Introduction to Early Childhood Exam Three

Atelierista

A Reggio Emilia teacher trained in visual arts who works with teachers and children.

Atelier

A special area or studio in a Reggio Emilia school for creating projects.

No Child Left Behind

Accountability Literacy Programs that work Based on scientific research Professional development Educational technology Parental involvement

High/Scope Program: The Five Elements

Active learning Children make choices to guide own learning Classroom arrangement 5 or more interest areas Daily schedule Plan-do-review process Assessment Key developmental indicators note form and a portfolio. Curriculum Key developmental indicators

Formal Assessment Used in Early Childhood

Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3)—birth to 5 years Brigance—pre-kindergarten to grade nine Developmental indicators for Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4)—ages 2.8 to 6---Used as Preschool and Kindergarten screening instrument Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)—Preschool and primary grades Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised (PPVT-R)—2.5 to adult (You should try it with a friend in SBU library one day).

Project Approach

An educational approach that encourages in-depth investigation by an individual student or small group of students, or even by the whole class, of a topic the students want to learn more about.

Issues in Assessment

Assessment and accountability _High____- Stakes_____ testing Standardized tests are used to make important decisions about children Generally opposed by the early childhood profession

Indicators of Effective Assessment

Assessment instruments are in compliance with professional criteria for quality. What is assessed is developmentally and educationally significant Assessment _evidence______ is used to understand and improve learning Assessment evidence is gathered from realistic settings and situations that reflect children's actual performance. Assessments use multiple sources of evidence gathered over time. _Screening______ is always linked to _follow_____-_up__ Use of individually administered, norm-referenced tests is limited Staff and families are knowledgeable about assessment.

What Is Assessment?

Assessment is a process of collecting information about Development Learning Health Behavior Academic progress Need for _____ ______ In order to Plan and implement curriculum and instruction

Using the ABC Method

A—Antecedents (what came before) B—Behavior C—Consequences—(what came after)

NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Programs

Standard 6—Teachers Standard 7—Families Standard 8—Community Relationships Standard 9—Physical Environment Standard 10—Leadership and Management

NAEYC Essential Features of Early Learning Standards

Standards emphasize significant, developmentally appropriate content and outcomes. are developed and reviewed through informed, inclusive processes. include assessment practices that support all children's development. require a foundation of support for early childhood programs, professionals, and families.

Issues Associated with National, State, and Local Standards

Standards and achievement teach to the whole child Standards and play play and standards are not incompatible Standards and the curriculum "teaching to the test."

Issues Associated with National, State, and Local Standards

Standards and teacher autonomy Standards and testing Standards for all students Tips: Teaching & learning in the inclusive classroom: Learning Modalities page 131

Why Are Standards Important?

Standards enable you to know what a district expects of its children and teachers. By knowing what your district expects, you will be able to integrate concepts, ideas, and skills into your teaching. Standards identify what every child in a particular state or district should know and be able to do. Standards serve as one means by which states and local programs can be accountable for teaching and learning

Standards

Statements of what pre-K-12 students should know and be able to do.

Four Steps for Effective Observation

Step 1—Plan for observation Set goals Step 2—Conduct the observation Record data as you observe Step 3—_Interpret______ the data Step 4—Implement a plan

Learning Modalities

Teach in a multi-sensory way Accommodate diverse learners in your classroom: Teach face-to-face with your students Allow movement in your classroom Present information in a variety of ways Plan to include multi-sensory approaches in all your teaching. Form learning groups based on children's learning modalities

Data-Driven instruction

Teaching decisions are based on the analysis of assessment data to make decisions about how to best meet the instructional needs of each child.

Differentiate

Teaching so that you can provide for the diverse learning needs of your students.

Observation

The intentional systematic act of looking at the behavior of a child or children in a particular setting, program, or situation; sometimes referred to as kid-watching.

The Role of the Montessori Teacher

Respect children and their learning Make children the center of learning Encourage children's learning Observe children Prepare learning environments Introduce learning materials and demonstrate lessons

6 Beliefs about learning and development:

1. Development and learning are characterized by individual variation. 2. Development occurs in a fairly predictable sequence. 3. Children learn and develop well when their needs are met. 4. Children learn from interacting with the environment and with other children and adults. (physical and cognitive development) 5. Children learn from play 6. Children construct their own knowledge. (Problem Solving - Vygotsky).

