Kindergarten Program Document - Ontario

2016

The Kindergarten Program

The Ontario Public Service endeavours to demonstrate leadership with respect to accessibility in Ontario. Our goal is to ensure that Ontario government services, products, and facilities are accessible to all our employees and to all members of the public we serve. This document, or the information that it contains, is available, on request, in alternative formats. Please forward all requests for alternative formats to ServiceOntario at 1-800-668-9938 (TTY: 1-800-268-7095).

CONTENTS

PREFACE

4 1.3 THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

29

Background

4

Rethinking the Learning Environment

29

Supporting Children's Well-Being and Ability to Learn

5

Thinking about Time and Space

30

1. A Program to Support Learning and Teaching in Kindergarten

Thinking about Materials and Resources

31

Co-constructing the Learning Environment

32

7

The Learning Environment and Beliefs about Children

33

1.1 INTRODUCTION

8

Learning in the Outdoors

34

Vision, Purpose, and Goals The Importance of Early Learning A Shared Understanding of Children, Families, and Educators Pedagogical Approaches Fundamental Principles of Play-Based Learning The Four Frames of the Kindergarten Program

8 1.4 ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING IN KINDERGARTEN:

8

MAKING CHILDREN'S THINKING AND LEARNING VISIBLE

36

9

Pedagogical Documentation: What Are We Learning from Research? 36

11

Using Pedagogical Documentation to Best Effect

37

12

Co-constructing Learning with the Children: Assessment for

13

Learning and Assessment as Learning

40

Supporting a Continuum of Learning

15

The Organization and Features of This Document

16

1.2 PLAY-BASED LEARNING IN A CULTURE OF INQUIRY

18

Play as the Optimal Context for Learning: Evidence from Research 18

The Inquiry Approach: Evidence from Research

20

Noticing and Naming the Learning: The Link to Learning Goals

and Success Criteria

42

Considerations in Assessment of Learning: Children's Demonstration

of Learning

43

Collaborating with Parents to Make Thinking and Learning Visible 44

Play-Based Learning in an Inquiry Stance

21 2. Thinking about Learning and Teaching in the Four Frames 46

Communicating with Parents and Families about Play-Based Learning

28 2.1 THINKING ABOUT BELONGING AND CONTRIBUTING

47

Belonging and Contributing: What Are We Learning from Research? 47

Emotional Development through Relationships

48

Une publication ?quivalente est disponible en fran?ais sous le titre suivant : Programme de la maternelle et du jardin d'enfants, 2016.

Laying the Foundations for Citizenship and Environmental

Stewardship

49

2 THE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Supporting Children's Sense of Belonging and Contributing through

Supporting Children's Development in Problem Solving

Collaboration, Empathy, and Inclusiveness

50

and Innovating

89

Developing a Sense of Belonging and Contributing through the Arts 51

The Role of Play in Inquiry, Problem Solving, and Innovating

91

2.2 THINKING ABOUT SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING Self-Regulation: What Are We Learning from Research?

54

The Role of Learning in the Outdoors in Problem Solving and Innovating

92

54

Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation

56 3. The Program in Context

94

The Learning Environment and Self-Regulation

57

Well-Being: What Are We Learning from Research?

58 3.1 CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING

95

Developmental Domains as Components of Overall Well-Being

59

A Flexible Approach to Learning: The Flow of the Day

95

Supporting Development to Enhance Overall Well-Being

60

Supporting Transitions

96

The Role of Mental Health

62

Children with Special Education Needs

97

English Language Learners

100

2.3 THINKING ABOUT DEMONSTRATING LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS

Equity and Inclusive Education in Kindergarten

101

BEHAVIOURS

64

Healthy Relationships and Kindergarten

102

Literacy Behaviours: What Are We Learning from Research?

