How does curriculum support learning

Their reading skills would improve, they would understand the text and therefore be better able to answer questions about it and enjoy it.

Ofsted emphasise that phonics and the transition into early reading in Key Stage 1 should remain the priority in KS1 and schools should encourage older children to read widely and in depth. The EEF states the importance of the ability to infer in comprehension and, in particular, the ability to apply background knowledge in such inference.

Bearing this in mind, there should be no reason why Year 2 children cannot access relevant books and Year 1 and EYFS look at images that relate to them and their surroundings, through which they could practice simple retrieval skills. Creating a curriculum that inspires pupils and teaches them about themselves and the world around them should not mean a decline in data.

It is not necessary for curriculum subjects to be replaced by exam preparation as teachers can use a multitude of useful materials which will prepare pupils for their tests as well as prepare them for real life situations.

One of our fantastic schools, Carlton Infants and Juniors, teach a creative curriculum which has reading at its core. A key subject chosen was civilisations through the ages and the children of the school were involved in choosing which civilisation they wanted to study.

Tapestries were created, plays performed and there was also wider reading and writing around the topic which helped to fully embed the knowledge and improve vocabulary across the school. Because reading is a key theme in their curriculum, pupils are inspired to read widely, not only to develop a better understanding of the world, but as an activity they enjoy. Any displays within the school refer to books relating to that specific topic, encouraging the children to read further around the subject.

The results of their work are displayed on Link. Primary schools are increasingly aware that pupils need guidance and help on dealing with their emotions. There are many support resources available including support from our own ETS team. In Years 1 and 2 teachers may decide that a particular focus for their pupils is to understand their emotions and associated physical feelings. In LKS2 pupils could focus on deeper emotions such as jealousy, anger and trust. They understand that all learners, and certainly young children, learn best when the concepts, language, and skills they encounter are related to things they know and care about, and when the new learnings are themselves interconnected in meaningful, coherent ways.

Educators collaborate with those teaching in the preceding and subsequent age groups or grade levels, sharing information about children and working to increase continuity and coherence across ages and grades.

They also work to protect the integrity and appropriateness of practices at each level. For example, educators advocate for continuity in the curriculum that is coherent, consistent, and based on the principles of developmentally appropriate practice. Although it will vary across the age span, a planned and written curriculum is in place for all age groups.

With infants and toddlers, desired goals will focus heavily on fostering secure relationships with caregivers and family members in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive.

Although social, emotional, and language development—including home languages as much as possible—take center stage, these interactions and experiences are also laying the foundation for vocabulary and concepts that support later academic development across all subject areas. Continuing to provide culturally and linguistically sustaining care and supporting all domains of development as well as all subject areas remain essential.

View the full list of endnotes. Skip to main content. Educators consider what children are expected to know, understand, and be able to do when they leave the setting. This includes across the domains of physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive development and across the subject or content areas, including language, literacy, mathematics, social studies, science, art, music, physical education, and health.

Moreover, while most children have a well-developed intuitive understanding of number in the preschool years Hiebert, ; Case ; Siegler and Robinson,. In tests of conceptual knowledge administered to groups of kindergarten children in low-income, inner-city communities, a significant number had not acquired the knowledge typical of their middle-income peers Griffin et al.

Based on a series of studies done in the s, Case and Sandieson argue that 4-year-olds generally differ predictably from 6-year-olds in their conceptual understanding of quantity. A typical 4-year-old can solve a problem that requires a distinction between objects that are bipolar: large vs. The conceptual structure that 6-year-olds generally have in place allows them to successfully master a first grade mathematics curriculum.

Students who have difficulty with that curriculum a disproportionate number of whom come from low-income families appear not to have that structure in place Griffin et al.

The structure requires that the very young child who understands only the distinction between two poles i. When all four understandings are mastered and integrated, the child is able to solve problems as if he or she is using a mental number line.

The Rightstart curriculum now incorporated into a more extensive preK-2 curriculum called Number Worlds was designed. Each game is designed to be affectively as well as cognitively engaging, and each involves physical, social, and verbal interaction.

