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Regarding Student Perspectives Learning Packet

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Connecting Study to Classroom Environment and Planning Learning Packet

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Embedding Learning Into Structures and Routines Learning Packet

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Planning with a Focus on Individualization Learning Packet

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Curriculum Foundations and Lesson Planning Basics Learning Packet

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Celebrations and Culminating Project Learning Packet

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This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Birth to Five: Asking Questions 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

For more information, please contact us at ecdtl at ecetta dot info or call (toll-free) 844-261-3752.

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This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Birth to Five: Asking Questions 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

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This in-service suite offers ideas teachers can use to engage children in classroom activities and routines. Learn how giving simple tasks to children keeps them involved.

This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Giving Children Responsibilities 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

For more information, please contact us at ecdtl at ecetta dot info or call (toll-free) 844-261-3752.

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Giving Children Responsibilities | ECLKC

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This in-service suite offers ideas teachers can use to engage children in classroom activities and routines. Learn how giving simple tasks to children keeps them involved. This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Giving Children Responsibilities 15-minute In-service Suite in advance.

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Narrator: Welcome to this short in-service suite on classroom transitions. In this module, you will learn about some effective strategies or methods for helping children make smooth transitions from one classroom activity to the next. The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning uses the House Framework to organize the components of high-quality teaching that contribute to positive child outcomes. This in-service suite focuses on the foundation of the House, and specifically the well- organized classroom.

In well-organized classrooms, children and adults move efficiently from one activity or routine to another. Children make many transitions every day in their early childhood classrooms. Every classroom has its own schedule of activities. Regardless, the children move from activity to activity; from circle time to the interest areas to the playground and back inside to use the bathroom, wash hands, then eat at the snack table, and regroup again for story time or music, and on and on. Transitions can be stressful. Children may spend too much time waiting. And problem behaviors often occur during transitions. But there are ways to make transitions go more smoothly, and even ways to make them learning opportunities.

To help plan for better transitions, it can be helpful to think about what to do before the transition, during the transition, and following the transition. Here are a few things to think about before the transition. Plan a daily schedule of activities that minimizes the number of transitions the children need to make, particularly the number of transitions in which all of the children have to do the same thing at the same time. And include your transition plan in your schedule. Plan ahead so that the adults in the room know their role during the transitions. And plan and prepare cues, including visual supports, that help children understand what's expected during the transition.

[Video begins] Teacher 1: Where would you like to go? What's that called again? Girl 1: The kitchen.

Teacher 1: The kitchen. What are you going to do in the kitchen? Girl 1: Cooking.

Teacher 1: You're going to do some cooking? Okay. Maybe next to you, I can see something that you're cooking. [Video ends]

Narrator: There are also some ways that teachers help children during the transition. They sing songs or play word games with the children while they are making the transition. They also allow children enough time to finish or store their work before moving on to the next activity. And they plan for those children who finish quickly or get to the next activity early. Give these children something to do while they are waiting for the rest of the children, or make sure there is an adult ready to receive them and get the next activity going.

[Video begins] Teacher 2: Are you using the computer or are you writing on the lap board? Girl 2: I'm writing on the lap board.

Teacher 2: Okay, so let's take your pass over to the cozy area. Take your pass with you to the cozy area, alright? Because someone else may want to use the computer. Okay? [Video ends]

Narrator: Learning how to make transitions can be difficult. During and after the transition, be sure to acknowledge the children's efforts by providing positive attention and words that tell them you recognize their appropriate transition behaviors, such as cleaning up and putting things away and stopping one activity to move on to another. The children are learning how to be a part of a group and how to follow the routine. Let them know you appreciate it. Transitions can be the most stressful and challenging times of the preschool day. But by planning ahead, making a schedule that eliminates unnecessary transitions, and using music, games, pictures, and more, teachers can make the day go more smoothly and help children become more confident and independent as they learn the classroom routine.

Check out our tips for teachers and useful resources to fill your teacher toolkit with ideas you can use. Thank you for listening.

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Narrator: Welcome to this short in-service suite on classroom transitions. In this module, you will learn about some effective strategies or methods for helping children make smooth transitions from one classroom activity to the next. The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning uses the House Framework to organize the components of high-quality teaching that contribute to positive child outcomes.

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This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Designing Environments 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

For more information, please contact us at ecdtl at ecetta dot info or call (toll-free) 844-261-3752.

