Based on field trials with over 2,000 students and 215 educators, this one-of-a-kind resource presents all the background knowledge and skills needed to effectively use service learning in preK and primary classrooms. Rich in both theory and practice, the book combines community service with differentiated curriculum-based learning to meet the academic and social needs of the young children in meaningful ways. Sample lesson plans are based on tested classroom projects and correlated to national service learning, Head Start, and Common Core State standards. It includes dozens of ready-to-use templates for lesson planning, surveying, assessment, evaluation, permissions, and documentation. Aligns with K–12 Service Learning Standards for Quality Practice. Digital content offers customizable forms and a PowerPoint presentation for preservice and inservice.

Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.

This book presents the most recent theory, research, and practice on service learning as it relates to early childhood education. It describes several service learning programs, many of which were developed to better prepare pre-service teachers for the challenges they face in today’s early childhood classrooms, including class size, ever-changing technology, diversity, high-stakes testing, parental involvement (or the lack thereof), and shrinking budgets. The book shares stories of positive outcomes from pre-service teachers who, having participated in service-learning programs, report a shift in their attitudes and beliefs including an increased empathy for others, a heightened sensitivity to student differences, more democratic values, and a greater commitment to teaching. In addition, the book examines the effects of service learning and positive outcomes for children and teacher educators as well. Schools today face an increasing number of language learners, the mainstreaming of special population students, and working with a standards-driven curriculum. All of these present new challenges for teachers as they attempt to meet their students’ educational needs. As a result of this new classroom environment, and the educational needs they present, teacher educators must now seek different approaches to prepare prospective teachers to meet these needs because the traditional approaches to teacher preparation, such as coursework independent of fieldwork, are no longer effective in equipping teachers to address these issues. This book examines in detail the new approach of service learning.

Developing Natural Curiosity through Project-Based Learning is a practical guide that provides step-by-step instructions for PreK–3 teachers interested in embedding project-based learning (PBL) into their daily classroom routine. The book spells out the five steps teachers can use to create authentic PBL challenges for their learners and illustrates exactly what that looks like in an early childhood classroom. Authentic project-based learning experiences engage children in the mastery of twenty-first-century skills and state standards to empower them as learners, making an understanding of PBL vital for PreK–3 teachers everywhere.

"It′s time to build a bridge between early childhood programs and the K–3 system to ensure continued success for all children. This is the ultimate how-to manual for administrators and teachers who wish to maintain and maximize the gains children make in preschool." —Sally Wingle, Preschool Teacher Chelsea Community Preschool, MI "A great guide pointing in the right direction for starting a program. With the U.S. Department of Education′s emphasis on early childhood education and new monies available from the stimulus plan, this book is a valuable resource." —Cindy Luna, Principal Northside ISD, San Antonio, TX A 10-step plan for linking early childhood education to the K–3 system! The national push for improving young children′s early learning experiences is no longer just about preschool. Now the focus is on strategic planning to increase achievement by reaching out to community early childhood education providers, establishing a strong PreK–3 foundation that connects early childhood education standards and goals to a K–3 system, and ensuring that young learners receive high-quality instruction before kindergarten. Drawing on more than 20 years′ success with a PreK–3 system in Washington state, the authors present a 10-step, field-tested model that demonstrates how early childhood professionals and K–12 school leaders can outline a clear implementation plan for an integrated PreK–3 system that: Identifies both families′ and children′s needs Shares developmental information about individual learning skills and social/emotional development as children transition to kindergarten Aligns resources, curriculum, instruction, and assessments Anticipates challenges and celebrates successes Invites input from superintendents, state officials, Head Start leaders, and Title I directors

Before children are readers and writers, they are speakers and listeners. This book provides creative, hands-on strategies for developing preschoolers' speaking, listening, and oral comprehension skills, within a literacy-rich classroom environment. Each chapter features helpful classroom vignettes; a section called Preschool in Practice, with step-by-step lesson ideas; and Ideas for Discussion, Reflection, and Action. The book addresses the needs of English language learners and describes ways to support students' literacy development at home. The final chapter pulls it all together through a portrait of an exemplary day of preschool teaching and learning. Reproducible forms and checklists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

