2016 The Kindergarten Program The Ontario Public Service endeavours to demonstrate leadership with respect to accessibility in Ontario. Our goal is to ensure that Ontario government services, products, and facilities are accessible to all our employees and to all members of the public we serve. This document, or the information that it contains, is available, on request, in alternative formats. Please forward all requests for alternative formats to ServiceOntario at 1-800-668-9938 (TTY: 1-800-268-7095). CONTENTS PREFACE 4 1.3 THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 29 Background 4 Rethinking the Learning Environment 29 Supporting Children’s Well-Being and Ability to Learn 5 Thinking about Time and Space 30 Thinking about Materials and Resources 31 1. A Program to Support Learning and Teaching in Co-constructing the Learning Environment 32 Kindergarten 7 The Learning Environment and Beliefs about Children 33 1.1 INTRODUCTION 8 Learning in the Outdoors 34 Vision, Purpose, and Goals 8 1.4 ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING IN KINDERGARTEN: The Importance of Early Learning 8 MAKING CHILDREN’S THINKING AND LEARNING VISIBLE 36 A Shared Understanding of Children, Families, and Educators 9 Pedagogical Documentation: What Are We Learning from Research? 36 Pedagogical Approaches 11 Using Pedagogical Documentation to Best Effect 37 Fundamental Principles of Play-Based Learning 12 Co-constructing Learning with the Children: Assessment for The Four Frames of the Kindergarten Program 13 Learning and Assessment as Learning 40 Supporting a Continuum of Learning 15 Noticing and Naming the Learning: The Link to Learning Goals The Organization and Features of This Document 16 and Success Criteria 42 Considerations in Assessment of Learning: Children’s Demonstration 1.2 PLAY-BASED LEARNING IN A CULTURE OF INQUIRY 18 of Learning 43 Play as the Optimal Context for Learning: Evidence from Research 18 Collaborating with Parents to Make Thinking and Learning Visible 44 The Inquiry Approach: Evidence from Research 20 Play-Based Learning in an Inquiry Stance 21 2. Thinking about Learning and Teaching in the Four Frames 46 Communicating with Parents and Families about Play-Based 2.1 THINKING ABOUT BELONGING AND CONTRIBUTING 47 Learning 28 Belonging and Contributing: What Are We Learning from Research? 47 Emotional Development through Relationships 48 Laying the Foundations for Citizenship and Environmental Une publication équivalente est disponible en français sous le titre suivant : Stewardship 49 Programme de la maternelle et du jardin d’enfants, 2016. 2 THE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM Supporting Children’s Sense of Belonging and Contributing through Supporting Children’s Development in Problem Solving Collaboration, Empathy, and Inclusiveness 50 and Innovating 89 Developing a Sense of Belonging and Contributing through the Arts 51 The Role of Play in Inquiry, Problem Solving, and Innovating 91 The Role of Learning in the Outdoors in Problem Solving 2.2 THINKING ABOUT SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING 54 and Innovating 92 Self-Regulation: What Are We Learning from Research? 54 Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation 56 3. The Program in Context 94 The Learning Environment and Self-Regulation 57 3.1 CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING 95 Well-Being: What Are We Learning from Research? 58 A Flexible Approach to Learning: The Flow of the Day 95 Developmental Domains as Components of Overall Well-Being 59 Supporting Transitions 96 Supporting Development to Enhance Overall Well-Being 60 Children with Special Education Needs 97 The Role of Mental Health 62 English Language Learners 100 2.3 THINKING ABOUT DEMONSTRATING LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS Equity and Inclusive Education in Kindergarten 101 BEHAVIOURS 64 Healthy Relationships and Kindergarten 102 Literacy Behaviours: What Are We Learning from Research? 64 Environmental Education 103 Children’s Prior Engagement with Literacy outside the School 65 The Role of the Arts in Kindergarten 104 Supporting the Development of Literacy Behaviours 66 The Role of Information and Communications Technology 105 Literacy Learning throughout the Day 71 The Role of the School Library in Kindergarten Programs 106 Literacy and the Learning Environment 73 Health and Safety in Kindergarten 106 Mathematics Behaviours: What Are We Learning from Research? 75 Children’s Prior Engagement with Mathematics outside the School 76 3.2 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS: LEARNING AND WORKING TOGETHER 108 Supporting the Development of Mathematics Behaviours 76 Children 108 Mathematics Learning throughout the Day 83 Parents and Families 109 Mathematics and the Learning Environment 85 Educators 112 Principals 113 2.4 THINKING ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING AND INNOVATING 87 The Local Community 114 Problem Solving and Innovating: What Are We Learning from Research? 