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This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Designing Environments 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

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Ongoing Child Assessment:
Planning for Assessment

Narrator: Welcome to this short presentation on planning for assessment. Ongoing child assessment is a critical component of quality teaching and learning. It takes planning and preparation to make sure that assessment is done accurately and consistently. Teachers are continuously observing their children and using their observations to guide their teaching. It's important to observe and to document so that teachers can gauge children's learning over time and use the assessment information to make good decisions to improve their teaching and children's learning.

There are at least two levels of planning. At the school or program level, there is a plan to assess all the children two to three times per year, depending on the length of the program, so that you know how the group of children is doing and whether changes need to be made. It's also important to have a plan for more frequent assessment at the classroom level. The plan includes what to assess. The curriculum goals for the children, along with the domains of the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, guide our thinking about what to assess. The plan also includes how to assess, or the methods, such as taking notes, collecting samples of children's work, or using checklists. The plan includes when to assess and how often, and the plan tells who will do the assessment.

One way to make sure that you're on track with your planning for assessment is to make weekly assessment plans at the same time that you develop weekly lesson plans. Developing and writing a weekly assessment plan makes time to reflect on observations from the prior week, to think about the data you've already gathered, and then to plan the observation and documentation that needs to be done during the coming week. This doesn't mean that you'll gather data on every child every week, but it does mean planning for and keeping track of how the children are doing on an ongoing and regular way.

Here is one way to plan for ongoing child assessment. Some teachers use some kind of chart to keep track of their assessment plans. In this example, and it's only a part of the whole assessment matrix, the teacher writes the schedule of the activities down the left-hand column; then across the top, the teacher writes the names of the children in the class; in the cells, the teacher writes the plan: the what, how, when, and who.

Ongoing child assessment is key to improving teaching and improving child outcomes. It helps us know that children are making good progress and learning all the important things they need to learn. But, it takes planning and preparation to make sure that assessment is done often enough to really be helpful. To learn more about assessment, check out our other modules on ongoing child assessment. Also, see our tips for teachers. Thank you for listening.

This in-service suite describes how teachers can plan efficiently for conducting ongoing assessment of children's learning in the preschool classroom. This video mentions the previous Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. Viewers should instead reference the newer Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (ELOF) for early learning domains and goals.

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Ongoing Child Assessment: Planning for Assessment Narrator: Welcome to this short presentation on planning for assessment. Ongoing child assessment is a critical component of quality teaching and learning. It takes planning and preparation to make sure that assessment is done accurately and consistently. Teachers are continuously observing their children and using their observations to guide their teaching.

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This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Zoning to Maximize Learning 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

For more information, please contact us at ecdtl at ecetta dot info or call (toll-free) 844-261-3752.

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Zoning is an effective practice to help teachers manage staff. This practice can also be used to create well-organized classrooms. This in-service suite explores how zoning can increase children's engagement and learning.

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This in-service suite describes how to collect and use anecdotal records to document child progress.

Materials for Trainers

Supporting Materials

This zip file contains presentation materials including training videos and handouts. To view or use these materials without internet access, download Collecting and Using Anecdotal Records 15-minute In-service Suite in advance. Please ensure your browser is updated to the newest version available. If you have difficulty downloading this file, try using a different browser.

For more information, please contact us at ecdtl at ecetta dot info or call (toll-free) 844-261-3752.

« Go to Ongoing Child Assessment

Last Updated: October 28, 2021

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Collecting and Using Anecdotal Records | ECLKC

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This in-service suite describes how to collect and use anecdotal records to document child progress.

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15-minute In-service Suite: Implementing a Curriculum Responsively Building on Children's Interests
Narrator: Welcome to this presentation of the 15-minute In-service Suite on implementing a curriculum responsively by building on children's interests. This suite describes how education staff in all program settings can implement curricula and partner with families to provide learning experiences that respond to children's interests. This suite is one in a series of modules that help education staff and home visitors implement a research-based curriculum responsively, building on children's and families' cultures and on children's learning, development, and interests.

The framework for effective practice, or house framework, helps us think about the elements needed to support children's preparation and readiness for school. The elements are the foundation, the pillars, and the roof. When connected to one another, they form a single structure that surrounds the family in the center, because as we implement each component of the house in partnership with parents and families, we foster children's learning and development. This suite supports the left pillar of the house framework, implementing research-based curriculum and teaching practices.