The Number Line Game is a board game played in small groups, and each child is assigned a color-coded number line. After a roll of the die, the player computes the quantity, then asks a banker for that many counting chips. She places the chips in sequence on the number line while counting aloud. She then moves her playing piece along the chips counting again , and rests the piece on the last chip. When children are comfortable with this level of play i.

Chance cards are introduced that require that their position on the number line be incremented or decremented by 1. The 29 other games are distinct from the number line game, but they too provide opportunities for children to consolidate the same knowledge structure. It consists of a series of 30 games that can be played at a variety of levels depending on the understanding of the children playing See Box 5—5.

The activities are sequenced so that the child masters each one in the order 1 through 4 above that they are normally acquired. The curriculum was tested in multiple sites in Canada, California, and Massachusetts, with multiple sized groups of kindergarten children from inner-city schools with large minority populations.

The Rightstart children were compared to matched control groups of children who were given an equal amount of. The programs extended over a 3- to 4-month period. In a variety of tests including number knowledge and knowledge transfer, the Rightstart group significantly outperformed the control group.

While almost all children in the sample failed the number knowledge test before the training, 4 or 5 months later the vast majority of children who received the training passed, while only a minority of the children in the control groups passed. In follow-up tests at the end of first grade, many of the control children did acquire the number knowledge to pass level 1 of the test that the Rightstart children had acquired earlier.

But the two groups differed in other important respects. Some children in the Rightstart group were able to solve problems at level 2, whereas none of the control children could do so.

Moreover, the majority of the Rightstart group passed an oral arithmetic test and a word problem test, whereas a large portion of the control group failed. In the words of its developers, it is a challenging mathematics curriculum with the following characteristics:. It exploits and builds on the informal mathematics that all children construct in everyday life.

Informal mathematics is a solid foundation on which at least some formal mathematics can be built Baroody, ; Ginsburg, ; Resnick, It presents the study of mathematics both as a separate subject and as an integrated part of other preschool activities. Sometimes, the curriculum presents math activities like counting or. Sometimes, it blends the mathematics into such activities as stories, songs, block building, and the like.

It helps children to explore mathematical ideas in depth. The goal is to explore key mathematical ideas over a lengthy period of time through extended activities. It engages the child in thinking like a mathematician— making interesting conjectures, engaging in problem solving, looking for patterns. It aims at taking young children to advanced levels and to investigate complex ideas. For example, instead of limiting the study of shapes to the standard circle, square, and triangle, the program introduces symmetries.

Instead of teaching counting to 20 or 30, the program helps children to count into the hundreds. Because they want to and are capable of it. Moreover, mastering challenging tasks fosters feelings of confidence and competence Stipek, It prepares children for the formal symbolism of mathematics by establishing clear links between informal mathematics and some basic formalisms. The program does not have a heavy emphasis on symbolism, but does introduce it where it can be made meaningful.

It employs large-group activity, small groups, and individual exploration. Young children need to learn how to behave and learn in large groups. They profit from the greater degree of teacher attention possible in small groups. And they need time for individual learning and exploration. Although the curriculum was designed primarily for 4- and 5-year-old children, it appears to be.

The curriculum is organized into six major strands or basic ideas:. This strand covers such topics as counting into the hundreds , enumerating objects, and the meaning of number cardinality. These activities focus on identifying and constructing various shapes in both two and three dimensions and exploring their properties, including symmetry. Putting together and taking apart. This set of activities focuses mainly on adding and subtracting, and also deals with the relations between sets and subsets.

Spatial relations. This strand covers relations like in front of, behind, and left-right, as well as maps—all of which are important for navigating in the world. The exact quantification of physical attributes like length, weight, and temperature as well as time and money are explored in this strand. Patterns and predictions. These activities introduce the child to patterns involving shapes, numbers, and sounds and encourage detection and use of patterns for the purpose of prediction.

Of course, the level at which teachers cover the material will differ according to the age and ability of the children. The program does not involve discrete bits and pieces: it is a coherent system. And besides being conceptually rich, the activities are a great deal of fun Box 5—6.

The children enjoy the activities and get engrossed in them. Bag It is a deceptively simple activity which the teacher begins by presenting children with a collection of plastic ziplock baggies on which are written the numerals 0, 1, 2, 3.

The teacher shows how to read the numerals written on each bag and explains that a special number of things should be placed in each.

