California Preschool Learning Foundations

California

Preschool Learning Foundations

Volume 3

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ? SACRAMENTO, 2012

California

Preschool Learning Foundations

Volume 3

History?Social Science Science

Publishing Information

The California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3) was developed by the Child Development Division, California Department of Education. This publication was edited by Faye Ong, working in cooperation with Laura Bridges, Consultant, Child Development Division. It was designed and prepared for printing by the staff of CDE Press, with the cover and interior design created by Cheryl McDonald. It was published by the Department of Education, 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-5901. It was distributed under the provisions of the Library Distribution Act and Government Code Section 11096.

? 2012 by the California Department of Education All rights reserved

ISBN 978-8011-1727-5

Ordering Information

Copies of this publication are available for sale from the California Department of Education. For prices and ordering information, please

visit the Department Web site at or call

the CDE Press Sales Office at 1-800-995-4099.

Notice

The guidance in the California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3) is not binding on local educational agencies or other entities. Except for the statutes, regulations, and court decisions that are referenced herein, the documents is exemplary, and compliance with it is not mandatory. (See Education Code Section 33308.5.)

Contvents

A Message from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Acknowledgments vii Introduction xi

Foundations in History?Social Science

1

Foundations in Science 48

Appendixes A. The Foundations

103 B. An Overview of the Alignment of the California Preschool Learning Foundations with Key Early Education Resources

113

iii

A Message from the State Superintendent of Public

Instruction

Iam delighted to present the California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3). This publication is part of a threevolume series designed to improve early learning and development for California's preschool children.

Young children are naturally eager to learn. We encounter their amazing curiosity at every turn. Their wonder about the world extends to understanding of human traditions and activity. They also ask about how the physical world works. However, even with their great curiosity about the world of people and things, not all young children enter kindergarten ready for school. All too often, some already lag behind their classmates, which may adversely affect their continued learning and development in kindergarten and beyond. High-quality preschool teaching connects with young children's strong interest in concepts and processes from the history?social science and science domains while contributing to long-range social and academic success.

Children who attend high-quality preschools benefit from rich opportunities to learn through play. Their play focuses on the world around them--for example, social roles rooted in human history and culture and the life of their community. They also playfully experiment with living and nonliving things and discover how they change. Children thrive when offered a curriculum that integrates all domains in a way that is culturally and linguistically meaningful and appropriate to their development.

With the goal of ensuring that all pre-

schools in California offer high-quality programs, the California Department of Education collaborated with leading early childhood educators, researchers, advocates, and parents to develop Volume 3 of the preschool learning foundations.

The foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can acquire when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments shown by research to promote early learning and development. Volume 3 focuses on two domains: history?social science and science. These domains have received less attention than some other domains, but their importance has been increasingly recognized by early childhood education experts.

As research that is summarized in this volume indicates, young children are naturally drawn to concepts and processes in history?social science and science. They look to their families and their teachers to help them explore these learning domains. High-quality teaching builds on children's interests and engages them in making sense of social and physical phenomena.

Efforts to provide children with highquality preschool experiences fit into the overall mission of both the Department and the federal Head Start program. Learning and development that occurs before a child enters preschool is as important as the learning and development that occurs during the school years. A continuum of learning and development begins early in life and continues through higher education. Understanding the links between the different ages and

v

different early childhood services allows educators to see how to build on children's earlier learning and prepare children for the next educational challenge. To foster greater understanding of children's learning and development during the first five years, this volume explains the connections among the infant/toddler learning and development foundations, preschool learning foundations, Common Core State Standards, kindergarten content standards, and the Head Start Child Develop-

ment and Early Education Framework. An investment in high-quality care and education programs throughout the early years will promote learning for all children and ensure school readiness when they enter kindergarten.

These foundations will help guide and support all California preschools in providing developmentally appropriate instruction and activities that engage young hearts and minds. Such learning will lead to children's well-being and success throughout life.

Tom Torlakson State Superintendent of Public Instruction

vi

Acknowledgments

The development of the preschool learning foundations involved many groups: project leaders; lead researchers; the expanded research consortium; the preschool learning foundations research consortium; staff from the California Department of Education; early childhood education stakeholder organizations; facilitators of the draft review sessions and the participants; and participants in the Web posting process.

Project Leaders

The following staff members are gratefully acknowledged for their contributions: Peter Mangione and Charlotte Tilson, WestEd.

Lead Researchers

Special thanks are extended to the lead researchers for their expertise and contributions as lead writers. Note: The names, titles, and affiliations of the individuals listed in these acknowledgments were correct at the time the publication was developed.

History?Social Science Janet Thompson, University of California,

Davis Ross Thompson, University of California,

Davis

Science Osnat Zur, WestEd

Expanded Research Consortium

Volume 3 was developed by an expanded research consortium. Domain experts and their affiliations are identified below. These individuals contributed their expertise to this project and collaborated with the preschool learning foundations research consortium.

History?Social Science Oscar Barbarin, Tulane University Barbara Bowman, the Erikson Institute

and the Chicago Public Schools Amy Obegi, Solano Community College Carolyn Pope Edwards, University of

Nebraska, Lincoln Michael Lopez, National Center for Latino

Child and Family Research Gayle Mindes, DePaul University

Science Marco Bravo, San Francisco State Univer-

sity and Santa Clara University Caroline Carney, Monterey Peninsula

College Lucia French, University of Rochester Rochel Gelman, Rutgers University Karen Lind, Illinois State University Art Sussman, WestEd Sandra Waxman, Northwestern University

Preschool Learning Foundations Research Consortium

The following research consortium members are recognized for their knowledge and expertise in guiding the development process and for their expert review of volume 3 to reflect California's young learners.

Melinda Brookshire, WestEd Peter Mangione, WestEd Katie Monahan, WestEd Caroline Pietrangelo Owens, WestEd Teresa Ragsdale, WestEd Amy Schustz-Alvarez, WestEd Charlotte Tilson, WestEd Ann-Marie Wiese, WestEd Osnat Zur, WestEd

English?Language Development and Cultural Diversity Advisers Vera Gutierrez-Clellen, San Diego State

University

vii

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download