So, why is building on children's interests while implementing curriculum important? Children play an active role in their own learning. When children engage in experiences of interest, they are more likely to demonstrate curiosity and sustain attention for longer periods of time. This helps them engage in deeper explorations. Over time, this intense, deep engagement leads to learning and development across the ELOF domains. Likewise, education staff play an active role in using a curriculum's resources to plan environments, learning experiences, and interactions that respond to children's interests.

Teacher: Usually, Darron, he likes reading books. One or two of them were his favorite books, but as you see, I put different books, and he didn't want it. He said, "No, not this. Not this."

Narrator: To learn about children's individual interests, look at formal and informal observation data and have conversations with families. If you're a home visitor, ask families to share what they have observed about their children's interests. Even the youngest infants show us what interests them. They may turn their heads, looking and listening in the direction of an interesting object or sound, or they may reach for, touch, grasp, and even chew on interesting objects. As infants become more mobile, they may roll, push, or crawl toward objects and people that catch their attention. Older infants may communicate their interest in an object by pointing. Toddlers and preschoolers might express their interest verbally, saying, "That," or, "I want," or, "Can I have?" Children show excitement and curiosity by talking about what interests them throughout their day. When children ask you to repeat the same learning experience, hear the same story, or talk about the same topics, they are showing you what interests them. Teachers and family child care providers use the curriculum's guidance responsively to set up a learning environment that provides children with opportunities for choice, play, exploration, and experimentation. They may also adjust the curriculum's activities or teaching practices to make them more meaningful and engaging for children in their group. Additionally, planning scheduled time for small groups, large groups, and individual interactions helps teachers and family/child providers learn about children's interests. Home visitors collaborate with families to use their home-based curriculum to build on children's interests. For example, home visitors may support families as they communicate during routines and learn about children's interests. Together, home visitors and families may share observations about how children engage when they are interested in objects or topics. Implementing a program's curriculum in ways that respond to children's interests is an ongoing process. The time teachers, family child care providers, and home visitors take to notice children's interests and discuss them with families provides meaningful information that promotes children's learning across domains.

We hope you have new ideas to expand on the ways you learn about children's interests. Use this information to partner with families and to provide environments, learning experiences, and interactions that respond to children's interests. For more information, see the complete 15-Minute suite on implementing a curriculum responsive to children's interests, and take a look at our tips and tools and helpful resources.

This 15-minute In-service Suite describes how education staff can implement a curriculum responsive to individual children's interests. Discover ways to learn about children's interests. Explore how a curriculum provides guidance on the learning environment, learning experiences, and adult-child interactions. Consider ways to use a curriculum's guidance to build on children's interests and promote positive child outcomes.

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Implementing a Curriculum Responsively: Building on Children's Interests | ECLKC

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15-minute In-service Suite: Implementing a Curriculum Responsively Building on Children's Interests Narrator: Welcome to this presentation of the 15-minute In-service Suite on implementing a curriculum responsively by building on children's interests. This suite describes how education staff in all program settings can implement curricula and partner with families to provide learning experiences that respond to children's interests.

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Following the children's lead and balancing time within the classroom schedule between child-directed and teacher-directed activities are not uncommon to those responsible for children's learning in early education classrooms. Intentional teachers are aware of their responsibility to assess student progress, understand skill mastery and plan accordingly to provide opportunities for children to expand their understanding of ideas and concepts important to early childhood development. However, many times as teachers prepare to begin a specific teacher-directed activity, it is unsettling when students begin to veer from the step-by-step plans the teacher has worked hard to implement.

Defining RSPRSP as defined by CLASS is "the degree to which the teacher's interactions with students and classroom activities place an emphasis on students' interests, motivations, and points of view and encourage student responsibility and autonomy." Keywords within this definition that can help teachers understand the importance of RSP in all types of interactions are degree, student, and classroom activities. Teachers know that joining children's play during free choice provides easy opportunities to follow their lead and add to the depth of the activity through questions and participation. The same can be said for teacher-directed activities. By knowing your students and walking through the activity, anticipating student responses and level of engagement, the teacher's ability for flexibility within the activity and opportunities for student expression of their ideas increases. The degree to which this occurs in teacher-directed activities may look different than child-directed activities. However, what this looks like also relies on the understanding of perspective. Defining perspective as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view: true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion (New Oxford American Dictionary), demonstrates that perspective involves attitude and regard. So you may be wondering, "What does this look like?"

