Find the kindergarten learning standards online at the state department of education for the state in which you live or work.
Account for learning standards as the project proceeds As this project moved forward, Mary and Jane repeated this cycle of steps several times as they continued to plan. The project continued for more than a month. They used a checklist to indicate which of the South Carolina learning standards were being addressed. Like Phyllis and Stephanies thematic unit, this work enabled them to make progress on meeting many of the standards for which they are accountable. Their visual and written documentation of the childrens work provided ample evidence that the standards were being met.
Chapter Summary
- Planning is a comprehensive process that includes making decisions about how to address curriculum, respond to the needs and interests of children and their families, work with colleagues, and arrange the physical setting.
- Planning also includes considering all the decisions you make within the context of developmentally appropriate practices and your belief system.
- The decisions you make about how to structure the physical environment of the classroom will be affected by the curriculum you use, specific principles of good design, and aesthetics.
- Principles of design that are considered when planning the environment include a vision for the kind of environment you want to create and attention to safety, movement, permanent features of the classroom, and planning space and materials for the kinds of behaviors and activities you want to promote.
- Teachers use primary resources from the authors of curricula, research about development and learning, and spokespersons for the field of early childhood education in planning.
- Learning standards serve as a guide, not a substitute for curriculum. Purchased curricula include many different kinds of resources such as scope/sequence or pacing guides that can be helpful.
- Approaches to planning can be considered as a continuum of thought. A top-down process begins with standards and objectives as the teacher makes subsequent decisions about materials, activity plans, adaptations, and timing.
- An emergent approach to curriculum represents a bottom-up process driven by the interests of children. The teacher plans initial activities and the plan unfolds over time, as the teacher documents learning and standards, reflects, and adapts to pursue the direction it takes.
Discussion Questions
- As you think about planning a classroom environment, what is your vision of the way it might look and feel? How will you personalize it?
- Find the kindergarten learning standards online at the state department of education for the state in which you live or work. Choose a content (subject) or developmental area. Look at the standards and the indicators or benchmarks for it. Brainstorm some ideas about topics and activities that might support learning about the standard.
- Think about the planning styles described in this chapter; which do you think best represents your natural inclinations about how to organize and plan activities? Why?