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Table of Contents

• Welcome
• Recent Research Supports Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Primary Grades
• Kentucky's Primary School Program
• New Curriculum for the Primary Grades
• Resources for Primary-grade Classroom Teachers
• State Updates in Brief

Welcome to the premier edition of this quarterly newsletter, which the Colorado Department of Education is publishing co-operatively with the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children. CAEYC is the recipient of a 1993-94 Membership Action Group grant from NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children), its parent organization, to design a dissemination network to provide support, communication, and networking for those early childhood professionals who are teaching in the primary grades (grades one, two, and three in the elementary school).

This co-operative outreach effort, in support of early childhood staff members, complements CDE's mission of "providing service to Colorado's education community and, through collaboration with this community, to promote high quality learning environments." One of the components of Colorado's Standards Based Education Implementation Plan is "a thorough restructuring of educator preparation and continuing education to meet the needs of the standards based education system." As this newsletter informs primary teachers of restructuring efforts which are taking place and of available resources, and advocates for developmentally appropriate practices and high quality learning environments, it is assisting the Department of Education in fulfilling its mission.

I trust that this newsletter will be a valuable means of communication for primary teachers.

Sincerely,
William T. Randall
Commissioner of Education

Recent Research Supports Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Primary Grades

    Ten recent research studies support the concept of developmentally appropriate practice in the primary grades. Here are some of their findings:

    Diane C. Burts and others discovered that children in developmentally inappropriate kindergarten classrooms exhibited significantly more stress behaviors than children in developmentally appropriate kindergarten classrooms (Frequencies of Observed Stress Behaviors in Kindergarten Children: A Comparison of Developmentally Appropriate and Inappropriate Classrooms, 1990). In another study, Burts and her colleagues found that higher levels of stress during standardized testing may negatively affect performance on the test. On end-of-the-year standardized test scores they discovered no significant differences between the scores of children in developmentally appropriate kindergartens and those in developmentally inappropriate kindergartens. The emphasis on academics in developmentally inappropriate classrooms did not result in higher test scores. Burts writes that developmentally inappropriate practices are potentially damaging to the psychological well-being of young children and that they are not effective in promoting achievement in kindergarten students (Achievement of Kindergarten Children in Developmentally Appropriate and Developmentally Inappropriate Classrooms, 1991).

    Ellen Frede and W. Steve Barnett found that large-scale public school programs can provide developmentally appropriate experiences for disadvantaged young children which contribute to their increased skills in first grade (Developmentally Appropriate Public Preschool: A Study of Implementation of the High/Scope Curriculum and Its Effects on Disadvantaged Children's Skills at First Grade, 1992).

    Margaret Gallegos compared the academic skill mastery levels between 'play curriculum' and 'direct teacher' instruction groups of preschoolers and kindergartners. Of the 14 skill sections she assessed, the preschool play group scored additional gains over the direct instruction group in 13 of them. The kindergarten play group scored additional gains over the direct instruction group in 11 of the 16 skill sections. Gallegos concluded that, in order for increased academic learning to occur, it is necessary to include play in the curriculum of early childhood programs (Learning Academic Skills through Play, 1983).

    Maryann Manning and others studied inner city students for three years (from their entrance into kindergarten until their completion of second grade) and found that those students taught with whole language were better writers, viewed themselves as writers of real texts, had confidence in themselves as writers, and outperformed the students in a skills-oriented program on measures of spelling achievement (Writing Development of Inner City Primary Students: Comparative Effects of a Whole Language and a Skills-Oriented Program, 1990).

    Rebecca A. Marcon investigated 295 four-year-olds who were being instructed in three different preschool models in a large, urban school district. Her findings indicated that those children being taught in the child-initiated model demonstrated the greatest mastery of basic skills. As a group these students did even better than those in programs where academics were emphasized and skills were specifically taught (Differential Effects of Three Preschool Models on Inner-City 4-Year-Olds, 1992).

    Robbie B. Roberts studied African American students in two heterogeneous first-grade classrooms in a low socioeconomic area of an inner city. Roberts discovered that those students who had been instructed using a whole language curriculum scored significantly higher on all areas of assessment than those students who had been taught using a traditional curriculum emphasizing skill mastery (Writing Abilities of First Graders: Whole Language and Skills-Based Classrooms, 1991).