64

Environmental Education

103

Children's Prior Engagement with Literacy outside the School

65

The Role of the Arts in Kindergarten

104

Supporting the Development of Literacy Behaviours

66

The Role of Information and Communications Technology

105

Literacy Learning throughout the Day

71

The Role of the School Library in Kindergarten Programs

106

Literacy and the Learning Environment

73

Health and Safety in Kindergarten

106

Mathematics Behaviours: What Are We Learning from Research? 75

Children's Prior Engagement with Mathematics outside the School 76 3.2 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS: LEARNING AND WORKING TOGETHER

108

Supporting the Development of Mathematics Behaviours

76

Children

108

Mathematics Learning throughout the Day

83

Parents and Families

109

Mathematics and the Learning Environment

85

Educators

112

Principals

113

2.4 THINKING ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING AND INNOVATING

87

The Local Community

114

Problem Solving and Innovating: What Are We Learning

from Research?

87

4. The Learning Expectations

4.1 USING THE ELEMENTS OF THE EXPECTATION CHARTS The Learning Expectations Conceptual Understandings Professional Learning Conversations and Reflections Ways in Which Thinking and Learning Are Made Visible

4.2 THE OVERALL EXPECTATIONS IN THE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM, BY FRAME The Expectations and the Frames

115 4.3 BELONGING AND CONTRIBUTING

125

Overall Expectations

125

116

Expectation Charts

126

116

116 4.4 SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING

154

117

Overall Expectations

154

118

Expectation Charts

155

4.5 DEMONSTRATING LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS BEHAVIOURS

181

121

Overall Expectations

181

121

Expectation Charts

182

4.6 PROBLEM SOLVING AND INNOVATING

255

Overall Expectations

255

Expectation Charts

256

APPENDIX: OVERALL EXPECTATIONS WITH RELATED SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS 306

REFERENCES

319

CONTENTS 3

PREFACE

This document supersedes The Full-Day Early Learning?Kindergarten Program (Draft Version, 2010?11). Beginning in September 2016, all Kindergarten programs will be based on the expectations and pedagogical approaches outlined in this document.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Ontario elementary schools strive to support high-quality learning while giving every child the opportunity to learn in the way that is best suited to the child's individual strengths and needs. The Kindergarten program is designed to help every child reach his or her full potential through a program of learning that is coherent, relevant, and age appropriate. It recognizes that, today and in the future, children need to be critically literate in order to synthesize information, make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and thrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important for children to be connected to the curriculum, and to see themselves in what is taught, how it is taught, and how it applies to the world at large. The curriculum recognizes that the needs of learners are diverse and helps all learners develop the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to become informed, productive, caring, responsible, and active citizens in their own communities and in the world.

***

The introduction of a full day of learning for four- and five-year-olds in Ontario called for transformational changes in the pedagogical approaches used in Kindergarten, moving from a traditional pedagogy to one centred on the child and informed by evidence from research and practice about how young children learn. The insights of educators in the field, along with knowledge gained from national and international research on early learning, have informed the development of the present document.

BACKGROUND

The Ontario government introduced full-day Kindergarten - a two-year program for four- and five-year-olds - as part of its initiative to create a cohesive, coordinated system for early years programs and services across the province. Milestones in the creation of that system include the following:

? In 2007, the government published Early Learning for Every Child Today:

A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings, commonly referred to as ELECT, which set out six principles to guide practice in early years settings:

1. Positive experiences in early childhood set the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour, health, and well-being.

2. Partnerships with families and communities are essential.

3. Respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion is vital.

4. An intentional, planned program supports learning.

5. Play and inquiry are learning approaches that capitalize on children's natural curiosity and exuberance.

6. Knowledgeable, responsive, and reflective educators are essential.

ELECT is recognized as a foundational document in the early years sector. It provided a shared language and common understanding of children's learning and development for early years professionals as they work together in various early childhood settings. The principles of ELECT informed provincial child care policy as well as pan-Canadian early learning initiatives such as the Statement on Play of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. ELECT principles were embedded in the innovative Kindergarten program outlined in The Full-Day Early Learning?Kindergarten Program (Draft Version, 2010?11).

