Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards Strategies and Activities: Preschool November 2017 Published 2017 by Early Care and Education Projects Fayetteville, AR 72701 ©Early Care and Education Projects College of Education and Health Professions University of Arkansas All rights reserved December 2017 Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |ii Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... v Reading and Using Strategies and Activities: Preschool ...................................................................................... vii Books That Support Strategies and Activities: Preschool .................................................................................. 109 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 115 Resources ........................................................................................................................................................... 117 Social and Emotional Development ........................................................................................................................... 1 Cognitive Development ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Physical Development and Health ........................................................................................................................... 19 Language Development ........................................................................................................................................... 41 Emergent Literacy .................................................................................................................................................... 47 Mathematical Thinking ............................................................................................................................................ 59 Science and Technology ........................................................................................................................................... 69 Social Studies ........................................................................................................................................................... 85 Creativity and Aesthetics ......................................................................................................................................... 95 Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |iii Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |iv Introduction Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards Strategies and Activities: Preschool was created to help early childhood professionals in developing quality developmentally appropriate curriculum, goals, and environments for children in their classroom. Based on the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards: Birth through 60 Months, this document focuses on ages 37 through 60 months. Some indicators (knowledge or skill that one would expect to see in a child) will begin developing in infant and toddler years, but are not be mastered until children are older than 36 months. AR CDELS Strategies and Activities: Preschool is organized by the nine AR CDELS Domains of Development and Learning: • Social and Emotional Development • Cognitive Development • Physical Development and Health • Language Development • Emergent Literacy • Mathematical Thinking • Science and Technology • Social Studies • Creativity and Aesthetics Each domain is further divided into more specific areas of development or learning, which are called domain components. Each domain component consists of learning goals related to the component. These are the specific areas of development and learning in which children should show progress. Each learning goal consists of one or more strands that represent subskills within the learning goal. Within each strand, there is a progression of expectations for what children should know and be able to do at different ages in early childhood. Each step in the progression is called an indicator, which outlines the knowledge or skill that one would expect to see in a child related to that learning goal within a specific age range. It is important to note that because typical child development and learning varies widely from child to child, many indicators span multiple age ranges. For example, when an indicator spans the birth through 8-month and 9- through 18-month age ranges, that means the behaviors and skills will be developing and observed for most children somewhere between birth and 19 months (AR CDELS, 2016). The Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards Committee established a set of guiding principles that informed the development of the standards. Those guiding principles are: • The foundations of early development and learning begin before birth. • Families are children’s first and most influential teachers. • Child development and learning unfold within each child’s specific social and cultural context. • All areas of development and learning are equally important and influence a child’s school readiness and life success. • Early learning standards should be grounded in the science of child development and early learning. • Children’s learning happens through the active, playful exploration of their environment and participation in meaningful interactions with others. • Children learn in a variety of ways and develop at varying rates. • Children can demonstrate mastery of the standards in a variety of ways. • Early development and learning standards are not a curriculum or assessment, but provide the areas of and expectations for development and learning to which curricula and assessments must align. • Children develop and learn best in environments that are psychologically and physically safe and that foster strong relationships between caring adults and children. • Early development and learning standards should be central to the state’s early childhood professional development and higher education systems and a range of supports should be provided to facilitate teachers’ understanding and use of the standards. Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |v Early development and learning is complex and interrelated, resulting in many potential ways to discuss and describe phases of development and learning. To make this complexity more manageable, the birth-through-60 month age span is divided into five age ranges and the standards are organized into progressively smaller groupings of content (AR CDELS, 2016). • Birth through 8 months • 9 through 18 months • 19 through 36 months • 37 through 48 months, and • 49 through 60 months The strategies and activities in this document are separated by age range. Each child is different and there can be a wide range in children’s development and learning. The Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards: Birth through 60 Months has highlighted behaviors and signs to watch for that might indicate a developmental delay or behavior issue. Where applicable, those warning signs have been listed at the start of each Domain of Development and Learning section. Companion publications AR CDELS Developmental Rating Scale: Birth through 36 Months and AR CDELS Developmental Rating Scale: 19 through 60 Months have been created and can help the early childhood professional identify developmental delays and/or behavioral issues. The AR CDELS Developmental Rating Scales as well as the AR CDELS Strategies and Activities are available for download on Early Care and Education Projects For the Provider webpage under Arkansas Curriculum and Supplemental Publications. Reference: Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. (2016). Arkansas child development and early learning standards: Birth through 60 months. Little Rock, AR: Author Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |vi Reading and Using Strategies and Activities: Preschool Strategies and Activities: Preschool is based on the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards (CDELS): Birth through 60 Months and is designed to support teachers in helping children meet learning goals. It is organized by Domain of Development and Learning, Domain Component and Learning Goal. The strategies and activities within this document were developed for preschool children (37-60 months) from the indicators located within each learning goal in the Arkansas CDELS. Strategies and Activities: Preschool is arranged by Domain of Development and Learning. Each Strand is listed in the left column and the associated strategies and activities are in the middle column labeled Teaching Strategies. The right column has examples of how those teaching strategies might be implemented. Throughout the text there are referrals to the resource section, indicating there are additional resources that accompany those strategies or activities. These additional resources are located at the end of that Domain of Development and Learning. Domain Component Learning Goal Strand Resources are available Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |vii Strategies and Activities: Preschool page |viii Social and Emotional Development It is vitally important that Arkansas’s early childhood professionals focus on the social and emotional development of young children.