Characteristics of Play

1. Intrinsically motivated. 2. Freely chosen teachers can (cook elaborate vocals) suggest; prepare environment. 3. Nonliteral - did not have to be real; change. 4. Active. 5. Pleasurable and engaging. 6. Process-oriented. 7. Self-directed.

Benefits of Play

1. Self-competence (self-control) 2. Develop - socially - emotionally 3. Practicing skills - Physical Development, gross motor or fine motor. 4. Creativity - fantasy - imagination 5. Focus 6. Process information/problem solving. 7. Language development

5 Levels of Play

1. Unoccupied (onlooker): When the child is not playing, just observing. A child may be standing in one spot or performing random movements. 2. Solitary: When the child is alone and maintains focus on its activity. Such a child is uninterested in or is unaware of what others are doing. 3. Parallel: When the child plays separately from others but close to them and mimicking their actions. 4. Associative: When the child is interested in the people playing but not in coordinating their activities with those people, or when there is no organized activity at all. 5. Cooperative: When a child is interested both in the people playing and in the activity they are doing

Interpretation

A three-step process that includes examining the information that has been gathered, organizing and drawing conclusions from that information, and making decisions about teaching based on the conclusions.

Types of Child Care Programs

Care by Family Members, Relatives and Friends Family Child Care Intergenerational Child Care Center-based Child Care Employer-Sponsored Child Care Proprietary Child Care Before- and After-School Care

Purposes of Observation

Determine the cognitive,______, social, emotional, and physical development of children Identify interests and learning styles Plan Meet the needs of _______ children Determine progress Provide information to parents Provide ______

Indicators of Effective Assessment

Ethical principles guide assessment practices Assessment instruments are used for their _intended______ purposes Assessments are appropriate for ages and other characteristics of children being assessed.

How Are Standards Changing Teaching and Learning?

Expectations of what teachers should teach Broad statements about what should be learned Basis for reform and accountability Exert federal and state control over education Meet the educational needs of low-achieving students Make the curriculum more academic Align teaching and the curriculum

Formal vs. Informal Assessment

Formal assessment Use of standardized tests Compares child's score with a group of children who have already taken the same exam Informal assessment Observation ______ record Running record Event sampling Time sampling ______ scale Checklist Work sample Portfolio Interview

Federal Programs for Young Children

Head Start Performance standards Standards of learning Eligibility for Head Start Services Improving Head Start Early Head Start Program Services quality early education both in and out of the home parenting education comprehensive health and mental health services nutrition education family support services

What is Quality Education & Care?

Healthy environment mentally and physically safe Respectful environment culturally appropriate practice Examples? Supportive, challenging and pleasant Adult to child ratio, DAP, individual needs Effects of care & Education on children page 119

Observation

Intentional watching.

Rough N Tumble

Open palms; relaxed face.

High/Scope Daily Routine: The Plan, Do, Review Sequence

Planning Time Key Developmental Indicators Work Time Cleanup Time Recall Time

Horizontal planning

Planning in which you collaboratively plan with your grade level colleagues.

Vertical planning

Planning with teachers in the grade below and above what you teach.

Montessori's Three Basic Areas of Child Involvement

Practical Life care of the person care of the environment Sensory Materials control of error isolation of a single quality Academic Materials for Writing, Reading and Mathematics writing before reading reading is an outgrowth of writing manipulatives that teach

Entitlement programs

Programs and services that children and families are entitled to because they meet the eligibility criteria.

Scientifically based programs or research-based programs

Programs based on scientific research that demonstrates they can to increase student achievement.

Principles of the Reggio Emilio Approach

Relationships Time Adults' Roles The teacher The atelierista Parents The Environment The physical space The atelier Program Practices Documentation Curriculum and practices Projects

Alignment

The process of making sure that the curriculum and what teachers teach are what the standards specify.

Curriculum alignment

The process of matching curriculum to the standards and tests that measure student achievement.

Cognitive sensory stimulation

The process of providing appropriate sensory stimulation, which in turn supports cognitive development.

Intentional Teaching

The process of teaching children with knowledge and purpose to ensure that young children acquire the knowledge, behaviors, and skills they need for success.

Assessment

The purpose of observing, recording, and otherwise documenting what children do and how they do it.