    Lawrence J. Schweinhart and David P Weikart presented evidence that teacher-directed academic instruction may not be as effective in improving children’s social development as early childhood programs that emphasize child initiated learning (Education for Young Children Living in Poverty: Child-initiated Learning or Teacher-directed Instruction?, 1988).

    Carol F. Stice and Nancy P. Bertrand conducted a two-year pilot study about the effectiveness of whole language instructional techniques on the literacy development of 100 at-risk first and second graders. The results of the study concluded that the children in whole language classrooms appeared to feel better about themselves as readers, writers, and learners; seemed to know more about the reading process and to learn the mechanics of reading and writing as well as or better than their traditional counterparts, without high levels of direct skill and drill instruction; and appeared to be on their way to becoming more independent learners than the children in the traditional program (Whole Language And the Emergent Literacy of At-Risk Children: A Two Year Comparative Study, 1990). In an additional study, Stice and others found that the whole-language philosophy created a classroom where children were encouraged to think, make choices, problem-solve, and collaborate on learning in ways quite different from a traditional classroom. Their results also indicated that the whole language teacher spent more time actually teaching during the reading/language arts block than did the traditional teacher (Literacy Development in Two Contrasting Classrooms: Building Models of Practice Toward a Theory of Practice, 1991).

Kentucky's Primary School Program

    The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that the state's educational system was unconstitutional. The Kentucky legislature enacted the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in 1990, and that same year the Kentucky Department of Education identified seven essential characteristics which primary schools should possess. These are:

(1) developmentally appropriate educational practices,

(2) multi-age/multi-ability classrooms,

(3) continuous progress,

(4) authentic assessment,

(5) qualitative reporting methods,

(6) professional teamwork, and

(7) positive parental involvement.

    Based on these elements, in September of 1992, all elementary schools in Kentucky were required to begin to pilot nongraded primary programs for students in the traditional grades of kindergarten through third grade. For the 1993-94 school year, full implementation of this aspect of the Primary School Program is required.

    The Kentucky Primary School Program is founded on the concept that, although all children can learn, they do not do so in the same way or at the same rate. The program provides students with the developmental "gift of time" and uses a portfolio process to assess when students have mastered the skills necessary for entrance into 4th grade. Strategies used in the pilot programs included integrated language arts, manipulative mathematics, learning centers, cooperative learning, and teaming.

New Curriculum for the Primary Grades

    A new curriculum is being developed for the primary grades by Diane T. Dodge and the staff of Teaching Strategies, Inc., of Washington, D.C. This work-in-progress follows the same practical approach to curriculum as found in the Creative Curriculum, Teaching Strategies’ developmentally appropriate curriculum for three to five-year-olds, which has been used extensively across the country in Head Start, preschool, and kindergarten programs.

    The primary curriculum, tentatively entitled Making Sense of Curriculum in the Primary Grades, will be closely tied to the performance-based assessment system developed by Samuel Meisels of the University of Michigan. The written document will include sections on integrating curriculum and assessment, understanding what primary-age children are like developmentally, teaching children to relate positively to others, assisting students with solving problems and resolving conflicts, and helping children to become self-regulated.

Curriculum developed by Teaching Strategies is based on the following tenets:

• Children continually learn from their physical and social environment by observing, actively exploring, and using the knowledge and skills they have already acquired to gain new understandings and abilities.
  
• A rich and well-organized physical environment invites children to try out their ideas, make connections, and construct their own knowledge in a meaningful context.
  
• Social development cannot be separated from cognitive development. The classroom is seen as a community of development of social competence and self-esteem. In a positive social environment children are able to pursue activities of interest to them and are motivated to learn.
  
• A partnership between parents and staff, based on mutual respect for the value of each one’s role in nurturing the child's development, is central to the curriculum.
  
• An integrated approach to curriculum, using science and social studies topics as the focus for investigative studies, allows children to think, question, solve problems, and work collaboratively. In this way children acquire concepts in a meaningful context.

From Teaching Strategies' Approach to Curriculum

    Specific information about both the Creative Curriculum and Making Sense of Curriculum for The Primary Grades, as well as about other professional resources, may be obtained by contacting Teaching Strategies - 4545 42nd Street, NW Suite 306 Washington, D.C. 20016, Phone: 202-362-7543,  Fax: 202-364-7273.

