Students in early childhood teacher education programs are expected to know, plan curriculum, and teach within several sets of content area, national, state, and local, learning standards. Understanding where these standards originated and why they are important within the context of classroom practice will help new teachers begin their careers aware of their role in helping children become competent in the content-area standards. At the heart of the standards movement are the early literacy standards, necessary for achieving both reading and language arts competencies and for achieving competency in social studies, science, and mathematics in the K-12 grades. Understanding and applying the standards, through best practices, can guide teachers in the writing of objectives, development of activities, selection of materials, and the authentic assessment of children's learning within their classroom. (Contains 2 figures.)