Reflections - Chapter 3 - Standards in Early Childhood Education

Standards in Early Childhood Education 

https://browardschools.instructure.com/

Let's first analyze the situation in the United States: 

In US early childhood education there is no permanent system of annual information collection at national level that registers the development of children under 5 years of age. There are specific evaluation research institutions and specialized institutions that offer early childhood education services and include evaluation processes, for example: The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the Institute of Health and Human Services (IHHS). Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), and the Office of Early Childhood Development, among others. These institutions began to work in a more coordinated way, however a more accurate system of coordination is required, that is why the author proposed a system based on standards for Early Childhood Education. 

At state level, all the US states evaluate their children when they enter school. Monitoring and permanent reports of achievements in the programs are used, including the goals achieved or those in process. 

In the article some Early Childhood programs are mentioned like Head Start. It is a national program, it depends on the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States. It includes education, health and family support, and serves children in poverty with ages from 3 to 4 years. Education in this program includes teacher qualification standards, curriculum and assessment, cultural relevance and language and other standards to promote school readiness. Besides, they help family engagement and support that consists of the promotion of parent-child relationships, support for family well-being, promotion of leadership and links with community resources. Their data is collected through an annual program report, which reports on the services provided, a survey of experiences of families and children with programs of services and achievements of children, who are evaluated three times a year to help adjust and validate the program, using various instruments. 

To cover children from prenatal to 3 years, Early Head Start was created. Federally funded by the United States government and targeted to low-income families with pregnant women or young children. EHS promotes healthy prenatal experiences in pregnant women, facilitates good development in young children and promotes healthy habits to families. The EHS Evaluation and Research project was designed to support the continuous improvement of the program, so it became a rigorous and large-scale activity. It included the phase from birth to 3 years (1996-2001) including implementation, impact evaluation and local research projects. 

· The Kindergarten phase (2001-2004), used the data from the first phase and developed the follow-up of the children. 

· The primary school phase (2005-2010) followed the children from the results of the first two phases. 

The article deals with the issue of the implementation and use of standards and their evaluation in early childhood as an inherent component of educational activities and political decisions. Besides, it presents a theoretical framework that reviews the background and trends of the evaluation in order to start from a base. The topic was approached from a systemic approach that involved considering all the components of the education system that influence the integral development and learning of children. This quality system of standards must consider the analysis, observation, feedback and evaluation not only of the child's learning and development, but also of the context, school management and policies, teaching performance and the curriculum, as well as the impact of the programs and services, all with the aim to give feedback to the system and allow to direct efforts towards the continuous improvement of the processes and, thereby, achieving better results. 

Currently, the use of standards has become relevant both in the academic and in the political sphere, giving rise to the emergence of new approaches and approaches. For this reason, it is important to highlight the analysis made in the article of the evolution that this concept has had throughout history. In this way we can verify that this term was born in the industrial field. Its implementation is used to determine the level or degree of quality or level achieved using the standards as a assessment tool. In education, its use is promoted not to only assist to student performance, but also to get other components involved such as teachers, educational materials/resources, curriculum, activities, methodology, organization, infrastructure, policies, among others. 

However, the difficulty of agreement to organize them into a joint system for an appropriate and regulated standards-based child education is highlighted. Even though significant advances and initiatives have been made with different strategies for the design of a system of standards for the integral development and learning of children, there is still a lack of strategies and instruments for monitoring and assessing other components of the system. 

Why to establish a system of standards for early childhood education? 

According to the article, the process of implementing standards in early childhood education is considered as a research process that requires the participation of all the education professionals and their contribution for its permanent improvement. It is through action research that the teacher has the opportunity to reflect on the methods and become aware of their achievements and difficulties, thus allowing the introduction of necessary modifications and adjustments for the improvement of the quality of education. 

It refers to the explicit formulation of expectations about what children should know and know how to do as a result of their learning and development in various domains: motor, cognitive, socio-emotional, language and literacy and attitudes towards the learning. Some call them "milestones", others "orientations", others "desired results". As stated by S. L. Kagan (2007), the denomination of standard generates controversy, since it confuses the fact of having "expectations for all children" with the idea of ​​homogenizing children and losing sight of the richness of diversity. 

For its part, "Kagan and Britto (2005), suggest that early learning standards can be considered as an "elixir" that can be used for various purposes: 

• Improve teaching: can serve as a basis to review existing educational programs according to the needs of children. 

• Improve parental skills and behaviors: they can be used to design materials that help parents see what is realistic to expect of their children and how to teach them at home. 

• Develop screening tests: they can provide the contents to be included in screening tests that assess the overall level of child development. 

• Improve the education of educators: they can guide the design of professional development for educators, providing information about what teachers should know and be able to do in their teaching role. 

• Evaluate the effectiveness of programs: they can serve as a basis for selecting or developing instruments for assessing children's development, as part of a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of programs aimed at children. 

• Monitor the progress of children and families at the national level: they can be used to collect data on achievements in children's learning that inform progress at the country level, through sample evaluations. 

• Improve public knowledge about child development: they can be used to design dissemination materials for the general public, or for new fathers and mothers. 

This commitment to create and design a system for equity and quality responds to the recognition of the importance of the first years of life for human development and, for this reason, Kagan shows her interest in promoting and exploring research related to development in the early stages and to disseminate its results in order to influence the formulation of adequate policies for children. The article invites the reader and all members of the child education community to review the system (including methodological approaches), as well as to monitor programs, policies, services, development and learning of children to create a consensus. 

Some recommendations were made, some of the most relevant are: to strengthen the standard systems with the health, education and social assistance sectors and others; to collect, disseminate and exchange successful experiences on strategies, formulation of indicators, standards and assessment instrument; to perform longitudinal studies and to promote public forums on the subject; to assign social, human and economic resources necessary to carry out the monitoring and follow-up of all the components of the education system; to incorporate parents in the management of the center or program. 