Purposes of Assessment

_______ what children know Identify special needs Determine appropriate placement Make lesson and activity plans Select materials Make _______ about how to implement learning activities Communicate with parents about developmental status and achievement Referral for children and families for additional services Make ______ decisions about what is or is not appropriate for children

3. What are the characteristics of quality education and care?

• A Healthy Environment - Supports children's physical and mental health. A healthy environment is clean, well-maintained, and has separate areas for toileting, eating and sleeping. Caregivers support children's mental health when they provide responsive and loving care and create environments that have a balance of small and large open areas. Exposure to pesticides at schools is associated with illnesses among employees and students. In child care programs, keep all surfaces free of food and water, and reduce opportunities for pests to enter the building. • A Respectful Environment - Caregivers deeply care about children and families. Caregivers create a learning environment by listening, observing, and being aware of children's verbal and nonverbal communications. In this type of environment, children's unique individualities are honored and provided for. • A Respectful Environment includes cultural appropriate practices: o Greet families in a culturally sensitive manner. o Use linguistically appropriate materials and provide books in English and Spanish. o Adjust teacher-infant interaction style according to culture; although most infants who are Hispanic are calmed with quick, repetitive, choppy phrases and back patting. Infants who are Laotian, are calmed through soft, smooth talking, cradling, and gentle rocking. o Apply limits to cultural accommodation when necessary. Discuss compromises with parents. o Communicate with parents and other family members in your program. • A Safe Environment - Caregivers provide safe environments through responsive relationships and by developing close and nurturing bonds with the children they care for. • A Supportive Environment - Means that you will spend time with children to be actively involved with other children, staff, and parents. These interactions are extremely important as children learn about their world and themselves. This environment accommodates children's individual differences and provides for active play. This environment also promotes children's mental health and encourages child-centered activities. • A Pleasant Environment - A pleasant environment supports Maslow's theory, which states that we must address and meet children's aesthetic needs. • Here are some things you can do to create a pleasant environment: o Be attentive to students' needs. o Create a pleasant, home-like environment. o Involve children in helping keep their classroom/child care space clean and orderly. • In addition to the environmental dimensions of quality care, early childhood professional also recognize other components that contribute to a good early childhood education for all children such as optimal caregiver-to-child ratio, developmentally appropriate programs, meeting individual needs, and appropriately managing children's behavior.

1. What are the foundational principles for the standards movement?

• A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) - The U.S. Department of Education created the National Commission on Excellence in Education to provide a report about quality of education in America. • Goals 2000: Educate America Act (2000) - Designed to ensure that all students reached high levels of achievement. Goals 2000 established eight national educational goals. • No Child Left Behind Act (2001) - The former Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was rechristened the No Child Left Behind Act, and it is currently the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. NCLB is built on four principles: accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility, and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research. The NCLB mandates goals for improving education in elementary, middle, and high schools by setting high expectations for students, teachers, and administrators of each state with the result of greater educational achievement for all students.

5. How are Common Core Standards and curriculum materials related?

• As you teacher, you need the standards and the curriculum materials to teach successfully. You need books and curriculum materials to teach the standards. The standards are intended to direct curriculum developers to be strategic in both what to include and what to exclude in instructional materials. These guidelines are meant to help ensure that teachers develop and receive effective tools.

6. What are issues of assessment?

• Assessment and Accountability - There is a tremendous emphasis on the use of standardized tests to measure achievement for comparing children, programs, school districts, and countries. This emphasis will continue for a number of reasons. First, the public, including politicians and legislatures, sees assessment as a means of making schools and teachers accountable for teaching the nation's children. Second, assessment is seen as playing a critical role in the reform of education. • High-stakes testing - Occurs when standardized or other kinds of tests are used to make important, and often life-influencing, decisions about children. High-stakes outcomes include decisions about whether to admit children into gifted or other special programs, whether to begin preschool or kindergarten, and whether to retain or promote children. Generally, the early childhood profession is opposed to high-stakes testing for young children because they are developing so rapidly in the early years. Also, well-trained personnel should do high-stakes testing. However, as part of the accountability movement, many politicians and school administrators view high-stakes testing as a means of ensuring that children learn and that those promotions are based on achievement. Many school critics maintain that in the pre-K and primary grades there is too much social promotion—that is, passing children from grade to grade merely to enable students to keep pace with their age peers.