Scenario 1Let's take a look at a typical teacher-directed activity. During small group, the teacher has planned to use pictures of animals to have students classify whether the animal is a farm or zoo animal. The teacher holds up a picture of a lion and the students identify it as a zoo animal. The teacher holds up a picture of a horse and the students identify it as a farm animal. The teacher continues until all the animals have been identified. Some children start making animal sounds and the teacher immediately asks the children to stop with a statement such as, "We are only deciding where the animals live, not making noises!" The children comply and continue. Leading the activity in this way, the teacher sticks to her agenda, accomplishing her goal of classification of the animal types. However, she shows little flexibility or student focus, one of the indicators for this dimension.

Scenario 2Taking this same activity, a teacher can increase the degree of RSP, while still meeting the goal.

This time, the teacher tells the children they are going to look at some pictures of animals and decide whether they live on the farm or in the zoo. The teacher passes out a picture to each child, asks them to look at the picture and think about where it lives. She tells the children they will be going to the dramatic play area if they think their animal lives on the farm and to the block area if they think their animal lives in the zoo. As the teacher calls on the children to identify their animal, she asks them about why they think it is a farm or zoo animal (Flexibility and Student Focus and Student Expression) and the children go to the designated areas (some making animal noises and moving like their animal (Restriction of Movement). One child has a picture of a duck and says, "Zoo." The teacher asks why he thinks the duck should go to the zoo. The child responds that he went to the zoo and there were ducks. The teacher tells the child he can decide (Support for Autonomy and Leadership) if his duck is a zoo duck or a farm duck (Flexibility and Student Focus). The child quacks and waddles to the block area (Restriction of Movement). The goal of classification is achieved when there are two groups of children at the end of the activity.

The degree of RSP is increased due to this teacher's attitude toward and regard for the importance of child input within the activity. The second scenario provides evidence of all the indicators included in the RSP Dimension!

What does this mean?Remembering to focus on Regard for Student Perspectives may mean letting go of pre-planned expectations to incorporate ideas offered by students. But, it can also level the playing field when teachers take cues from their student's ideas. It sets the stage for student engagement and learning, positive relationships and increases opportunities for effective interactions.

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What Does Regard for Student Perspectives Look Like in a Teacher Directed Activity?

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Focusing on Regard for Student Perspectives may mean letting go of your expectations about incorporating student ideas. Learn why that's not a bad thing.

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Educators learning about CLASS® are asked to narrate their actions and sportscast their children's experiences in order to support and encourage healthy language development. Hearing this, many may wonder, "Will people think I'm weird if I start talking to myself in the classroom?"

The answer is no. Self- and parallel talk are beneficial strategies for educators to engage in because they strengthen language rich environments and enhance vocabulary development, all while supporting effective relationship building between teachers and children.

What is self-talk?

In self-talk the educator intentionally describes what he or she is thinking, seeing, hearing, touching or doing. In other words, you're linking words to actions: "I'm giving each of you a handful of animal crackers. I am placing the crackers in a pile in the center of your napkins." You're saying these words as you actively pass out the snack, making words like, "handful," "placing," and "pile" come alive for the children.

Self-talk is NOT simply using "I" statements, such as, "I am going to tour the zoo tomorrow and I will feed a giraffe! I love giraffes.'" Why would statements like this be less effective? In this example, a child may not know know the word "tour" or "giraffe." These words are said in an abstract way and not made concrete by mapping them to what the child can currently see or experience.

What is parallel-talk?

In parallel talk, the teacher links words directly to children's current actions or experiences. For example, "You are holding the zipper and zipping your jacket all the way up to your chin." Educators using parallel talk become a sportscaster, narrating a play-by-play account of what the child is seeing, feeling, or doing, making words personalized and meaningful.

Parallel talk is NOT simply using a "you" statement, such as, "You did a good job painting your picture." Why? Because this comment refers to something that happened in the past and does not promote the more powerful connection between a child's real-time experiences and the language that describes these moments in rich, memorable detail.

How can self- and parallel talk be incorporated into your daily schedule?

Take the first step by selecting one part of your daily routine when you can begin to narrate what you and your children are doing during an activity. Try modeling their behavior while describing your actions and pausing for their response, whether it be verbal or non-verbal, and then continuing on with this cycle of communication.