For this the standards must be organized in four categories: 

- Utility understood as the need for standards to be informative, timely and have the ability to influence. To achieve this, those responsible for carrying it out must draw up their designs based on the information needs detected and clearly communicate the required information to those who have requested it. 

- Feasibility is related to financing and in this sense, it states that they should not consider more resources, materials, personnel or time than necessary to carry out the evaluation. 

- Legitimacy aims to protect the rights of the people affected by the evaluation by informing about the illegal, unethical and incompetent actions of those who carry out the evaluations. Within the framework of the rights of individuals, it is sought that the evaluators know and respect the laws on privacy, freedom of information and the protection of human rights. 

- Precision is an attribute that refers to the quality of the evaluation, if the information presented is technically adequate, comprehensive, which allows to assess the merit of the program. In addition, the judgments issued must have a logical relationship with the data. 

References:

• Kagan, S. & Kauerz, K. (eds.) (2012). Early Childhood Systems: Transforming EarlyLearning. New York: Teachers College Press. 

• Institute of Education Sciences website: https://ies.ed.gov/

• Institute of Health and Human Services website: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/department-health-human-services-secretaries

• Human Services Research Institute website: https://www.hsri.org/

• Office of Head Start website: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs

• Administration for Children and Families (2013) Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, 1996-2001 Baseline Data, https://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/00097-1, Harvard Dataverse. Retrieved from https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=hdl:1902.1/00097-1

Notes - Early Learning and Development Standards

Early Learning and Development Standards

An Elixir for Early Childhood Systems Reform

Sharon Lynn Kagan

I want to share some important information from this chapter.

Well recognized in her work the consideration of early childhood development and education as a multilingual and multicultural development and learning for young children. There is a big issue that defines the Early Childhood system, compared to other K-12 grades, its inconsistency in pedagogy, professional development, policies, among many others. But when putting all together into harmony, it turns into a disorganized symphony with many different voices and different melodies.

“The chapter suggests that early learning and development standards can and should be used to create an integrated pedagogical subsystem that forms the basis for a comprehensive, well-articulated early childhood system”.

The ubiquity and utility of standards
The standards determine adequacy or quality, secure agreement of importance, and according to the level reached give you a category or status. They can not be only found in K-12 grades, but they are included in our lives too such as the economic, health, social values,… Standards can also help us improve the processes and ensure protection and safety. Standards, in essence, provide a means of understanding and expressing commonalities. However, standards can reduce liberties and impose constraints, retraining creativity and limiting variations.

K-12 Educational Standards
During the 20th century the standards became entrenched and imposed, its purpose to guarantee professionalism and effectiveness, influenced by economy and industry (productivity standards for employee performance and for product outputs). As a response for the lack of creativity and other educational levels, some pedagogics tried to establish a curriculum that focused on creative thinking that could cover the content area of the subjects as well as the learning skills, processing and application of knowledge.

In its process of implementation of standards, they became very important in dealing with equity and quality. During the late 1980s and 1990s the US government established national goals for American students, but later its controversy came up regarding its meaning.

Advantages of Educational Standards
One of the biggest advantages that we can find in educational standards are:

- their clarity of what is taught and learned (Jennings, 1995) with content and higher order thinking skills.

- Creation of platform for more equitable approaches to education, they ensure that all students have access to challenging content promoting equity.

Disadvantages of Educational Standards

Some concerns are that they can promote inequity since they can undercut the potential of the education system. Besides, high standards can cause underachievement and as a consequence student drop out exacerbating the equity divide. Even the standards for assessment cannot help reducing the equity gap.

Some concerns about its setting and control (Darling-Hammond, 1994) depending on the ideals and concepts of education can be difficult in determining standards, others define them as the representation of the canons of the professions set by those most familiar with the disciplines. Controversy exists when dealing with the establishment of standards: national versus state, politicians versus education professionals.

Some concerns regarding teachers, administrators, schools, districts, and governments (Darling-Hammond, 1994), for example the selection of standards by teachers and the teachers´ decision to teach for a test (drill and kill pedagogy). Standards help organize pedagogy, teachers needs professional development.

Some fiscal concerns, since standards need funds to be established, implemented and monitored. And according to school performances they get more or less money with the consequently effect on resources.

Early Childhood Standards

As in K-12, standards became entrenched and more normative in early education (Kagan & Scott-Little, 2004), the standards movement brought dramatic changes to early education too.

From the pedagogical perspective, early educators have long been taught to take their instructional and curricular cues from young children. Children´s interests serving as the basis for eliciting motivation and a natural inclination toward learning.

From the policy perspective, an equally persuasive position prevailed. Considered as a private affair involving those closest to the children who understood their needs best. Besides, most of EC programs functioned as almost autonomous entities. The idea of governments creating a set of standards on early education directly opposed early childhood principles of localism, autonomy, and privatization.

Pedagogical History
Explicit early learning standards did no exist.

- Rousseau (1762), his goal of early education was to preserve the natural state of the child through play.

- Pestalozzi, opponent of memorization, advanced the “standard” that the best learning happened through doing.

- Froebel (mixing Rousseau and Pestalozzi) father of kindergarten movement, respected the role of children in constructing their learning, promoting hands-on learning activities.

- Owen and Malaguizzi (with Froebel) strong believers of child-play instruction (Wolfe, 2002)

Policy History

Early childhood education was traditionally considered as a competence of the home. Families could choose the education of their young children – culture of the home (Greenfield, 1994; LeVine, 1974). There is no consensus, and the decisions differ from one families to others based of their culture and their idea of child development (Hofstede, 1980; Holloway, 2000; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989). Diversity and choice, aside from the costs of the fees.

