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.