87 4. The Learning Expectations 115 4.3 BELONGING AND CONTRIBUTING 125 Overall Expectations 125 4.1 USING THE ELEMENTS OF THE EXPECTATION CHARTS 116 Expectation Charts 126 The Learning Expectations 116 Conceptual Understandings 116 4.4 SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING 154 Professional Learning Conversations and Reflections 117 Overall Expectations 154 Ways in Which Thinking and Learning Are Made Visible 118 Expectation Charts 155 4.2 THE OVERALL EXPECTATIONS IN THE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM, 4.5 DEMONSTRATING LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS BEHAVIOURS 181 BY FRAME 121 Overall Expectations 181 The Expectations and the Frames 121 Expectation Charts 182 4.6 PROBLEM SOLVING AND INNOVATING 255 Overall Expectations 255 Expectation Charts 256 APPENDIX: OVERALL EXPECTATIONS WITH RELATED SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS 306 REFERENCES 319 CONTENTS 3 PREFACE This document supersedes The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten Program BACKGROUND (Draft Version, 2010–11). Beginning in September 2016, all Kindergarten programs will be based on the expectations and pedagogical approaches The Ontario government introduced full-day Kindergarten − a two-year outlined in this document. program for four- and five-year-olds − as part of its initiative to create a cohesive, coordinated system for early years programs and services across the ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY province. Milestones in the creation of that system include the following: Ontario elementary schools strive to support high-quality learning while giving every • In 2007, the government published Early Learning for Every Child Today: child the opportunity to learn in the way that is best suited to the child’s individual A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings, commonly referred to as strengths and needs. The Kindergarten program is designed to help every child reach ELECT, which set out six principles to guide practice in early years settings: his or her full potential through a program of learning that is coherent, relevant, 1. Positive experiences in early childhood set the foundation for lifelong and age appropriate. It recognizes that, today and in the future, children need to learning, behaviour, health, and well-being. be critically literate in order to synthesize information, make informed decisions, 2. Partnerships with families and communities are essential. communicate effectively, and thrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important for children to be connected to the curriculum, and to see themselves 3. Respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion is vital. in what is taught, how it is taught, and how it applies to the world at large. The 4. An intentional, planned program supports learning. curriculum recognizes that the needs of learners are diverse and helps all learners 5. Play and inquiry are learning approaches that capitalize on children’s develop the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to become informed, natural curiosity and exuberance. productive, caring, responsible, and active citizens in their own communities and 6. Knowledgeable, responsive, and reflective educators are essential. in the world. ELECT is recognized as a foundational document in the early years sector. It provided a shared language and common understanding of children’s learning *** and development for early years professionals as they work together in various The introduction of a full day of learning for four- and five-year-olds in early childhood settings. The principles of ELECT informed provincial Ontario called for transformational changes in the pedagogical approaches child care policy as well as pan-Canadian early learning initiatives such as used in Kindergarten, moving from a traditional pedagogy to one centred the Statement on Play of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. on the child and informed by evidence from research and practice about ELECT principles were embedded in the innovative Kindergarten program how young children learn. The insights of educators in the field, along with outlined in The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten Program (Draft knowledge gained from national and international research on early learning, Version, 2010–11). have informed the development of the present document. • The Ontario Early Years Policy Framework, released in 2013 and also based on A focus on well-being in the early stages of a child’s development is of critical ELECT, set the stage for the creation of the new early years system, providing importance. The Kindergarten Program integrates learning about well-being a vision to ensure that children, from birth to age six, would have the best into the program expectations and pedagogy related to “Self-Regulation possible start in life. The policy framework guides Ontario’s approach to the and Well-Being”, one