Never seen before from a policy perspective, early education has always been related to social needs, and political, social and economic challenges. As a result, American early education appeared as a two-track system, with one approach for serving the poor and one for middle/upper-class children (Cahan, 1989; Tank, 1980). Consequently, due to the disparity in resources, the concept of intention of learning varied as well. It is translated into an incoherent approach to early education, diversity of local programs with their own characteristics.

The contemporary status of standards.
K-12 grades Standards are used in all 50 states and accepted component of education. No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) – funds to test grades 3, 8 and 10. Controversy: the next reauthorization of ESEA – recommendations for reform are numerous and range from complete abolition to modification (Finn, Julian, & Petrilli, 2006) – Federal government impose standards on the states and these be used for accountability (Barton, 2009).

Common standards for K-12 are surging forward (Klein, 2009) By establishing them, the education system in the US could deal with and help diversity, an immense challenge. Two issues regarding standards:

• Philosophical, it´s responsible for student achievement. Institution: standards and testing regimes make schools responsible. Learning takes place beyond the schoolhouse doors.
• Implementation of standards and concerns the accommodation of differing approaches to instruction, the nature and ability of assessments to capture higher order skills, and the development and implementation of incentives that will improve outcomes, not simply punish poor-performing students or schools.

EC standards
Every state has EC standards or guidelines for preschool-aged children (Scott-Little, Kagan, Frelow, & Reid, 2009). Language and math are the two main domains – covering a single age group (36-48 months), nowadays they embrace birth to 5.

Another standard movement – the alignment of preschool standards with other EC documents (Scott-Little, Kagan, Frelow, & Reid, 2009). States are aligning their standards with those that exist in K, and in grades 1 through 3, thus promoting continuity through the primary years of schooling. To ensure linkages between those developed for infants and toddlers and those developed for preschoolers. Some states ensure that multiple sets of standards for a single age group are aligned. Standards also are being aligned with curriculum and assessments. Some consideration is being given to the desirability and feasibility of developing common standards.

A suggested approach
Should standards become national and how can standards be used most effectively to improve student performance?

These preoccupations about EC standards implementation are somewhat ill-placed. They have to consider the multiple dimensions and uses of standards, as well as their potential to bring EC pedagogy and early learning systems into alignment.

UNICEF developed an integrated approach to standards implemented globally with some success (Kagan & Britto, 2009). Conceptually, the work advances the understanding that what children should know and be able to do is at the core of the early childhood enterprise.

Based on clear definitions or standards:

a) Teachers can be taught what and how to teach, thereby forming the basis of teacher education and, consequently, certification;

b) Parents can be guided in what to expect from their children at particular ages, thereby guiding the development of parenting support and education efforts;

c) The public can be made aware of appropriate expectations for children, forming the basis for public information efforts;

d) Curricula that are age and content appropriate can be developed, thereby guiding content developers and textbook publishers, along with local curriculum design efforts;

e) Checklists that chronicle children´s progress can be developed, thereby improving the individualization of teacher practice;

f) Items from the standards, once subjected to item analysis, can be selected for state or national monitoring

g) Data can be used for program evaluation and for the planning of inservice technical support for teachers.

Standards may be used to align disparate elements of early care and education and other systems (Kagan & Kauerz, 2007; O´Day & Smith, 1993).

Standards for students can drive what teachers should know and be able to teach, thereby influencing the content of teacher preparation and potentially even teacher certification (Kagan, Kauerz, & Tarrant, 2008)

Standards have the potential to align what is expected of students and what is taught by their teachers.

Standards serve as the basis for assessment, aligning what is expected, what is taught, and what is assessed (Egertson, 2008; Kagan & Britto, 2009; Schultz, 2008). Summing up, STANDARDS can serve as the PIVOT around which early childhood pedagogy rotates. By using standards for these multiple purposes, and integrated approach to early ECE and development, one that unites what children are expected to know and be able to do, and what their parents and teachers can and should do to support their development. – Integrated approach also links what children are taught to the content of the assessment and to the national reports that give evidence of progress.

Using the consensually developed standards as the base, all these elements are integrated so that what children are taught comports with what they are tested on, how their teachers are trained, and how their programs and policies are evaluated and monitored.

The process puts children and their needs at the center of policy efforts. By impacting teacher training, parenting education, instruction, curriculum, and even national monitoring and evaluation, early learning standards can be the glue that integrates diverse activities and aspects of the field.

The Utility of the Approach
Seeing other countries, it highlights the potential of standards to enhance multiple components of EC development, and thereby shifts the conversation regarding standards, that are regarded as useful to creating an integrated approach to EC pedagogy. The multiple-use approach to standards is grounded in the mores of those who create them, so that they reflect the goals, values, and desires that adults hold for their children.

Some successful examples in the world of its implementation: Ghana where the standards have been used as the basis for curriculum development as well as teacher training and credentialing. In Fiji and Mongolia supplied a foundation for the development of parenting education curricula, and in Romania, the basis for public information campaign.

Standards = guidelines, because standards are seemed as “government imposition of rules”.

Concerns regarding the use of standards with highly diverse in the form of variability in ethnicity, religion, geography, tribe, language, and ability populations within a giving country. Accommodations have been made to embrace all children. Some countries prioritize the uses within a plan for near-term and more long-term implementation. 

Implications of the Approach for System Building
They need to have all the pieces of the puzzle to work to render a system whole. While attention has been accorded pedagogy, less has been accorded the development of a pedagogical subsystem, that´s why it´s so important to develop a subsystem with early learning and standards at is core. They will be the intellectual foundation for curriculum, teacher PDs…

American early education is missing the boat in terms of how we use standards. Pedagogically integrated systems are not only within our reach but must sit at the core of all systems development efforts. Implemented well and widely, they are the essential systems elixir. 

Kagan, S. & Kauerz, K. (eds.) (2012). Early Childhood Systems: Transforming EarlyLearning. New York: Teachers College Press.

 

Early Childhood language development Series - Language Development I

The following series of posts are part of my research during my Early Childhood Teaching Bachelor Degree, more than five years ago.