She then presents them with a collection of small objects—buttons, toy cars, miniature people, or similar objects available in the room. The first task is to place in each bag the appropriate number of objects.

To do this, each child has to read the numeral on the bag, count out or otherwise determine the corresponding number of objects, carefully place them in the bag, and zip it up. The job now is to place the plastic bag in the correct bin. This requires reading and matching the numeral on each. This basic task can of course be extended to larger numbers.

After a while, children become quite proud of their ability to count out 20 or even objects in the bag. In fact, when working on the activities, the children often display a very lengthy attention span. Research shows that young children are capable of and often interested in a variety of mathematical activities.

Some of these activities are surprisingly complex and challenging, like constructing symmetries in three dimensions or trying to count beyond In effect, through their often joyful choices, the children are telling us that engagement in challenging mathematics is within their developmental range. Young children do not have to be protected from the study of mathematics or made ready for learning Greenes, Infants, toddlers, and preschool children have considerable implicit knowledge about topics that are found in science books.

Infants, for example, can form general categories that differ as to. Indeed, they can make inferences about them e. Toddlers who move on their own are surprisingly sensitive to the characteristics of surfaces.

For example, they adjust their gaits when moving up as opposed to down inclined surfaces; they inspect unfamiliar surfaces like ice, waterbeds, nets, etc. Sensing that a surface is not sturdy, they get down and crawl Gibson, These capacities of obsrvation and prediction are the foundation of scientific inquiry. Toddlers and very young children experiment with tools and work to learn about objects in the world.

For example, Ann Brown has shown that 2-year-old children learn quickly about the kinds of objects they can use to retrieve something that is out of reach Gelman and Brown, By age 3, children have learned a surprising amount about the differences between animate and inanimate objects. Indeed, evidence is accumulating that they also know that machines constitute a category separate and different from either animals or inanimate objects Gelman, ; Spelke et al.

They already know enough to classify and make inferences about photographs of unfamiliar objects. They also provide reasonable explanations, saying, for example, it must have feet, even if these are not visible in the photograph Massey and Gelman, A wide range of studies converge in concluding that preschool children are eager to learn a great deal about the animal world and to work at learning about the differences between the insides and outsides of objects, the different ways things move and change over time, and a variety of cause-and-effect relationships.

They are also able to benefit from language and environments. These interests of young children can be used as a bridge from entertainment to ongoing efforts of the staff to encourage learning about relevant language, methods, and tools of scientific and mathematical work which is also fun.

This can lead to building a knowledge base that is likely to stand young children in good stead as they move on to other experiences, both in and out of school, about the scientific and technical aspects of the world they will grow up in. One of the major developmental tasks of childhood is to learn about the surrounding world. Young children are cognitively prepared and eager to learn about the surrounding world. Their commonly observed approach to learning—active, experiential, open-ended exploration—makes science an ideal domain for early childhood education.

In ScienceStart! It focuses on aspects of the everyday world that are familiar, meaningful, and apparent to young children. In general, the program addresses science topics and concepts that the child can experience in the immediate environment. This limitation excludes some popular topics with no contemporary referents e.

Air is a subunit of a unit on Properties of Matter dealing with solids, liquids, gas, and change. During Phase I, Exploration, children explore a variety of features of air, including using straws, hand-held fans, and hair dryers to blow an assortment of objects.

During Phase 2, Asking Questions, the teacher guides the students in organizing their explorations and observations into a set of questions. During Phase 3, Follow the Questions, the class carries out a series of activities that address the questions they have developed.

During Phase 4, Culmination, children might make and fly kites, use innertubes while going swimming, or invite family members for a Wind Party featuring a dramatic enactment of a book about wind, a garden containing windsocks and pinwheels made in the classroom, and refreshments containing air e.

See Box 5—7 for an example from a unit on Properties of Matter. In describing ScienceStart! Indeed, research reviewed in Chapter 2 suggests the contrary. It is coherent. Activities are organized into units e. This approach contrasts with what occurs in many early childhood classrooms, where topics change on a daily or weekly basis e.

It is integrated. Activities in all areas of the classroom are linked to the daily science investigation. Books relevant to the topic are read aloud during large group time. Activity centers contain props that allow alternative ways of approaching the topic e. Activities include topic-appropriate extensions into mathematics and social studies and are also regularly extended into outdoor play and art and expression.

