Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Focus on Children in First, second, and Third Grades Carol Copple, Sue Bredekamp, Derry Koralek, and Kathy Charner, editors
National Association for the Education of Young Children Washington, DC
National Association for the Education of Young Children 1313 L Street NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005-4101 202-232-8777 • 800-424-2460 www.naeyc.org NAEYC Books Chief Publishing Officer Derry Koralek Editor-in-Chief Kathy Charner Director of Creative Services Edwin C. Malstrom Managing Editor Mary Jaffe Senior Editor Holly Bohart Senior Graphic Designer Malini Dominey Associate Editor Elizabeth Wegner Editorial Assistant Ryan Smith Through its publications program, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides a forum for discussion of major issues and ideas in the early childhood field, with the hope of provoking thought and promoting professional growth. The views expressed or implied in this book are not necessarily those of the Association or its members.
Photo Credits Copyright © Ellen B. Senisi: Cover (right, and first and second on left), interior cover (all), 6, 7, 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 27, 31, 33, 35, 37, 78, 79, 81, 83, 87, 91, 95, 99, 113, 117, 122, 123, 126, 129, 133, 141, 147; Teresa Langworthy McCaw: 93; Michael Rosen: 129, 140 (illustration); Julia Luckenbill: 149 Copyright © NAEYC: Cover (bottom left) Copyright © istock: Cover (third down on the left) Courtesy of United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education: 102, 105, 106 Courtesy of the Young Children article’s authors: 89, 109, 110, 111 Contributing editor: Steve Olle Cover design: Edwin C. Malstrom
Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Focus on Children in First, Second, and Third Grades. Copyright © 2014 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951467 ISBN: 978-1-938113-04-8 NAEYC Item #171
Contents About the Editors ...........................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................vii Editors’ Preface.............................................................................................................................. ix
1. What Is Developmentally Appropriate Practice?.......................................................1 Eva C. Phillips and Amy Scrinzi Meeting Children Where They Are .....................................................................................1 Helping Children Reach Challenging and Achievable Goals ...........................................2
2. Teaching Children in First, Second, and Third Grades ..........................................5 Heather Biggar Tomlinson
3. An Overview of Development in the Primary Grades ............................................9 Heather Biggar Tomlinson Physical Development ..........................................................................................................9 Overall Growth and Physical Maturation ...............................................................10 Health and Fitness .....................................................................................................10 Gross Motor Development .......................................................................................11 Fine Motor Development ..........................................................................................12 Promoting Physical Development in the Primary Grades ...................................12 Social and Emotional Development ..................................................................................14 Social Development ...................................................................................................14 Emotional Development........................................................................................... 19 Promoting Social and Emotional Development in the Primary Grades ............21 Cognitive Development ......................................................................................................22 Concept Acquisition and Reasoning .......................................................................23 Peer Tutoring in the Primary Grades ........................................................................24 Executive Functioning ...............................................................................................25 Moral Development ...................................................................................................28 Promoting Cognitive Development in the Primary Grades .................................29 Language and Literacy Development ...............................................................................31 Vocabulary Knowledge and Communication Skills ..............................................32 Reading and Writing ..................................................................................................33 Dual Language Learners ...........................................................................................34 Promoting Language and Literacy Development in the Primary Grades ..........36
4. Developmentally Appropriate Examples to Consider.................................. 39 Creating a Caring Community of Learners ............................................................ 40 Fostering Positive Relationships ................................................................... 40 Building Classroom Community .................................................................... 41 Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning ............................................... 43 Environment and Schedule ............................................................................ 43 Teaching Methods ........................................................................................... 44 Communication and Language Use ............................................................... 48 Motivation and Positive Approaches to Learning ...................................... 49 Guidance ........................................................................................................... 50 Planning Curriculum to Achieve Important Goals ............................................... 52 Curriculum Essentials ..................................................................................... 52 Physical Development ..................................................................................... 