Nowadays many students in Prek and K present problems at speaking, that is, their oral language development. This post and the following ones are going to help understand it a little more, or at least I hope so.

 Language Development Introduction

(Early Childhood Language Develpment Series)

What is Language? by The Open University

What do we understand by language?

Language is a complex function that allows expressing and perceiving affective states, concepts, ideas... through acoustic or graphic signs. The function of the language implies:

    • A system of rules: language is the one that specifies the way to use verbal material to mean (symbolize) external or imaginary reality.

      • The materialization of this system of rules in oral and writing language.

Language is the most characteristic feature of the Human Beings and is distinctive with respect to other species. All animal species have behaviors to communicate, but in none of them we can find something similar to language. By language it is necessary to understand "that complex function that allows to express and perceive affective states, concepts, ideas, by means of acoustic or graphic signs"

The language is a system of signs or symbols that are used for communication in a particular coding, for the representation of objects, people, events, thoughts... this representation involves physical and physiological (acoustic-perceptive), cognitive, emotional and social processes.

The development of the linguistic system is essential for social and intellectual development and vice versa. Therefore, to evaluate the development of language is to evaluate the development of an interactive communication system that serves to establish contact with our surrounding world, to establish relationships to learn and be able to think (Del Barrio, 1997).

The functions of language are communication and representation.

Language enhances cognitive development, and vice versa. Language is acquired in and through the social medium; the social environment, in turn, conditions the type of language.

The language is affected by affective deficiencies.

What is the acquisition of language?

It represents a great change, since the communicative possibilities with itself and with others are extended. Language is an instrument of knowledge and transformation of reality.

Children begin to use language not because they have an ability to use language, but because they need to achieve the realization of things that their use confers on them. Parents help them with a similar spirit: they want to help them become civilized human beings, not just language speakers. (Bruner, 1986).

In my next posts I´ll talk about the dimensions of language.

Related links:

- https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-language.html

Principles of language learning and teaching from Jorge Rengifo

- https://www.slideshare.net/JorgeRengifo3/principles-of-language-learning-and-teaching

Mi "Mini-yo" y las mil aventuras

Inspirados en el libro "Flat Stanley" nuestra estudiante Juliana decidio hacer una version mas pequena de ella misma "Mini-Juliana".

Su "mini-yo" tiene el poder de estar presente en muchos sitios, incluso en lugares reales e imaginarios... y que mejor lugar que una biblioteca.

"Mini-Juliana" pudo visitar muchos sitios, y por este motivo quiso recoger en su libro titulado "Biblioteca" su visita.

En este libro podemos encontrar informacion que Juliana quiere compartir con sus lectores y lectoras.

Ademas, nos cuenta las cosas que ve en su visita a la biblioteca... Super interesante! Incluso pudo ver un pulpo!!!

En su video nos cuenta en primera persona todo lo que vio y experimento, incluso compartio sus gustos e intereses con todos los demas.

Escuchemos sus comentarios en este video.

¿Qué hacer con mi primer libro?

Después de la feria del libro en nuestra escuela, los niños están emocionados de leer (o pretender leer) sus increíbles libros. Los padres y educadores deben saber cómo motivarlos durante la actividad de lectura.


Hacer preguntas.

Los niños desarrollan el lenguaje más rápido cuando se les pide que lo hablen. Después de hacer una pregunta, espere hasta que el niño tenga la respuesta preparada; Dale tiempo. Él confirma lo que quiere decir al usar algunos términos que él no sabe. Presta más atención al significado que a las palabras específicas. Quiero compartir algunos pasos o preguntas:


Primera pregunta:
¿De qué crees que se tratará el libro? ¿Por qué?

Próxima pregunta

Mira la imagen en la primera página. ¿Qué puedes decir sobre ______? (foco en el personaje(s), eventos,...)


Próxima pregunta

Lea el título, si no pueden leer, podemos invitarlos a reconocer las letras.

Predecir de qué crees que se tratará este libro.


Próxima pregunta

Comencemos a leer.

Ahora, dependiendo de su nivel (reconocimiento de letras y sonidos, lectura), puede invitar a su hijo a reconocer letras y sonidos o a leer.


Próxima pregunta

¿Qué puedes decir sobre la página siguiente?

Repetimos los dos últimos pasos para el resto del libro, cambiando el enfoque de la pregunta: personajes, acciones, detalles, ...

El final

Antes de leer, pregúntale al respecto. ¿Qué piensas de lo que está sucediendo ahora?

Después de leer, intenta inventar un nuevo final.

Después de leer actividades:

Cuénta tu propia historia. 

Se álbumes de fotos del niño como inspiración para hablar sobre el evento retratado. Las vacaciones de primavera, las vacaciones de verano o el viaje a la casa de la abuela pueden convertirse en una obra de ficción, pero a la vez desarrollan un sentido de la narración.

Conviértase en un transcriptor
Pídale al niño que dicte historias para que escriba o escriba una carta para un amigo o pariente. Dígale que garabatee su firma o escriba su nombre lo mejor que pueda. Tu capacidad para escribir irá detrás de tu imaginación por muchos años, así que no dejes que eso te detenga. Ayúdelo a escribir sus pensamientos, sin olvidar que son valiosos y que la palabra escrita es la manera en que otros pueden conocer sus ideas.

• Crea tu personaje plano como "Flat Stanley"
• Haga un "glosario" con las palabras principales y el vocabulario del libro. Es importante agregar imágenes e imágenes a las palabras y sus definiciones.
• Dramatiza y realiza algunas escenas del libro.
• Crea el disfraz y los detalles de tus personajes favoritos.
• Crea una nueva historia con tus personajes favoritos.
• Grabe o grabe en video su sesión de lectura y compártala con otros.

¿Cómo estimular la lectura en los más peques?