ABSTRACT: Service-learning is a pedagogy that challenges students to create important connections between curricular content and their community. Experts in the field of early childhood education enthusiastically support learning opportunities and activities that underscore meaningful student involvement; purposeful collaboration; experiential learning; and socially constructed knowledge. Although service-learning provides a means by which to address these constructivist goals, there exists little research on the practice with preschool aged children. This qualitative case study investigates the practice of service-learning in the preschool classroom, how it can be implemented, how young children respond to it, and whether or not it adequately addresses the learning and developmental needs of this age group. The study chronicles the story of nineteen Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten students and their teacher as they experienced the practice of service-learning for the first time. Data was collected and analyzed over a ten week period in the fall of 2011. The data suggests that service-learning provides a valuable means to address the learning and developmental needs of preschool aged children. Additionally, it was discovered that the children in this study received the greatest benefit from service activities that provided high levels of community involvement and a great deal of exposure to the physical aspects of the projects. Moreover, the data provided evidence to support the notion that preschool aged children require frequent and intentional scaffolding from more competent others in order to make meaningful connections between curricular goals and service projects.

Reframing behaviors for competence, confidence, and successful outcomes With dysregulation and neurodevelopmental diagnoses on the rise, classrooms are more diverse than ever. Despite efforts to support each student’s needs and sensitivities, educators are often left frustrated and unsupported when strategies for managing all kinds of behaviors, from anxiety to acting out, prove ineffective, short-lived, or even detrimental to the students’ and teachers’ happiness and progress. Through a reflective lens, this book equips teachers and support staff to help all students thrive by identifying and fostering each teacher’s and child’s individual differences and unique strengths. Written in an accessible, conversational style, this book will help educators: - Build confidence in identifying and addressing behaviors in order to support student growth and brain development - Learn about an interdisciplinary approach that combines education, occupational therapy, and psychology to better understand and navigate brain-based regulation, relationships, and behaviors in the classroom - Use relevant research, illustrations, and strategies for reflective and experiential moments - Discover strategies to facilitate co-regulation, establish positive classroom relationships, address sensory needs, communicate with parents, and practice self-care This reflective, insightful book provides workable strategies to help all students, as well as those who care for them, feel more competent, confident, and successful.

After a decade of educational reforms, The Challenge to Care in Schools is even more relevant now than when it was first published. In her new Introduction, Nel Noddings revisits her seminal book and places care as central to current debates on standardization, accountability, privatization, and the continuous struggle between traditional and progressive methods of education. Rather then forcing one side to yield to the other, this book advocates an alternative, “responsive system” that will allow the best ideas to flourish. In the Second Edition, Noddings once again envisions a school system built on the idea that different people have different strengths, and that these strengths should be cultivated in an environment of caring, not of competition. She suggests that if we make the responsiveness characteristic of caring more basic than accountability, we can accommodate both traditional and progressive preferences in one school system to the benefit of all . . . especially the children. Chapters address the practical and theoretical questions involved in organizing traditional and nontraditional areas of study around themes of care. Introductory chapters focus on caring in general and on the problems of liberal education, while the final chapter offers sound advice for implementing a caring curriculum in our schools. Praise for the First Edition! "A welcome addition to the often fragmented discussion of what children need and what school and education should be." —Harvard Educational Review "I recommend this book to all concerned about education, personally and/or professionally." —Journal of Moral Education "In the morass of school reform that calls for such changes as national standards, improved assessments, and new ways of organizing schooling, Noddings provides lucid thinking about the priorities we ought to consider." —Teachers College Record

The Creative Curriculum comes alive! This videotape-winner of the 1989 Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film and Video Festival-demonstrates how teachers set the stage for learning by creating a dynamic well-organized environment. It shows children involved in seven of the interest areas in the The Creative Curriculum and explains how they learn in each area. Everyone conducts in-service training workshops for staff and parents or who teaches early childhood education courses will find the video an indispensable tool for explainin appropriate practice.