2. Why it is important for you to know how to assess children and families?

• Assessment is important because it involves the majority of the decisions you will make about children when teaching and caring for them. The decisions facing our three teachers at the beginning of this chapter all involve how best to educate children. Like them, you will be called upon every day to make decisions before, during, and after your teaching. Whereas some of these decisions will seem small and inconsequential, others will involve high stakes that influence the life course of children. All of your assessment decisions taken as a whole will direct and alter children's learning outcomes.

1. What is assessment?

• Assessment is the ongoing, continuous process of collecting, gathering, and documenting what children do and how they do it as a basis for a variety of educational decisions that affect the child: o Assessment involves the multiple steps of collecting data on a child's development and learning, determining its significance in light of the program goals and objectives, incorporating the information into planning for individuals and programs, and communicating the findings to families and other involved people. Assessment of child progress is integral to curriculum and instruction. In early childhood programs, the various assessments of child progress procedures that are used serve several purposes: To plan instruction for individuals and groups To communicate with families To identify children who may be in need of specialized services or intervention To inform program development

3. What are the purposes and uses of observation and assessment and what are some ways you can assess children's development, learning, and behavior?

• Assessments should be about the benefits of the children, tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable, valid, and fair for that purpose, designed to recognize that reliability and validity of assessments increase with children's age, age appropriate in both content and the method of data collection, linguistically appropriate, recognizing that to some extent all assessments are measures of language and able to value parents as a source of information. • Purposes of Assessment: o Identify what children know o Identify children's special needs o Determine appropriate placement o Select appropriate curricula to meet children's individual needs o Refer children and, as appropriate, their families for additional services to programs and agencies o Communicate with parents to provide information about their children's progress and learning o Communicate with parents to provide information about their children's progress and learning o Relate school activities to home activities and experiences o Make policy decisions regarding what is and is not appropriate for children o Determine how well and to what extent programs and services children receive are beneficial and appropriate o Identify children's skills, abilities, and needs o Make lesson and activity plans and set goals o Create new classroom arrangements o Select materials o Make decisions about how to implement learning activities o Report to parents and families about children's developmental status and achievement o Inform the public regarding children's achievement o Provide information relating to students' school-wide achievements o Provide a basis for public policy • Purposes of Observation: o Determine the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development of children. o Identify children's interests and learning styles. o Meet the needs of individual children. o Determine progress. o Provide information to parents. o Provide self-insight. • Uses of Observation: o Step 1: Plan for Observation - Determine how child with disabilities is accepted by peers. o Step 2: Conduct the Observation - Record how children react to Elisa. What do they say and do to help Elisa in her efforts to use materials and centers in the classroom? o Step 3: Interpret the Data - Reflect on your observation. Write you conclusions and make recommendations for what you are going to do. Develop an action or instructional plan. Example: Decide to rearrange furniture and design activities to teach helpful behaviors. o Step 4: Implement a Plan - Rearrange the classroom to accommodate Elisa and her wheelchair. Begin activities to help children be more responsive to the needs of others.

4. What are the types of assessment teachers use?

• Authentic Assessment: Assessment conducted through activities that require children to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. • Traditional Assessment: Assessment done with standardized tests or teacher-created tests, where students typically select an answer or recall facts, measuring how well children have learned specific information. • Formal Assessment: Assessment utilizing standardized tests that have set procedures and instructions for administration and have been normed, thus making it possible to compare a child's score with the scores of children who have already taken the same exam. • Screening: The process of identifying the particular physical, social, linguistic, and cognitive needs of children in order to provide appropriate programs and services. • Screening procedures: Procedures that give a broad picture of what children know and are able to do, as well as their physical and emotional status. • Informal Assessment: Assessment of students' learning, behavior, and development using means other than standardized tests. • Anecdotal record: An informal assessment tool that gives a brief written description of a student's behavior during a single incident. • Running Record: An informal assessment tool that provides a more detailed narrative of a child's behavior, focusing on a sequence of events that occur over a period of time. • Event Sampling: An informal assessment tool that focuses on a particular behavior during a particular event. • Time Sampling: An informal assessment tool that records particular events or behaviors during specific, continuous time intervals, such as three or four five-minute periods during the course of a morning. • Rating scale: An informal assessment tool, usually a numeric scale, that contains a list of descriptions for a set of behaviors. • Checklist: A list of behaviors or other traits used in informal assessment to identify children's skills and knowledge. • Work sample: An example of a child's work that demonstrates what the child authentically knows and is able to do. • Student artifact: An example of children's work—art sample, writing sample, science journal, etc. • Portfolio: A compilation of children's work samples, other artifacts, and teacher observations collected over time. • Interviewing: An informal assessment tool by which observers and researchers obtain information about children by asking questions and engaging them in conversation. • Rubrics: Performance and scoring guides that differentiate among levels of student performance.