En esta etapa de la escuela la mayoría de mis estudiantes están empezando a unir sonidos y creando sílabas, dándoles la posibilidad de leer por si mismos. Como profesional puedo acceder a muchos recursos y técnicas para poder mejorar sus habilidades lectoras, ¿pero qué ocurre en casa? Esta pregunta me la hago a diario, y la razón por la que comparto muchos enlaces e información a través de este blog, para ayudarles a ustedes -las familias- a seguir trabajando y colaborando desde casa (por favor, que sea siempre desde una perspectiva lúdica, que sea para ellos y para ustedes momentos de aprender y pasarlo bien juntos).

He encontrado este artículo: Listos para leer: Estimular la lectura en niños de 12 a 36, y me parece muy interesante poder compartir los puntos que se ofrecen, realizado por la Dra. Suzanne Dixon. A continuación, una traducción libre no comercial.

Transfórmate en un comentarista de noticias. 

Relata al niño los detalles del día, lo que haces con él e incluso lo que estás leyendo en su presencia. Con ello, estableces un vínculo entre las palabras y los acontecimientos, es decir, le estás ayudando a aprender los elementos típicos de un cuento.

Transform yourself into a news reporter. Tell the child the details of the day, what he does with it, and even what he is reading in his presence. With this, you establish a link between words and events, that is, help them learn the typical elements of a story.

Hojea libros con ilustraciones junto al niño. 

Desde muy temprana edad, comienza a mostrarle libros como objetos amenos y entretenidos. 

Acepta los breves lapsos de atención de tu hijo; cada interacción de este tipo alentará en él el amor por los libros.

Read books with illustrations and pictures with your child. From an early age, parents should begin to show their children books as fun and entertaining objects. Accept the brief attention spans of your child; every interaction of this kind will encourage in him the love for books.

Observa, señala y luego identifica las imágenes. 

Los niños pequeños, cuando se inician en el mundo literario, aprenden primero a dar vuelta las páginas, luego a mirar los dibujos en forma general, después a observar dichas imágenes conforme se nombran, a señalar posteriormente los dibujos indicados y, por último, a identificar las ilustraciones por sí mismos.

¿En qué tramo de ese recorrido se encuentra el niño? ¿Puedes impulsarlo a que dé el próximo paso? No le exijas si no está preparado, sin embargo, puedes motivarlo a que siga adelante en caso de haber desarrollado las capacidades adecuadas.

Observe, point and then identify the images. Young children, when they begin in the literary world, learn first to turn the pages, then to look at the drawings in a general way, then to observe these images as they are named, to indicate later the indicated drawings and, finally, to identify the illustrations by themselves.

In what part of that route is the child? Can you push him to take the next step? Do not demand it if you are not prepared, however, you can motivate him to move forward if he has developed the right skills.

Léele al niño sobre cosas cotidianas. 

Lee las etiquetas de los alimentos, las señales de tráfico, los menús de los restaurantes. De esta forma, el niño asimila gradualmente la utilidad de las palabras, así como un creciente interés por ellas.

Read the child about everyday things. Read food labels, road signs, restaurant menus. In this way, the child gradually assimilates the usefulness of the words, as well as a growing interest in them.

Siempre lleva un libro contigo. 

Pon uno o dos libros de cuentos en el bolso de los pañales y en el automóvil, para los bebés más crecidos o los niños pequeños. El hábito de llenar cada momento de su existencia con libros y tenerlos siempre a mano sirve para que ellos se acostumbren a verlos como una parte normal de sus vidas.

Put one or two story books in the diaper bag and in the car, for the older babies or small children. The habit of filling every moment of their existence with books and having them always at hand serves so that they get used to seeing them as a normal part of their lives.

Id juntos a la biblioteca. 


Fija estas salidas con regularidad. Deja que el niño escoja un par de libros y tú también selecciona otros tantos. No te olvides de la hora del cuento. Incluso antes de que el niño pueda permanecer sentado durante todo el relato, él comienza a entender que ésta es una actividad especial y entretenida.

Go to the library together. Fix these outputs regularly. Let the child choose a couple of books and you also select many others. Do not forget the story time. Even before the child can remain seated throughout the story, he begins to understand that this is a special and entertaining activity.

Solicita un carné de lector en la biblioteca. 


En cuanto el niño cumpla 2 años, haz una visita especial con él a la biblioteca para solicitar su propio carné. Dale al carné un tratamiento acorde con su calidad de premio con una funda y un lugar especial donde guardarlo. 

Request a reader card in the library. As soon as the child turns 2, make a special visit with him to the library to request his own card. Give the card a treatment according to its award quality with a case and a special place to store it.

Aprende poesías y canciones. 

Los niños experimentan con los sonidos del lenguaje que rima, lo que aumenta su interés por las palabras y los sonidos. Las poesías acompañadas de gestos ayudan a relacionar las acciones con las palabras que las identifican. La poesía infantil también estimula este conocimiento y amor por el lenguaje. 

Children experiment with the sounds of rhyming language, which increases their interest in words and sounds. The poems accompanied by gestures help to relate the actions with the words that identify them. Children's poetry also stimulates this knowledge and love for language. 

Regala libros. 

Cada vez que tengas la oportunidad, regala un libro a cada niño que conozcas. Luego hojea el libro junto al niño. Mantén esa biblioteca en un lugar especial, pero accesible. 

Give books. Each time you have the opportunity, give a book to each child you meet. Then leaf through the book with the child. Keep that library in a special place, but accessible.

Cómo trabajar desde casa las letras y sonidos

Cómo trabajar desde casa las letras y sonidos

Internet nos ofrece una gran cantidad de posibilidades y oportunidades para seguir aprendiendo como en la escuela, pero desde casa, desde la oficina, desde donde estén ubicados.