Resources for Primary-Grade Classroom Teachers

    The Northeast Foundation for Children publishes A NOTEBOOK FOR TEACHERS: Making Changes in the Elementary Curriculum, in an effort "to allow the reader to explore and experience a developmental approach to curriculum. It presents a position with regard to teaching young children and to making their school lives more effective based upon a developmental philosophy."  The book is organized as follows:

Section I: The Foundation

• Basic Patterns of Development
• Historical Background:  The Legacy of Arnold Gesell
• Understanding Age Level Versus Grade Level
• Behavioral Characteristics and Classroom Implications

Section II: A Practical Approach

• Developmental Curriculum: A Definition
• The Classroom Environment
• What to Teach
• The Planning Process

Section III: Making Changes

• First Step: A Visit to a Classroom
• Where to Go From Here: How Chart
• Approaches That Work: I Am Needed - The Child as Tutor
• The Developmental Curriculum Goes Home
• What Did You Dc) in School Today?
• A Reflection: When a Teacher Looks Inside
• Resources: Bibliography
• Resources: People Who Can Help
• Postscript: "The Sand-Collar Curriculum".

The Foundation’s address is P. 0. Box 1024, Greenfield, Massachusetts 01302.

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The Society for Developmental Education Publishers newsletter, the SDE News, three times a year in addition to the following books:

• Into Teacher's Hands, a compendium of articles and handouts on assessment, professional development, integrated language arts, whole language resources, multi-age environments, and "differently abled" students;
• Whole Teaching: Keeping Children in the Center of Curriculum and Instruction, the sixth edition of the SDE Whole Language Sourcebook; and
• The Multiage Resource Book, designed to assist teachers in moving to multiage continuous progress education.

The Society’s address is:

Route 202 Box 577
Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458.

State Updates In Brief

Arizona

    New guidelines for early childhood programs, based on models developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and by other states, are the product of a year's work by the Arizona State Board of Education's Early Childhood Advisory Council, whose appointment was mandated in 1992 by the Arizona legislature. Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction C. Diane Bishop and the Arizona State Board of Education have released a report documenting these principles and practices that comprise quality early childhood programs. Entitled Guidelines for Comprehensive Early Childhood Programs, the report was written and published with the assistance of "Success by 6", a project of Children’s Action Alliance, and supported by Honeywell and other Arizona corporations and foundations. It is anticipated that the guidelines will be used by local schools as a means of self-study and evaluation in order to improve the quality of existing programs, and by school districts in order to facilitate the transition of preschool students into public school kindergartens.

Colorado

    Combining the "best practices" for early childhood special education programs with the standards developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Colorado Department of Education has published a working document, Quality Standards For Early Childhood Care and Education Services. A task force, composed of members of the Statewide Advisory Council on the Care and Education of Young Children and of members of the Department's Early Childhood Management, wrote the document. The process resulted in additions to the NAEYC standards in two important areas. One is a greatly increased emphasis on a family-centered approach to early childhood care and education. The second is increased emphasis on community collaboration and coordination in the use of resources.

    Material in the Quality Standards, currently being revised, includes a self-evaluation checklist to assist programs in documenting those standards they have achieved, those they are seeking to meet, and the resources needed to meet the standards. The checklist also provides information to the Colorado Department of Education regarding training and assistance needs. The Quality Standards are to be used as a monitoring instrument for all early childhood programs; programs will be expected to demonstrate that they are using the document as a part of program development and staff development planning.

    The Quality Standards are founded on a position statement, adopted by the Colorado State Board of Education in 1991 which recognizes the crucial importance of partnerships between early childhood programs and families, which supports a quality learning environment for the total child, and which encourages the effective and efficient use of public and private resources to meet children's needs. The Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Social Services are working closely with the Colorado Governor's Early Childhood Professional Standards Task Force, as it develops its proposal for a system of early childhood professional development. The revision of the section of these standards that addresses staff qualifications and staff development will reflect the findings and recommendations of the Task Force.

Vermont

    The state of Vermont has approved a plan to develop a Common Core for Learning, which has implications for all learners. The state's Department of Education is beginning to develop curriculum frameworks, from preschool through grade 12, which address the various fields of knowledge. Information on existing statewide curriculum frameworks for preschool-primary grades may be sent to Jim squires, Early Education Consultant, Vermont Department of Education, 120 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05620.

This page last updated: December 13, 2007