2. How does child care serve children and families?

• Childcare is a comprehensive service to children and families that supplements care and education that children receive from their families. Comprehensive child care includes high-quality care and education along with activities and experiences appropriate to support children's social, emotional, linguistic, physical, and academic development. Childcare is educational. It provides for children's cognitive development, helps engage them in the process of learning that begins at birth, and incorporates learning activities as part of the curriculum. A comprehensive child view of child care considers the child to be a whole person; therefore, the major purpose of childcare is to facilitate optimal development of the whole child and support efforts to achieve the goal. • Childcare is important for several reasons. First, recent demographic changes have created a high demand for care outside the home. There are dual-income families and more working single parents than ever before. Second, child care is viewed as a critical early intervention program for children and families. High-quality child care promotes pre-academic skills and school readiness, enhanced language performance, and increased positive developmental outcomes. Child care plays a vital role in the health, welfare, and general social and academic well-being of all the of nation's children. Third, for low-income families, quality child care is critical. High-quality child care provides safe places for children to be and grow. These programs provide good nutrition and environments for socialization, physical development, and learning. • Types of Child Care: o Care by Family Members, Relatives, and Friends: Provide continuity and stability of care to children. o Family Child Care: When an individual caregiver provides a care and education for a small group of children in his or her home. o Intergenerational Programs: Integrate children and the elderly in an early childhood and adult care facility. o Center-Based Care: Conducted in refurbished homes, buildings, and churches. o Proprietary Child Care: Run by corporations, businesses, or individual proprietors for the purpose of making a profit. o Before- and After- School Care: Provide students with an inclusive child care program that is safe and nurturing in a comfortable environment; A cultural enriching program that promotes the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development of each child; A program that meets the highest quality of child care standards. o Military Child Care: The Department of Defense (DoD) military child development system (CDS) provides daily services for the largest number of children of any employer in the United States. Four main components make up the DoD CDS: child development centers, family child-care, school-age care, and resource and referral programs. • The three key essentials of quality, affordability, and accessibility should always be part of child care services.

6. What are issues associated with Common Core Standards?

• Critics of standards-based education argue that standards focus too much on academic achievement and that other areas of the curriculum such as social and emotional development get left behind. • Critics of standards assert that standards promote a traditional back-to-basics approach to early childhood education at the expense of play-based and child-centered teaching and learning. • Many believe standards narrow the curriculum and force "teaching to the test." • Critics of standards believe they lead to an overemphasis on assessment and testing. • Some argue that standards impose too much structure on early childhood teachers who have a tradition of having the freedom to develop their own curriculum and classroom activities. • Not everyone agrees that Common Core Standards are for all children. Many teachers of children with diverse needs believe that CCS and tests designed for normally developing or native English-speaking children are inappropriate for children with disabilities or different linguistic backgrounds. However, the CCS do apply to children with disabilities and special learning conditions.

4. What are program models such as High-Scope, Montessori, and Reggio-Emilia, and what are their basic features?

• High-Scope Educational Model: A constructivist educational model based on Piaget's cognitive development theory, providing realistic experiences geared to children's current stages of development. • Montessori: A system of early childhood education found on the philosophy, procedures, and materials developed by Maria Montessori. Respect for the child is the cornerstone of which all other Montessori principles rest. • Reggio Emilia approach: An early childhood educational program named for the town in Italy where it originated. The method emphasized a child's relationships with family, peers, teachers, and the wider community; small group-interaction; schedules set by the child's personal rhythms; and visual arts programs coordinated by a specially trained atelierista. • High-Scope Educational Model - Theory is based on Piaget, constructivism, Dewey, and Vygotsky. Plan-do-review is the teaching-learning cycle. Emergent curriculum is not planned in advance. Children help determine curriculum. Key experiences guide the curriculum in promoting children's active learning. • Montessori - Theoretical basis is the philosophy and beliefs of Maria Montessori. A prepared environment supports, invites, and enables learning. Children educate themselves—self-directed learning is a cornerstone. Sensory materials invite and promote learning. A set curriculum regarding what children should learn is offered. Montessorians try to stay as close to Montessori's ideas as possible. Children are grouped in multiage environments. Children learn by manipulating materials and working with others. Learning takes place through the senses. • Reggio Emilia - Approach is based on Piaget, constructivism, Vygotsky, and Dewey. Emergent curriculum is not planned in advance. Curriculum is based on children's interests and experiences. Curriculum is project oriented. The Hundred Languages of Children represents the symbolic representation of children's work and learning. Learning is active. A special teacher—the atelierista—is trained in the arts. An art/design studio—the atelier—is used by children and teachers.

