The most pressing challenge in early childhood education today is to find a way to meet the standards within a developmentally appropriate approach. In this book, two active early childhood educators provide teachers with resources to bring content alive and document it in every-day, action-based pre–K and Kindergarten classrooms. The book includes lists of key content ideas—coordinated with learning standards in science, mathematics, social studies, and the communication arts—to guide teacher observations of, and interactions with, young children. Chapters focus on ways to extend children’s emerging use of content in the block, manipulative, sand and water, drama, expressive arts, and literacy centers, as well as link to the development of themes. Book features include: Lists of key ideas in the content areas. Examples of conversations that nurture children’s emerging content understandings. Vignettes from the field illustrating teachers’ experiences of embedding content into center activities, along with photographs. Sample forms for documenting children’s learning as they meet the standards in a variety of contexts. Sydney L. Schwartzis a Professor Emerita of Queens College of the City University of New York.Sherry M. Copelandis an experienced early childhood teacher, teacher trainer, advocate, and director of early childhood programs.

Vignettes focusing on emergent curriculum

Learn how to connect your curriculum planning to children's interests and thinking. With this book, educators will discover a systematic way for using documentation to design curriculum that emerges from children's inquiries, what they wonder, and what they want to understand. Get strategies for designing a classroom environment at the start of the year to facilitate emergent inquiry curriculum. Each chapter guides teachers to document and reflect on their thinking through each of the five phases of a cycle of inquiry process, including observing, interpreting the meaning of the play they see, and developing questions to engage children.

Helps providers implement proven child-centered curricular practices while meeting early learning standards.

A much-needed guide to understanding and using learning standards in the early childhood classroom.

Supplementary text for the Curriculum in Early Childhood Education course in Early Childhood Education and Child and Family Studies departments. This book on state early learning standards for young children is a useful resource in helping preservice and practicing teachers learn how to connect their lesson/activity planning to many states' new early learning standards. Key chapters include presenting standards in the following areas: Communication and Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Social/Emotional Development, Physical Development and Health, and Creative Arts. Then, how children might show progress toward these standards is divided into three levels of progress, and curriculum suggestions are provided for each progress level.

Helps providers implement proven child-centered curricular practices while meeting early learning standards.