WELCOME Parents Child Care Providers Preschool Teachers TO CK’S EARLY CHILDHOOD & SCHOOL READINESS MEETING.

WELCOMEParents

Child Care Providers

Preschool TeachersTO CK’S EARLY CHILDHOOD

& SCHOOL READINESS MEETING

AGENDA• Welcome and Introductions

(Dr. Hertica Martin, Elementary Director, Office of Teaching and Learning)

• Introducing the WA State Voluntary Early Learning & Development Benchmarks (Gail Gillis, Curriculum Specialist)

• Small Group Activity – Benchmarks exploration

• Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Benchmarks Edition

• Sharing/Questions (Dan King & Keith Lyum, Child Care Providers & Preschool Teachers)

What are Benchmarks and why do we need them?

Benchmarks are used as a basis of comparison in measuring or judging capacity, quality,

value, or quantity.

Benchmark Example:The weight a child should

achieve at birth to be considered healthy.

What are Early Learning and Development Benchmarks?

Define what children should know and be able to do.

Example: Four-year-old children will be able to state name, where they live,

parents’ names, and sibling names

Note: These are usually observable in children’s behavior or verbal

interactions

Five Dimensions (Domains) of Development

In each, we specify what children know and are able to do

1. Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor Development

2. Social and Emotional Development3. Approaches Toward Learning4. Language, Literacy, and Communication5. Cognition and General Knowledge

What are the Washington State Benchmarks ?

Provides the basis for an integrated approach to learning/a source document

Describes some key expectations for what children should know and be able to do, birth to kindergarten entry

Addresses five domains of early childhood learning and development

Provides a voluntary guide to support all those who are raising, caring for, and teaching young children

What the Washington State Benchmarks are Not !

They are not designed to be: an exhaustive guide to child development a developmental checklist a curriculum guide the basis for teacher credentialing an assessment tool to collect statewide information

regarding children’s development an assessment tool to make high stakes decisions

about individual children’s placements or entry to kindergarten

Domain: Language, Literacy, and CommunicationSub-Domain: Language

Domain Component: Oral LanguageGoal: Children use oral language for a variety of purposes

Birth to 18 monthsIndicator:

Enjoys listening to oral stories

Strategies:Tell stories to child

18 to 36 monthsIndicator:

Requests to hear stories

Strategies:Set aside time daily

to engage in storytelling with

child

36 to 60 monthsIndicator:

Tells a short make- believe story with

assistance

Strategies:Encourage child to

create make-believe stories and write

them down as child tells the story out

loud

60 months to Kindergarten

Indicator:Enjoys listening to

stories from diverse cultures

Strategies:When telling stories

from different cultures, highlight aspects of the

story that might be interesting for child

How to Read the Document

Small Group Activity

Choose a Domain, Sub-Domain, & Goal:1. Language of the domain: clear/accurate?

2. Items that you particularly like?

3. Items that you would like everyone to look at carefully?

4. Ideas for implementation?

WHO WANTS TO BE A WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIREMILLIONAIRE

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

Let’s play…

Are the Early Learning & Development Benchmarks

Voluntary?

•C Absolutely not!

•B Maybe. •D Who cares?

•A Of course.

$100

Who are a child’s first and mostimportant teachers?

•C Preschool

•B Parents •D Peers

•A Kindergarten

$200

Which of the following is NOT a Domain of the Early Learning Benchmarks?

•C

•B •D

•A

$300

Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor Development

Social and Emotional Development

Financial planning for retirement

Language, Communication, and Literacy

In addition to the previous three, what are the two remaining domains of the Early LearningBenchmarks?

•C

•B •D “Alphabet” AND “Counting”

•A

$500

“Cognition and General Knowledge” AND “Approaches Toward Learning”

•“Calculus” AND “Nuclear Physics”

“Hopscotch” AND “Dodgeball”

The Benchmarks are intended to…

•C

•B

•D All of the above.

•A

$1,000

…link early development to later success in school and life by

aligning the Benchmarks with the EALRs and K-3 GLEs

…promote reasonable expectations and practical

strategies for parents and those who care for and teach young

children to support their learning and development.

…contribute to a unified vision for the

early care and education system in Washington

State

What period of life is characterized by the most rapid development?

•C 10 - 15

•B 5 - 10 •D 15 - 20

•A Birth - 5

$2,000

Which of the following is not the END of a critical stage of development in the Early Learning Benchmarks?

•C 36 months

•B 24 months •D 60 months

•A 18 months

$4,000

Don’t forget your lifelines!

Which of the following will the Early Learning BenchmarksNOT do?

•C

•B •D

•A

$8,000

Help parents better understand what they can expect to see as their children develop.

Serve as an assessment tool to make high stakes

decisions about individual children’s placements or

entry to kindergarten.

Provide teachers with a learning continuum that will

help ease children’s transition from one stage of

development to the next.

Provide some simple play and learning

activities that adults can use to enhance

children’s development.

How is diversity acknowledged and celebrated within the Early LearningBenchmarks?

•C

•B •D

•A

$16,000

The indicators and strategiesincorporate modifications for

diverse children.

The ages indicated for achieving each of the indicators are broad

guidelines to when and howchildren will achieve the

indicators.

Children with special learning needs may accomplish the

indicators in a time span that is different from that indicated in

the Benchmarks.

All of the above.

According to the guiding principles, the content of the Benchmarks should…

$32,000

•C

•B •D All of the above.

•A…acknowledge and respect children’s

cultural andlinguistic differences.

…recognize that children acquire skills from multiple

teaching approachesand diverse environments.

…recognize that young children are active

learners.

The Benchmarks should be aligned,where appropriate, to existingeducation benchmarks inWashington state, including…

•C

•B •D

•A

$64,000

EALRs, GLEs, &Head Start Framework

outcomes

What’s a benchmark?

SAT, ACT & APABCDEFG

HIJKLMNOP…

For every goal within a Domain,Two types of information are provided under each age category. These items include…

•C

•B •D

•A

$125,000

Indicators for children

Strategies for caregivers

Recommended TV programs

A & B

Within Domain I, under Gross Motor Skills:Put these indicators for children of Strength AndCoordination Of Large Muscles in order of1. Birth – 18 months2. 18 months – 36 months3. 36 months – 60 months4. 60 months – Kindergarten Entry

•C Rolls over

•B Walks backwards •D Skips with skill

•A

$250,000

Hops forward on one foot

Which of the following is anexample of a Strategy forCaregivers within a Domain in the Benchmarks?

•C

•B •D

•A

$500,000

Establish a procedure for taking turns

and explain that each child will have a turn.

Seeks peaceful resolution to conflict

Signals own needs with sounds or

motions

Begins to control impulses

What role do the Early Learning Benchmarks play for child careproviders?

•C Both A & B

•B •D None of the above.

•A

$1,000,000

A guide for what children should know and be able to

do at critical stages of development.

A resource for play and learning activities targeted to

specific stages of development.