmental and
personal safety, and what to do in emergency
situations.
The
child:
Personal
and Social Development
Preschool children develop
personal and social skills that enable them
to function well within the social setting of the classroom.
Children
develop a sense of who they are and their capabilities, and establish
positive
relationships with others, which enables them to effectively
participate in
class and community and accomplish meaningful tasks.
(1) Personal
Development
Children develop a sense of self
in preschool. They begin to show
initiative in learning and begin to take greater responsibility for
their own
behavior. They learn to channel their energies in ways that
promote
effective learning experiences.
The
child:
(2) Social
Development
Children develop interpersonal
and social skills for communicating with
others. They
learn alternatives for resolving conflicts and
communicating
their needs and feelings verbally, and
they begin to develop and
maintain
productive relationships with other children.
The
child:
Movement is at the center of
young children’s lives. Preschool
children participate in
experiences that foster fundamental motor and
movement
skills, such as walking and running, which
are necessary for
participation in
games and sports throughout life. They begin to develop gross
motor
skills that involve throwing, catching, and kicking, and fine motor
skills that
involve
greater precision and accuracy of movement.
(1) Physical
Movement
Children explore their physical
space and understand how their bodies
function in space
through active movement experiences. They
become more
skillful and expressive in their movement
from one point in space to
another
through running, jumping, hopping, and skipping movements.
The
child:
(2) Gross-Motor
Development
Gross-motor development requires
thought and deliberate movement. Children
develop
greater control of gross-motor manipulative movements that
involve giving
force to objects and
receiving force from objects. Throwing,
catching,
bouncing, and kicking are fundamental
gross-motor manipulative skills.
The
child:
(3) Fine-Motor
Development
Fine-motor manipulative
movements involve object-handling activities
that emphasize motor
control, precision, and accuracy of
movement. Using
a computer mouse, cutting with scissors, and
drawing are the
foundational
skills needed for the demands of handwriting and other small-motor
skills in
later school years.
The
child:
Young children have much to gain
from use of technology. In preschool, they
expand their
ability to
acquire information, solve problems, and communicate with others. Regular access and
exposure to computers and
related technology can enhance this learning. Children
use engaging,
age-appropriate, and
challenging software, and technology to extend their knowledge and to
enrich
their learning of curriculum content and concepts. These technologies
serve as
important learning
tools and are integrated throughout the
instructional
program.
Children learn the basic
functions of the computer and related
technologies. They
develop techniques for handling and controlling
various
input devices, and become increasingly
confident and independent users
of
age-appropriate software programs.
The child:
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