La posibilidad de acceder a videos y aplicaciones para repasar con nuestros dispositivos móviles amplian y  aceleran nuestro aprendizaje, además de ser otra forma más de diversión. La mayoría de los videos y aplicaciones que usamos en nuestro salón de clase con nuestros campeones y campeonas son muy coloridos, con una melodía pegadiza, con ritmo,... 

Quiero compartir con ustedes los pasos a seguir para repasar las letras.

1. Visionado completo del video.

En primer lugar invitamos a nuestros campeones a ver un video divertido, de los que les gusta cuando aprenden con Mr. Usero. Los videos suelen ser breves, por lo que el tiempo dedicado en este paso es poco y lo pueden hacer ellos solos.

Si es la primera vez que los ven, estén pendientes de que prestan atención al video, ya que las siguientes actividades están relacionadas con ellos.

Para comprobar que han entendido el video, le podemos hacer preguntas como: 

¿de qué trata el video? 

¿qué es lo que más te gustó?

¿cuál es tu _____ favorito?

¿me dibujas (y/o escribes, si ya saben) lo que más te gustó?

2. Visionado por partes.

En este paso realizaremos pausas. ¿Por qué pausas? Porque nos detendremos para repetir y producir los sonidos de las letras o palabras que aparezcan en el video.

En caso de dificultad, les ayudamos bien invitándoles a verlo otra vez o bien le enseñamos cómo hacerlo.

Por ejemplo en el video que ponemos de ejemplo, encontramos la primera letra: A.

Hacemos una pausa y preguntamos:

¿Qué letra es? 

¿Cómo se llama esta letra?

¿Cómo se pronuncia?

(Intentemos evitar expresiones como "sabes cómo...", ya que los pequeños van a responder la mayoría de veces que sí y no las van a producir).

En caso de presentar dificultades vamos a usar la imagen (abeja), y le hacemos las siguientes preguntas:

¿Qué animal ves?

¿Cómo se llama?

¿Pronuncia el primer sonido? (o el último ya que ambas son A en este caso)

Reforzamos positivamente sus respuestas con las siguientes expresiones:

"muy bien" 

"excelente" 

"me gusta lo bien que aprendes"

Si, por el contrario, no tenemos respuestas positivas, intentamos ofrecer otras ayudas como por ejemplo "repite conmigo...". Con nuestra ayuda le enseñamos cómo se traza en la pantalla mientras repetimos el sonido y le nombre.

Para los más avanzados, le invitamos a las siguientes actividades-juegos:

- Veo, veo, una cosita que empieza por la letra... 

Y tienen que adivinar qué cosa es la que empieza por dicha letra.

- ¿Cuántas cosas en la habitación empiezan por esta letra?

- ¿Cuántas cosas en la habitación terminan por esta letra?

- Dime otras palabras que sepas que empiecen/terminen por esta letra.

Otras variantes puede ser escribir y leer. Por ejemplo con uno de sus cuentos-libros favoritos se pueden hacer las mismas preguntas que hemos realizado para la habitación.

3- Nuevamente visionado completo del video sin sonido.

En esta última actividad vemos el video completo y le invitamos a jugar a ver cuántas letras y sonidos saben. Por cada una que se sepan (ellos solitos) podemos hacer puntos y esos puntos al final lo cambiamos por cosas que les guste. Así les motivamos a aprender las letras y sonidos, será algo muy divertido, porque cada vez más querrán más puntos y se sabrán más letras.

Ejemplo de la actividad

Una mamá ensayando en casa con una de mis campeonas. Están realizando el punto 2.

Otros videos que podemos usar para trabajar en casa con letras y sonidos con nuestros dispositivos móviles:

Look, but don´t touch! ...Really?

Why to kill the curiosity in Early Childhood?

Exploring and experimenting are key in our first years of life. Our own nature pushes us to learn by seeing, touching, smelling, listening, tasting,... all our senses are needed in this process.

Everyday in my classroom I can see my students enjoying with the hands-on activities, the materials in the workstations,... They always approach the stations of learning and attracted by the materials begin to use them and admired make comments to others. These experiences are precious since they develop many skills as cognitive, communicative, social,... It´s sad when sometimes we hear just at this moment the voice of the teacher/parents/legal guardian to keep silent and to make a line, indicating "it is not worth touching, just seeing".

Many theories of learning tells us that the child's learning in our early years has to do with our thinking levels; it is necessary to keep in mind the object and not only to observe it but to interact with it if we want them to question, reflect, imagine, generate ideas,... The object, by itself in front of the person who learns about it, does not serve as mediator of learning, it is not through a merely contemplative act (visual) as knowledge is constructed, that is, the object is an instrument whose function is to trigger cognitive development. (see my post about Bloom´s Taxonomy)

The first impulse of children when they are in front of an object is to touch it and ask. These are opportunities to foster the intellectual curiosity that surely leads to cognitive development. Touching the object is synonymous with questioning about it. For this reason, the adult must be close to them to answer their questions, to ask them questions, to explain its characteristics.  The role of the teachers (and educators/parents/legal guardians) is to solve the doubts of children, trying to offer real explanations that stimulate their curiosity and cognitive processes.

Learning from the use of objects (Vigotsky, 2000)

Parents/legal guardians/educators should invite children to manipulate the objects and ask him interesting questions that awake their interest and stimulate their expression (communicative skills), reflection and analysis (thinking levels).

In fact there are those researchers who affirm that intelligence is measured by the use of instruments to solve problems, based on the Latin origin of the word: 

inteligere, composed of intus (between) and legere (choose); 

so we can deduce that being smart is knowing how to choose the best option among those given to solve a problem

When children look at an object they immediately have the desire to understand it, and manipulating it is the best way to do it. The work in the classroom must include the contents within natural situations making connections with situations of real life and this implies the interaction of the children with real objects.

To prevent children from mistreating objects, we are only showing our dark side of the teaching. If it is a very delicate or dangerous object for the child, we must help him with care to touch him and explain the reasons for it.