Build relationships! Engage shy, quiet, or non-verbal children by joining them in play and describing both of your actions in a conversational way, focusing on the child's interests, without adding the stress of asking questions or expecting verbal responses. The child will be exposed to personalized language in a relaxed setting and your relationship will be strengthened by sharing an enjoyable activity together.

Tips to increase the effectiveness of self- and parallel talk

Educators should use these strategies in a back-and-forth, conversational way, being careful not to bombard children with details. While maintaining the flow of communication, frequently pause so that children may join in, either verbally or non-verbally.

The purpose of these strategies is to expose children to meaningful language and enhance language development. To increase effectiveness, there should be no requirement for children to respond to or to imitate what is being said when providing self- and parallel talk.

As you practice mapping actions with words, it will soon become a more natural part of your daily routine and both you and your children will enjoy the benefits of enhanced communication in your classroom.

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Using Self- and Parallel Talk to Enhance Communication Skills

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Use our list of tips on how to include more self-talk and parallel-talk into your daily interactions.

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Well organised resources are also easily tidied by the children. Some teachers include photographs of the area illustrating to the children how and where the learning resources should be organised. Children can refer to these photographs to guide them at tidy up time.

The design principles of colour, texture and lighting have a definite impact on the aesthetics of a learning space. There is a growing trend to use natural materials, soft lighting and neutral tones. These soothing elements not only assist you to create a peaceful space, but they allow the children's work and learning to stand out and become the focus.

Neutral colours, soft lighting, textured tablecloths, real and artificial plants, artwork, natural containers like cane baskets and wooden bowls will all help to create an environment where children feel emotionally and physically at ease. To optimise learning, the children must feel safe, relaxed and at ease in the learning environment.

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3 Steps to Setting Up a Learning Provocation - My Teaching Cupboard

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Learning Invitation Versus Learning Provocation There is a difference between a learning invitation and a learning provocation. Many people use these terms interchangeably which is totally acceptable but if you would like to learn about the theoretical differences, head over to this blog post : Wh

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Quick and Easy Notes: Practical Strategies for Busy Teachers

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With so many required assessments, it’s understandable why the word itself may bring up negative feelings for teachers. But understanding the different types of assessment and how you can use them to support your reflection and planning is important.

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This in-service suite shows how schedules and routines help to promote children's learning. Explore guidelines to create a daily classroom schedule that children can learn to follow.

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GLCAP Active Supervision Observation 12.19.19

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Active Supervision Classroom Plan Part 1 and 2

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GLCAP Active Supervision Strategies and Action Steps

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Understanding how to effectively employ Regard for Student Perspectives while maintaining a constructive learning environment can be challenging. In the following paragraphs the fictional preschool professional, Mrs. Jones, will illustrate the indicators of Regard for Student Perspectives at circle time. I'll then discuss her exemplary examples:

At 9:02, Mrs. Jones calls all 22 of her preschool students over for circle time. "Choose a place to sit," she says as she points to the different colored carpet shapes already laid out on the floor.

The children excitedly exclaim, "Oh! I get the pink circle. I want the blue square!"

Mrs. Jones states, "Ok children once you find your spot, find a comfortable way to sit so everyone can see. I see Jessica and Brad are sitting on their bottom." As Mrs. Jones looks around her circle she notices Johnny is sitting on his knees, "Johnny it looks like you are comfortable sitting on your knees, but others can't see, can you sit behind Suzie so others can see?"

Restriction of Movement

Although teachers should have clear behavioral expectations for children, teachers high in this indicator set behavioral expectations that are appropriate for the activity at hand. In this scenario, the children were able to chose where to sit on the carpet, as well as how they wanted to sit. The children were allowed to move freely as long as it didn't interfere with the other children viewing the activity.
Circle time continues:
"Now that we are settled let's sing our Good morning song," says Mrs. Jones.

"Mrs. Jones can we sing a different song?" asks Marco.

Mrs. Jones looks at the clock and knows she is already running late and needs to still get through the days of the week, the weather, read the story, and introduce the activity for the day. She takes a deep breath and says "Sure, Marco we can sing a different song today, what song would you like to sing?"

"Wheels on the Bus!"

Mrs. Jones thinks to herself about how many verses this song has and that she'll never get to all the activities that took her so long to plan. She asks, "Would everyone like to sing Wheels on the Bus?"

"Yes! Yes!" exclaim the children.