6. Why is it important for you to know and understand early childhood programs?

• Knowing about programs will enable you to talk knowledgeable with colleagues and parents and will enable you to critically compare and contrast features of one program with another. Knowing about early childhood education enables you to always be clear about what you believe is best for children and families and to think, talk, and act as a confident professional.

1. Why is there a growing demand for quality early childhood programs?

• Quality early childhood programs ensure children's success, which enables them to succeed in school and life, provide high-quality education for all children, include language and reading readiness activities in programs and curricula that enable children to learn and read well. • Help children develop the social and behavioral skills necessary for them to lead civilized, peaceful lives. In response to daily headlines about violence and abuse, the public wants early childhood programs to assume an ever-growing responsibility for helping get children off to a nonviolent start in life. They want school and other programs to keep their children safe. • Prepare children for a world shaped by global competition. Early childhood programs play a vital role in preparing children of today for the world of tomorrow. This is one reason why early childhood programs are placing more emphasis on science, math, technology, engineering, and learning a second language. • Meet the work and lifestyle needs of parents for child care around the clock, 24/7.

4. How Are Common Core Standards Changing Teaching and Learning?

• Standards have transformed teaching from an input model to an output model. Increasing student achievement is the center of the standards movement. Policy makers and educators view standards, tests, and teaching alignment as a viable and practical way to help ensure student achievement. Accountability intitatives, including No Child Left Behind, have brought about a shift in focus form covering subject matter to meeting the needs of each student. Intentional teaching is the process of teaching children with knowledge and purpose to ensure that young children acquire the knowledge, behaviors and skills they need for success. When teachers ask, "What should I teach?" CCS and local standards help answer their question. Standards give teachers a shared framework, based on developmentally appropriate practice, of what they should teach to children and how we know through their learning that they are growing socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.

5. What are the contexts that influence the use of assessments?

• Step 1: Initial Screening and Assessment to Determine: o Overall health status o Developmental level(s) o Social competence and behavior abilities and needs o Academic skills/readiness level(s) • Step 2: Observation and Ongoing Assessment—Daily, Monthly, and Quarterly: o Monitoring of child's progress o Ongoing assessment of achievement, strengths and needs, interests, and learning styles. • Step 3: Using Data to Inform Teaching and Learning Support: o Ensure positive child outcomes o Individualize the curriculum o Build on prior knowledge and experiences and activities • Step 4: Successful Completion of School Year of Program: o Child has met standards for program or grade o Child has achieved at high levels

2. What are the Common Core Standards (CCS)?

• The Common Core Standards are national benchmarks in math and English created to have uniformity no matter where students attend public schools. The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.

3. Why are the Common Core Standards important?

• The Common Core Standards identify what every child in every state and in every school district should know and be able to do. Standards help the public and politicians hold teachers and schools accountable for teaching that children learn. States have delegated the reponsiblity of education to local districts and programs. However, beginning in 1995, states have increasingly take more control for educating children, monitoring teaching, and holding schools accountable for student achievement. CCS are one way to achieve this goal. CCS are considered to be the minimum necessary for grade-level achievement; They help ensure that all children will be taught what they need to know to accomplish the skills appropriate for their grade level. Integrating technology into the curriculum is another way to align CCS, teaching, and learning. CCS enables you to know what schools expect of their children and teachers. By knowing the CCS, you can integrate concepts, ideas, and skills into your teaching. Standards serve as one means by which states and local programs can be accountable for teaching and learning.

5. What early childhood programs does the federal government sponsor and fund?

• The federal government sponsors the following early childhood programs: Head Start (children ages three to five) and Early Head Start (children from birth to age three). These programs are entitlement programs that children and families are entitled to because they meet the eligibility criteria. These programs provide comprehensive health, nutrition, educational, and social services in order to help children achieve their full potential and succeed in school and life.