Interact with the reality is the basis of learning, questioning reality and recreating it to understand it is the body, develop cognitive processes and generate knowledge is its maximum expression. Even adults need to touch objects, for example: to show us a shirt  is not enough to tell us it is cotton, we immediately touch it. To ask toddlers/young children not to touch and only observe is to attempt against their nature and their right to learn. 

Martin Luther King Jr with Prek students

What would happen if we ask about segregation in a Prek classroom?

Social experiment in our PreK classroom: How to learn about MLK and segregation. 

Experimento social en la clase de Infantil Prek: Como aprendemos sobre Martin Luther King y la segregación social.

En este video podrás encontrar sus respuestas y otras actividades.

Please, try to see the world through the eyes of a child!

¡Por favor, intenta ver el mundo a través de la mirada de un niño!

El Invierno - sonidos, letras y escritura

Another episode of letters, sounds, words,... in Dual-Language Prek. In this time we are working on the word "invierno". This word, "invierno" is part of our project with the same name.

Academic goal:
- to recognize letters based on their sounds(phonological awareness development)
- to order the positions of the letters to create a word- to develop reading skills
- to develop writing skills
- to have fun!


Materials and resources:
- PowerPoint
- ABC
- Picture of Winter
- Digital Board
- Notebook
- Pencil/crayons
- motivation to work together and help others!


Steps:
1) Introduce the picture
The teacher talks to the students about the picture.
Q: What can you see?
Q: Is it hot or cold?
Q: Which season is it: spring, summer, fall or winter?
Why?


Then, they draw and color a picture of winter.


2) ABC.

We say the ABC letter by letter in order with the help of all the students in the classroom.


3) Matching sounds with letters.
Now we focus on the word "invierno". We pronounce invierno for them.
Q: What's the first letter?
We start with the first letter: I
We check sounds and letters.
Q: Is this letter I?


Previously they drew 8 squares -as the ones (blue) you can see in the digital board-. One square for each letter of the word we are studying.
When we get a letter is time for them to write. It's important they follow the order of the sounds and writing.


Q: Where can I put the following letter?

We check if they understand the order of pronunciation and writing.

Q: What's the right order/position for this word?

The highest students, who can already read, help others to understand the letter-order-sequence to read and write.
We interact with them, like a game.

Q: What's the following letter?
(At this time I don't say the sound because one student already did it)
In case of confusion like the sound V and B, they have to use their memory.

They DO know that is V and not B.

We are forming a word TOGETHER!
It's a GREAT team!

It's important to read the sounds we are writing to help them understand we are creating the word.

First, the ones already written, and second the ones missing.
In this case we need an I, again we play with the possible mistake of using I or Y. They know well!

Sometimes they say other sounds/letters and we can play with them by trying to pronounce the word with their sounds.

Student: now we need a V.
Teacher: again V?
Do you say *"InviVerno"?
S: No!
Teacher: So, what's the next letter?
Student: Y!
Teacher: *"InviYerno"?
Student: Yes!
Teacher: We say "InvI-E-rno", so what's the next letter?

We must challenge them and help them too when they need it, they ARE learning (so are we, as teachers).
We can not forget that mistakes and errors are important elements in the learning process.


Student: E
Teacher: Well done! "InviErno"!
Working in whole groups help students who can not know something.

With the students' help learning is funnier and easier for them since they might not feel the pressure of being evaluated directly by the teacher.
We invite students to do what we, as teachers, are doing.

As you can see, our students are already trained to help others: positive classroom management, peer-peer relationship included.
First, it's recommended to offer them a model of how to do the activity. Then, they can practice with our guidance and help. This is what happening now during this scene.
The process of reading and writing is slow, so they must feel comfortable and sure of what they are doing.

Their self-image improves, therefore they feel motivated to keep on working by their own.


Thanks to all my Dual-Language Prek Students for their GREAT JOB everyday!
Mr Usero
Roosevelt ES
Houston ISD
2017-2018

Reading before bedtime

What to do after holidays to have our routines back?

After our winter break we need to come back to our habits and daily lives. 

Sometimes, the time to go to bed becomes a real nightmare, especially with the little ones. After a story, they want another and another... The stories are specially designed to make our children yawn and get them to sleep or to close their eyes while we read before bedtime. Here you have a small selection of perfect books to read at the end of the day that will surely help you in this arduous task. The selection of the books are proposed in the article 10 cuentos infalibles para ir a dormir (free and non-commercial translation of some parts)

Some of the stories are played by animals and others by children, some are realistic and others more fantastic, some are longer and others are shorter ... but they are all about emotions (sadness, optimism, hatred, the surprise, the calm, the boredom ...), to help the children to know their feelings and manage them.

Cuentos para ir a dormir para niños

A todos los niños y niñas les gusta escuchar cuentos antes de dormir y más cuando los personajes viven aventuras en barcos o en magníficos castillos llenos de princesas.

All children like to listen to stories before they sleep and more when the characters live adventures on boats or in magnificent castles full of princesses.

Un beso antes de dormir

Todos los bebés animales besan a su madre antes de dormir. Un libro de cartón con tiernas ilustraciones para leer a tu hijo antes de ir a dormir.

All animal babies kiss their mother before sleeping. A cardboard book with cute illustrations to read to your child before going to sleep.

El libro de las buenas noches

Un libro increible para ir a dormir en el que se cuenta al niño cómo duermen diferentes animales.

An amazing book to go to sleep in which the child is told how different animals sleep.

Cómo dormir a tu león

Seguro que a tu león le ocurre lo mismo que a Leoncete: por muy cansado que esté, ¡nunca quiere irse a la cama! No te preocupes, Guille sabe bien cómo hacerlo. ¡Abre este libro y descúbrelo!

Surely your lion is the same as Leoncete: no matter how tired he is, he never wants to go to bed! Do not worry, Guille knows how to do it. Open this book and find out!