It is open-ended. Children enter preschool with myriad patterns of interests and abilities. To accommodate this diversity, activities in the early childhood classroom must be sufficiently rich and open-ended to permit children to find their own level of participation and developmental challenge. For example, when children mix drops of colored water, some may focus on creating a variety of shades of orange while others practice the small motor skills needed to operate an eyedropper.

It explicitly models and teaches a scientific approach to problem solving. This approach to problem solving extends beyond science into social disputes and carrying out complex, multiphase projects.

It is language-rich. Language development is a primary developmental task of early childhood and language skill is a potent predictor of learning to read and subsequent academic success. The activities therefore emphasize relevant receptive and expressive language and introduce key vocabulary. The primary goal of ScienceStart! At the same time, ScienceStart! Children who are in a ScienceStart! There are periods for large group activities, choice time in activity centers, and outdoor or large motor play.

Teachers have a great deal of flexibility and autonomy in terms of which activities they select for investigation within a given topic area. However, an underlying structure supports the coherence and integration of the curriculum. Each day, the science-based leading activity serves as a core around which other classroom activities including vocabulary, expressive and receptive language opportunities, read aloud books, mathematics, social studies, arts and expression, and center-based and outdoor play are organized.

The leading activity is presented during large group time following a simple cycle of scientific reasoning Reflect and Ask; Plan and Predict; Act and Observe; Report and Reflect and is subsequently available for individual or small group exploration. Three times a year, classrooms join together in a science celebration in which parents and children work together on science activities. The essential cognitive foundations that form the goals of the curriculum are based on 1 what is known about the ordinary course of development during the preschool years, 2 skills commonly identified as problematic during the early school years, and 3 competencies that are believed to emerge in environmental situations to which children may have differential levels of access depending on family background.

In Head Start classrooms in which ScienceStart! Children appear to love the program, learn a great deal about the surrounding world, and develop essential cognitive foundations for later academic success. Katz has suggested that all curricula at every level of education address, explicitly or implicitly, the acquisition and strengthening of four dimensions of growth: knowledge, skills, dispositions, and feelings.

Much of the discussion above on curriculum content, particularly as it is described through exemplary programs, implies a pedagogical approach. We now turn more explicitly to research on issues of pedagogy. The spectrum of education programs provided for preschool children reflects diverse philosophical beliefs and related ap-.

They range from those in which children engage primarily in play or self-initiated activities, to those in which children sit in chairs and passively receive direct instruction. In practice, most programs combine elements of both direct instruction and free play. Constructivists, for example, take a position between the extremes.

They suggest that development results from a complex interaction between children and their environments Dewey, ; Piaget, Education is child-centered, but the adult takes responsibility for placing the child in environmental circumstances that will provoke active construction of new understandings. Sociocultural theory places primacy on cognitive activity occurring through social interaction with more knowledgeable peers and adults who provide support as a child explores new understandings, knowledge and skills, a disposition toward learning, and insight about himself or herself as a learner Dewey, ; Vygotsky, , Pedagogy is not ultimately about free play, instruction, or placing the child in carefully chosen stimulating environments; the critical factor is a high degree of direct adult engagement and guidance in the process of construction Bodrova and Leong, Vygotsky and Rogoff provide a description of this learning process.

Its central feature requires addressing children within their zone of proximal development, the zone within which a child can actively participate in learning under the guidance of more knowledgeable peers or adults, who structure the learning so as to guide the child through tasks that are just beyond current capability.

To understand how to provide instructional leadership to program staff as they implement curriculum, assessment, and instruction. To understand the importance of being a lifelong learner and staying current in the field.

Learn Learn. What is curriculum? What is Assessment? Where did you get your ideas for your activity plans this week? How do you think these plans will help individual children meet their goals? What are you hoping the school-age youth will gain from this experience? Do you think any modifications might be necessary to ensure all children can engage in this idea? What resources might you need to make this plan successful? Are there ways you could involve families in this activity?

Explore Explore. Apply Apply. Demonstrate Demonstrate. Assessment :. All of the above. Q2 True or false? Subscribing to practitioner journals Teaching Young Children, Exchange.