A Guide to Domains & Strands
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Social & Cognition Emotional Development Physical Development Mathematics and Health Supporting All Children Using the Connecticut Early Learning & Development Standards: A Guide to Domains & Strands Language Science and Literacy Social Creative Studies Arts Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................. 3 Cognition .................................................................................... 5 Social & Emotional Development ............................................. 16 Physical Development & Health ............................................... 33 Early Language, Communication & Literacy/ Language & Literacy............................................................ 47 Creative Arts ............................................................................. 70 Early Mathematical Discovery & Mathematics ......................... 79 Early Scientific Inquiry & Science ............................................. 93 Social Studies ......................................................................... 112 References ............................................................................. 127 2 Introduction Supporting All Children Using the Connecticut Early Learning and • Strategies Development Standards (CT ELDS): A Guide to Domains and Strands is a Examples of strategies to support growth and development across the companion document to the CT ELDS. This document includes the following learning progressions are provided for each strand. Note that these components: strategies are intended as examples and should not be considered to be comprehensive. Strategies should be planned specifically for the Domain Guidance: Information about each of the eight domains in the CT classroom, children and families in a particular setting. In addition, while ELDS includes a general description of this area of development and general the strategies are laid out in a manner that mirrors the age bands in ideas about promoting development in this area. There is a list of all of the the CT ELDS, remember that the CT ELDS are designed to be used strands included in domain and resources, including websites, books and as learning progressions. Therefore, it is important to consider the articles. strategies across the age and developmental ranges when planning. Strategies are broken down into the following sections: Strand Guidance: Information about each strand in the CT ELDS includes: • Environment, materials and scheduling • General Information These strategies involve providing appropriate materials, scheduling For each strand in the CT ELDS there is general information about what the classroom routine and planning the environment to support this strand includes and why this strand is an important part of children’s development along learning progressions in this strand. growth and development. • Teaching behaviors • Age Range Descriptions Teaching behaviors include the ways that adults interact with and For each strand there is a brief discussion about development in this respond to young children that support their growth and development area for the age ranges addressed in the CT ELDS (infants and toddlers in this area. and/or preschoolers). • Supporting all Children: Children with Disabilities and Children who are Dual Language Learners This is a section that includes ways to support growth and development in this area for children with disabilities and children who are dual language learners. 3 A Note on Learning Progressions and Indicators in the CT ELDS Each strand in the CT ELDS is further broken down into learning progressions. The learning progressions are labeled with a name in the left hand column of the CT ELDS document. Each progression is comprised of a series of indicators, that illustrate examples of a common progression of skills across the age ranges. Individual indicators may provide useful information, but must be considered in the context of the learning progression as a whole and as a part of the domain and strand. For the purpose of providing guidance about development and strategies to support children using the CT ELDS, it was found that this information was best organized by the domains and strands in the CT ELDS document. When planning curriculum or determining specific strategies to support young children, adults should closely consider the strands and specific learning progressions, reflecting upon how children develop over time in this area. Additional Resources In addition to this document, other supporting materials in the series include: • Building Meaningful Curriculum (including The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Curriculum Self-Assessment Tool) • A Guide for Families • Meeting the Needs of Dual Language Learners • Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners In addition, the CT Core Knowledge and Competency Framework for Early Childhood Professionals should be used to address the needs of the professionals who support young children. This framework includes perspectives from education, special education, health, mental health, and social service disciplines to address the early childhood workforce that works most closely with children ages birth to five and their families.This workforce includes teachers in community-based settings, family home child care, public school settings, home visitors and interventionists. This “core” provides a shared set of competencies from a multi-disciplinary lens that can be used as a foundation to construct or adopt role specific competencies beyond those addressed in the shared set. The practices outlined in the document align to the Connecticut Core Knowledge and Competency Framework for Early Childhood Professionals. The CT ELDS and the documents in the series Supporting All Children Using the CT ELDS do not constitute a curriculum. Rather, they are tools to support intentionally planning for teaching and learning. Curriculum should be intentional, responsive and reflective. This document provides information which may be helpful in planning as a part of an identified curricular approach so that the needs of the group of children and the individuals are addressed. 4 Supporting All Children: Guide to Domains & Strands Cognition 5 Cognition Cognition is defined as, “the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.” (Oxforddictionaries.com). Cognitive processes include memory, reasoning, problem-solving, symbolic representation and thinking. These cognitive processes emerge throughout childhood. In addition, children begin to use specific ways to approach learning and to manage these cognitive processes. While all aspects of cognition are important, symbolic representation provides an important foundation for future learning. Being able to think of objects or ideas using symbols helps people to store and manipulate information and manipulate information. Symbolic representation serves as a foundation for language development, pretend play, literacy and mathematics. As children develop, they are able to store increasingly complex and abstract information, and can manipulate the information in a variety of ways. The ability of a child to acquire, store and manipulate information is closely related to their language, social and motor development. For example, 18-month-old Christine has wandered into the kitchen where her mother is giving her dog a treat. Her mother is telling the dog to sit. Christine begins to imitate the action, word and intent of communicating with the dog. She has acquired new information that would not have been possible without increased motor, language and social skills. The next day at her child care facility, she repeats the sequence with the child care provider’s dog, showing she has stored that new information and is able to apply it in a new context. In order for young children to develop strong cognitive skills and learn new information, they need to be engaged in real-life experiences. Children should have opportunities to learn through active exploration and inquiry. This can make the learning more real, helping them to absorb the information better. Active learning experiences may include: • Exploring objects through touch and play, acting out new roles Early learning experiences will support children to: • Building structures to learn about geometric shapes or the properties of the building materials Strand A: Develop effective approaches to learning • Spending time outdoors to learn about specific science concepts Strand B: Use logic and reasoning • Actively solving problems. Strand C: Strengthen executive function 6 Infants and Toddlers Strand A: Early learning experiences will For infants and toddlers, their approaches to learning begin with their interest support children to develop effective in the world around them and their desire to make things happen. This can approaches to learning. be seen immediately as young infants begin to explore their environment, chewing their fist, vocalizing different sounds and turning toward the sound All people approach learning in different ways, including children. of a familiar voice. Secure relationships, exploration and active learning Approaches to learning refer to how children respond to learning are critical to supporting children’s development of positive approaches to situations. It includes their curiosity, engagement, eagerness to learn learning. “In active learning settings, children engage with an abundance and cooperation with peers