55 Language and Literacy .................................................................................... 58 Mathematics ..................................................................................................... 63 Science............................................................................................................... 65 Technology ....................................................................................................... 65 Social Competence; Social Studies ................................................................ 66 Creative Arts ..................................................................................................... 68 Assessing Children’s Development and Learning................................................. 71 Strategic and Purposeful ................................................................................. 71 Systematic and Ongoing.................................................................................. 72 Integrated With Teaching and Curriculum .................................................. 73 Valid and Reliable ............................................................................................ 74 Communicated and Shared ............................................................................ 75 Establishing Reciprocal Relationships With Families .......................................... 75
5. Supporting Children’s Learning While Meeting State Standards: Strategies and Suggestions for Teachers in Public School Contexts .......... 77 Lisa S. Goldstein and Michelle Bauml Trait 1: Acquire Detailed and Thorough Knowledge of Policies and Expectations ........................................................................................ 79 Trait 2: Consider the Required Materials to Be a Starting Point ........................ 81 Trait 3: Showcase Children’s Engagement in Substantive Learning.................. 82 The Common Core Standards—Are They Appropriate for Young Learners? ....... 84
6. Young Children Articles ......................................................................................... 87 Implementing Research-Based Curricula: Learn From the Way We Teach Young Children........................................................................................ 87 Ellen G. Cerniglia Teacher-Made Assessments Show Children’s Growth ........................................ 93 Christine J. Ferguson, Susan K. Green, and Carol A. Marchel Using Technology as a Teaching Tool for Dual Language Learners ............... 102 Karen N. Nemeth and Fran S. Simon Linking the Primary Classroom Environment to Learning ............................... 108
Janet Faulk and Pamela Evanshen Mathematical Pattern Hunters .............................................................................. 115 Phyllis Whitin and David J. Whitin Five Strategies for Creating Meaningful Mathematics Experiences ................ 123 Megan Burton Flexible Grouping During Literacy Centers: A Model for Differentiating Instruction ................................................................ 129 Celeste C. Bates Let’s SQUiNK About It! A Metacognitive Approach to Exploring Text ............ 134 Karen Capraro Young Girls Discovering Their Voice With Literacy and Readers Theater ............................................................................................... 140 Celeste C. Bates Science Learning in Out-of-School Time: Family Engagement Activities and Resources .................................................... 148 Elizabeth O. Crawford, Emily T. Heaton, Karen Heslop, and Kassandra Kixmiller
References ....................................................................................................................... 153
Editors’ Preface
Y
oung children are born learners. Although individual differences are present at birth, most set out to explore their world with unbridled eagerness and curiosity. Perhaps more than any other time of life, childhood is a period of never-ending possibilities. Similarly, most educators enthusiastically embrace their work, because every day brings the chance to share in children’s excitement of discovery. We enter and stay in the field because we believe that our work can make a significant difference in the lives of children and their families, and so make a profound and lasting contribution to society. But whether we make that difference in young children’s lives is not assured. Children are born learners, but for them to actually learn and develop optimally requires us to provide them with care and education of the highest quality. Developmentally appropriate practice is a term that has come to be used within the profession to describe the complex and rewarding work done by excellent educators. More than 25 years ago, NAEYC published its first position statements defining and describing developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving young children. A 1986 statement was expanded and released in book form the next year (see Bredekamp 1986, 1987). The concept of developmentally appropriate was certainly not new, having been used by developmental psychologists for more than a century in reference to agerelated and individual human variation. NAEYC, however, was motivated by two factors to go on record with more specific guidance for teachers: by the launch of its national program accreditation system, whose standards necessitated clearer interpretation of quality in early childhood practice, and by the growing trend to push down curriculum and teaching methods more appropriate for older children to kindergarten and preschool programs. A decade later, NAEYC (1996) revisited its position statement on developmentally appropriate practice in response to new knowledge, the changing context, and critiques from within and beyond the profession. Among the major issues reflected in that revised statement and the book containing it (Bredekamp & Copple 1997) were these: the teacher as decision maker; the importance of goals for children being both challenging and achievable; and expanding the basic definition of developmentally appropriate practice to include consideration of social and cultural context. Later, to more clearly
Editors’ Preface
We enter and stay in the field because we believe that our work can make a significant difference in the lives of children and their families, and so make a profound and lasting contribution to society.