Flexibility and Student Focus

In this indicator being flexible and going along with student's ideas does not distract from the lesson but allows the teacher to incorporate the student's interest and ideas into the planned lesson. In this scenario Mrs. Jones' original plan was to sing the regular welcome song, however upon hearing Marco's request she instead was flexible in those plans. She changed the song to follow the children's interests, and incorporated that interest into her circle time activities, even though the length of the song may take away from previously planned activities.

Circle time continues:

"Marco why don't you come up and lead us in singing Wheels on the Bus?" After five verses Mrs. Jones says, "That was a great idea Marco! Can you tell us why you wanted to sing wheels on the bus today?"

Marco replies, "I saw a big blue bus on the way to school today!"

"You did! Tell me more about that bus, what did you like about it?"

"The big wheels and the horn!"

"Does anyone else want to tell me why they like buses?"

"Well because they are so big!" says Connor.

"I like the driver. Honk, honk!" yells Sophie.

Mrs. Jones thinks about what's left on her lesson plan to accomplish during circle time including the weather and storytime. "I was going to read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom today, but since everyone is so excited about buses today, let's read Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. "

"Julian, I know you love that book, can you please walk over to the library and get it for us?"

Support for Autonomy and Leadership

In this indicator the teacher enables children to be as independent as possible within a given activity. In this scenario Marco was able to choose the song and lead the activity of singing 'Wheels on the Bus', and Julian was given a responsibility to get the new book from the library.

Student Expression

In this indicator the teacher is genuinely interested in understanding how the students see the world and in getting them to express these thoughts. In our scenario the students were encouraged to talk about why they liked buses, eliciting their ideas.

Flexibility and Student Focus

Once again Mrs. Jones demonstrates her flexibility by changing her originally planned book of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus , inviting the students to be more autonomous.

Circle time goes on:

When Mrs. Jones finishes the story, she thinks about her initial lesson plan on letters. "How can I incorporate the children's interests of buses into my planned lesson of focusing on the alphabet?"

Thinking on her feet she says, "We have talked a lot today about buses, what letter do you think bus starts with? Ba ba ba..."

"Balloon! Button!" exclaim the children.

"Yes! And on the bus there are windows, what words do you think start with the letter W?"

This continued for a few more letters as long as the children were interested, "D for driver, H for horn.."

As circle time draws to an end, Mrs. Jones says, "While we walk outside why don't we pretend to be a bus driver? How can we do that?" And off they drove to the playground.

Flexibility and Student Focus

During this part of circle time Mrs. Jones is highly flexible by following the students' interests of buses and incorporating her lesson of the alphabet to match their interests.

Student Expression

In this scenario Mrs. Jones listens closely to what the children are saying, and the lesson is not dominated by teacher talk. Children have many opportunities to talk and express their ideas including how they can drive the bus.

Looking deeper into this scenario, notice how the children responded. They were excited, eager to take part in the activities, and they showed genuine enthusiasm for continuing the discussion and play around the bus.

Imagine what the outcome might have been if this teacher was rigid and stuck to her lesson plans, despite what the children wanted to do. Would there have been as much excitement and enjoyment from the activities? Would children be as motivated to sing the song or listen to the story that was selected by the teacher? Most likely not. Although the teacher strayed from her plans and allowed the children to influence how the lesson would proceed, she still managed to incorporate the concept from her original lesson plans in a way that was much more meaningful for the children.

It is also important to note that this teacher had a predetermined plan and desired outcome for the activity. Including Regard for Student Perspectives doesn't mean that we have to throw out all plans or structure, but it does allow for flexibility when a child's interest sparks a new conversation or direction to the lesson. Taking students' interests into account will lead to further engagement which, in turn, leads to happier, more motivated children.

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The Complete Guide to Incorporating Regard for Student Perspectives at Circle Time

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Understanding how to effectively employ Regard for Student Perspectives while maintaining a constructive learning environment can be challenging. In the following paragraphs the fictional preschool professional, Mrs. Jones, will illustrate the indicators of Regard for Student Perspectives at circle time. I'll then discuss her exemplary examples: At 9:02, Mrs.

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Real World Examples: Regard for Student Perspectives

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Real world examples help explain CLASS in ways that bring the content to life. Use these everyday examples to explain Regard for Student Perpsectives.

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New Teacher Support Group Schedule - Genoa, Lucas, PBR, PC