Research Findings: Kindergarten is the gateway to education and a point of great variability in children's knowledge and skills. As a result, there is keen interest in kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) to understand and address gaps in early skills. This study rigorously investigated the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Kindergarten Entry…

What is active learning and what does it look like in the classroom? If students are participating in active learning, they are playing a more engaged role in the learning process and are not overly reliant on the teacher (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2003; Petress, 2008). The purpose of this article is to propose a framework to describe and…

This curriculum, designed for severely retarded children in a primary day care setting, is divided into three sections: (1) Awareness of Body Parts, (2) Gross Motor Skills, and (3) Language Arts. Detailed activities are suggested to develop and reinforce various gross motor coordinations and learning skills. (CS)

Designed to encourage debate, discussion, and, eventually, evaluation of the minimum competency testing movement, this book examines academic, physical, social, aesthetic, and vocational competencies that are basic to the development of the early adolescent. The first of six chapters, Early Adolescent Competencies, raises issues facing schools for…

This curriculum guide permits the use of a great variety of materials and encourages creativity on the part of teachers and children. Listed are suggested activities to be considered as minimum learning experiences, leaving each teacher with the freedom and responsibility to provide variety and achieve individualized educational experiences for…

Presented is a curriculum guide and description of a program for educable mentally retarded elementary school children. Considered are such program aspects as philosophy and rationale, pupil selection and school-community relations. Goals, activities and suggested topics for experience units are listed for grades K-3, 4-6, and 7-8 in the following…

An evaluation was conducted to examine the structure and design of the Continuous Progress Report (CPR), an observation scale used to measure students' early developmental skills in the District of Columbia public schools. Item construction and the relative consistency of measurement constructs in the CPR were the specific focus of the evaluation.…

Presented is a curriculum guide for educable mentally retarded pupils in grades seven through twelve. Summarized are objectives for the junior high level (including personal and social adjustment) and the senior high level (such as recreational and leisure time skills). Goals, activities, and suggested topics for experience units are listed for…

One of a series of documents produced by a nationwide network of early childhood education specialists, teachers, parents, and Head Start staff, the guide describes developmental characteristics of preschool and elementary school students by grade level. Arranged into five curriculum areas, the first presents physical, motor, social, cognitive,…

Developed by early childhood educators at the classroom, system, state, and university levels and tested in six school systems, this handbook has been prepared to help kindergarten teachers in Georgia plan, implement, and evaluate their own programs. In addition to introductory material stating the philosophy of the program, principles of child…

The Illinois Early Learning Standards were developed by the Illinois State Board of Education with the assistance of hundreds of educators. The goal of the standards is to provide teachers and caregivers useful information that is directly needed as part of their daily classroom work. Based on comments from educators, parents, and various experts…

There is a growing consensus among educators that a major reason why traditional curriculum approaches have failed is that they are not based on knowledge of what is age-appropriate or individually appropriate for young children. This book provides practitioners with a practical framework for making curriculum effective and responsive for children…

This document presents curriculum guidelines intended for use as a recommended curriculum for children attending early childhood programs in Oklahoma. The introductory section describes critical characteristics of quality early childhood programs, noting that early childhood programs should be appropriate for the age, developmental level, and…

Kindergarten marks a new beginning for parent and child, and presents challenges for parents as their child makes the transition from home to school. This handbook provides a description of what parents can expect of their child's Catholic kindergarten program in Alberta, Canada. It describes how young children learn, how learning is assessed, and…

"Make Early Learning Standards Come Alive" provides help, support, and explanations of how to make early learning standards come alive in classrooms and programs. Easy-to-read charts show how different states define standards in each of the major content areas and how these standards can be addressed in the classroom. The book discusses how to:…