? The Ontario Early Years Policy Framework, released in 2013 and also based on

ELECT, set the stage for the creation of the new early years system, providing a vision to ensure that children, from birth to age six, would have the best possible start in life. The policy framework guides Ontario's approach to the development and delivery of early years programs and services for children and families.

? How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years,

released in 2014, built on this policy framework. It sets out a fundamental understanding of children, families, and educators that is shared by educators across child care and education settings, and a pedagogical framework that supports children's transition from child care to Kindergarten and the elementary grades.

? The present document ? The Kindergarten Program (2016) ? sets out

principles, expectations for learning, and pedagogical approaches that are developmentally appropriate for four- and five-year-old children and that align with and extend the approaches outlined in How Does Learning Happen?

SUPPORTING CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING AND ABILITY TO LEARN

Promoting the healthy development of all children and students, as well as enabling all children and students to reach their full potential, is a priority for educators across Ontario. Children's health and well-being contribute to their ability to learn, and that learning in turn contributes to their overall well-being.

Educators play an important role in promoting the well-being of children and youth by creating, fostering, and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, and accepting. A learning environment of this kind will support not only children's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development but also their mental health, their resilience, and their overall state of well-being. All this will help them achieve their full potential in school and in life.

A focus on well-being in the early stages of a child's development is of critical importance. The Kindergarten Program integrates learning about well-being into the program expectations and pedagogy related to "Self-Regulation and Well-Being", one of the four "frames", or broad areas of learning, in Kindergarten. Educators take children's well-being into account in all aspects of the Kindergarten program. A full discussion of what educators need to know to promote children's well-being in all developmental domains, and to support children's learning about their own and others' well-being, is provided in Chapter 2.2, "Thinking about Self-Regulation and Well-Being".

Foundations for a Healthy School

Ontario schools provide all children in Kindergarten and all students in Grades 1 to 12 with a safe and healthy environment for learning. Children's learning in Kindergarten helps them make informed decisions about their health and well-being and encourages them to lead healthy, active lives. This learning is most authentic and effective when it occurs within the context of a "healthy" school ? one in which children's learning about health and well-being is reinforced through policies, programs, and initiatives that promote health and well-being.

The Ministry of Education's Foundations for a Healthy School: Promoting WellBeing as Part of Ontario's Achieving Excellence Vision identifies how schools and school boards, in partnership with parents1 and the community, can develop a healthier school. The foundations for a healthy school are built using a comprehensive, integrated approach within five broad, interconnected areas. These five areas, which align closely with the K-12 School Effectiveness Framework (2013), are as follows:

? Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning ? School and Classroom Leadership

1. The word "parents" is used in this document to refer to parent(s) and guardian(s). It may also be taken to include caregivers or close family members who are responsible for raising the child.

PREFACE 5

6 THE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

? Student Engagement ? Social and Physical Environments ? Home, School, and Community Partnerships

Collectively, the strategies, policies, and initiatives that schools undertake within these areas contribute to a positive school climate, in which all members of the school community feel safe, included, and accepted and which promotes positive, respectful interactions and healthy relationships.

The principles and pedagogical approaches that define the Kindergarten program promote healthy-school principles and practices in all five of the areas noted above. Children's learning in the frames "Belonging and Contributing" and "Self-Regulation and Well-Being" is focused on knowledge and skills related

to health and well-being. More detailed information about the ways in which the Kindergarten program promotes children's health and well-being in all five areas may be found in the following sections and chapters:

?"Well-Being: What Are We Learning from Research?", in Chapter 2.2,

"Thinking about Self-Regulation and Well-Being"

? Chapter 1.3, "The Learning Environment"

?"Play-Based Learning: The Connections to Self-Regulation",

in Chapter 1.2, "Play-Based Learning in a Culture of Inquiry"

?Chapter 3.2, "Building Partnerships: Learning and Working

Together"

?"Health and Safety in Kindergarten", in Chapter 3.1,

"Considerations for Program Planning"

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

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

Google Online Preview   Download