Todos bostezan

¡Un libro ideal para los niños que se resisten a irse a dormir! Cada doble página presenta a un animal que, bostezando, nos muestra su enorme boca mediante un mecanismo de solapa, hasta que al final… ¡todos duermen! Un libro de compañía para compartir con tu hijo el momento mágico de irse a dormir.

An ideal book for children who are reluctant to go to sleep! Each double page presents an animal that, yawning, shows its huge mouth through a flap mechanism, until in the end?? everyone is sleeping! 

A companion book to share with your child before the magical moment of going to sleep.

El conejito que quiere dormirse

El cuento de El conejito que quiere dormirse es un nuevo método para que los niños se duerman. Traducido a varias lenguas, este libro revolucionario ha ayudado a miles de padres en todo el mundo a conseguir que sus hijos concilien el sueño gracias a las innovadoras técnicas psicológicas que aparecen a lo largo de la historia.

Escrito en un lenguaje sencillo, este libro logra que los niños se relajen y se queden dormidos antes incluso de que termine el cuento.

Y si quieres más, conoce el nuevo libro de Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin La elefantita que quiere dormirse

The story of The Bunny that wants to fall asleep is a new method for children to fall asleep. Translated into several languages, this revolutionary book has helped thousands of parents around the world to get their children to sleep thanks to the innovative psychological techniques that appear throughout history.

Written in simple language, this book makes children relax and fall asleep before the story ends.

And if you want more, know the new book by Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin The little elephant who wants to fall asleep.

Cuentos bonitos para quedarse fritos

Cuentos bonitos para quedarse fritos es un divertido libro recopilatorio de cuentos que llega para hacer frente a la insistente petición de todos los niños que quieren un cuento antes de acostarse (¡y sobre todo a la de los padres que quieren que sus hijos se duerman pronto!).

Beautiful stories to stay fried is a fun storybook compilation that comes to face the insistent request of all children who want a story before bed (and especially to parents who want their children to fall asleep soon !).

Mi Camita

Mi Camita es un álbum ilustrado que también puede servir de apoyo para vencer o superar otros miedos infantiles, como el miedo a los malos sueños, el miedo a la noche o el miedo a la oscuridad.

Este es un cuento que debería ser contado en el momento de ir a dormir, y preferiblemente en la propia cama del niño o niña. Aunque también puede ser utilizado en la guardería o en la escuela para inducir a los niños a reflexionar acerca del momento de ir a dormir.

Mi Camita is an illustrated album that can also serve as a support to overcome other childhood fears, such as fear of bad dreams, fear of the night or fear of the dark.

This is a story that should be told at the time of going to sleep, and preferably in the child's own bed. Although it can also be used in daycare or school to induce children to reflect on the time to go to sleep.

¡Uno más, por favor!

¡Pídele a tu hijo que escoja su «cuento corto a la carta» girando la rueda mágica de este libro! En ella encontrará sus personajes y sus escenarios favoritos: hadas, niños, ratones, bosques, lagos o castillos... Una vez que haya escogido los que más le gusten, tú podrás leerle el cuento en tres minutos y él, después de escucharlo y disfrutarlo, dormirá tranquilo y feliz.

Ask your child to choose his "short story on demand" by turning the magic wheel of this book! In it you will find your favorite characters and scenarios: fairies, children, mice, forests, lakes or castles ... Once you have chosen the ones you like the most, you can read the story in three minutes and s/he, after listening to it and enjoy it, will sleep calm and happy.

Como hacer un libro para aprender el nombre y las letras

El libro de Sophia

Sophia, alumna de PreK dual-language de Roosevelt, les quiere mostrar como podemos hacer nuestro libro personalizado. 

Con el podemos trabajar con las letras de nuestro nombre, trabajar los sonidos, escribir, dibujar, contar,... y muchas mas cosas.

Comencemos!

Necesitamos papel de cartulina o similar, colores, marcadores o rotuladores, tijeras, pegamento, cinta adhesiva, y otras cosas mas que ustedes quieran usar para decorar.

Para empezar creamos nuestra portada con nuestro nombre y apellidos. Ademas, tambien se les puede anadir una foto. Sophia lo va a hacer en casa (ya mostraremos el resultado final).

Para escribir su nombre Sophia eligio las letras en sellos con la tinta. A continuacion, realizamos nuestro retrato. 

Podemos anadir otra informacion personal como la edad y la ciudad donde vives.

Para las letras de su nombre, Sophia elige escribirlas con las letras en sello y la tinta. Y para demostrarnos que ella sabe escribir perfectamente usa tambien los marcadores.

Una vez tenemos las letras, es tiempo de buscar imagenes, dibujos y cosas que empiecen por la misma letra. Por ejemplo, las letras de Sophia son

S

O

P

H

I

A

pues habra que buscar cosas que empiecen por S, por O, por P, por H, por I y por A.

Una vez las tengamos las pegaremos en sus respectivas paginas.

Aqui pueden ver que Sophia encontro un libro de Peppa Pig. Peppa empieza por P, asi que la selecciona para recortarla y pegarla en la pagina de la letra P.

Con esta actividad desarrollan la exploracion y el descubrimiento por saber, nuevo vocabulario, "conciencia fonologica" ya que emparejan las letras iniciales, y diversion durante el aprendizaje (con ella usamos catalogos de juguetes). Aparte de las habilidades lectoescritoras tambien desarrollamos la motricidad fina (recotar) y la coordinacion viso-manual (pegar).

Otra variante puede ser ver el catalogo y seleccionar aquellas cosas que comienzan por su mismo sonido-letra antes de comenzar a hacer el libro (puede servir de motivacion para realizar esta actividad en casa). 

Ademas, tambien se puede escribir su nombre (esta actividad fue grabada en clase con un tiempo limitado, en casa pueden realizarla durante dias) 

Sophia ya no puede parar de buscar y de aprender!!!