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We simply cannot be content with the inequities in early experience that contribute to school failure and lifelong negative consequences for so many of our nation’s children.
communicate the concepts of the 1996 statement, NAEYC published Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Children 3 to 6 (Copple & Bredekamp 2006) and Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Kindergartners (Phillips & Scrinzi 2013). The current position statement, on which this book is based, was propelled less by critiques from within the field than by the infusion of new knowledge to guide practice and by the rapidly changing context in which programs operate—including the growing role of public schools and the increasing focus on narrowing the achievement gap. Further, in 2005 NAEYC significantly revised its Early Childhood Program Standards that identify key components of quality programs. To ensure the consistency of NAEYC’s most influential sets of guidelines for practice—the Early Childhood Program Standards and the Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice—revisiting the position statement was timely. This series of books builds on the fundamental principles articulated in 1997 and emphasizes several interrelated themes:
Excellence and equity. Achievement gaps—real and present early in life—persist not because children are lacking in any way but because they lack opportunities to learn. Although the current emphasis on accountability and learning gaps has led to inappropriate practices in some classrooms and raised concerns among educators, the field has long been commited to improving all children’s life chances. A prime example, of course, is Head Start. We know that excellent early childhood education can make a difference, and we simply cannot be content with the inequities in experience that contribute to school failure and lifelong negative consequences for so many of our nation’s children. Intentionality and effectiveness. Good teachers are purposeful in the decisions they make about their practices, but they also attend to the consequences of those decisions. Holding ourselves accountable for learning and developmental outcomes (as long as they are the right outcomes) is actually evidence of our increased commitment to all children. Continuity and change. Just as human development through the life span is marked by both continuity and change, so too must be any document that is designed to guide educational practice that reflects knowledge of development. Therefore, the 2009 position statement preserves the enduring values of our field—commitment to the whole child; recognition of the value of play; respect and responsiveness to individual and cultural diversity; and partnerships with families. At the same time, it has responded to the changing and
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Focus on Children in First, Second, and Third Grades
expanding knowledge base about effective practices in addressing these values as well as improving curriculum, teaching, and assessment. Further, the statement challenges our profession to be more precise and clear when advocating for or criticizing practices, from play to structured curriculum.
It is our responsibility to cultivate children’s delight in exploring and understanding their world.
Joy and learning. In revisiting the position statement in light of new knowledge and the changing context, we were repeatedly reminded of the core value that cuts across all of our work: Certainly an important and legitimate focus of education is helping children become productive, responsible adults; but we want their childhood years to be full of joy. High-quality experiences help equip tomorrow’s adults, but childhood is and should be its own special time of life. In today’s world, there are many expectations about what children need to know and be able to do, but it is our responsibility to cultivate children’s delight in exploring and understanding their world. Childhood is and should be a time of laughter, love, play, and great fun. While we still believe that fun for fun’s sake is an inadequate rationale for planning a program, we also believe strongly that healthy development and learning cannot occur without attention to children’s pleasure and interest. At the same time, we shouldn’t forget how much sheer pleasure children obtain from learning something new, mastering a skill after much effort, or solving a challenging problem. Think of the look of accomplishment when a first-grader reads “a whole book” for the first time or the “aha” look on a second-grader’s face when she finally understands how to add two-digit numbers quickly. Human beings strive for mastery, and we feel both power and pleasure in our own accomplishments. We conclude with a reminder (though experienced teachers will scarcely need it) about why our field values developmentally appropriate practice in the first place. Seeing children joyfully, physically, and intellectually engaged in meaningful learning about their world and everyone and everything in it is the truest measure of our success as educators. It is through developmentally appropriate practice that we create a safe, nurturing, and supportive place for young children to experience those unique joys of childhood.
Editors’ Preface
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