Parents

1
WELCOME

• Parents
• Child Care Providers
• Preschool Teachers

TO CKS EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL READINESS MEETING
2
AGENDA

• Welcome and Introductions
• (Dr. Hertica Martin, Elementary Director, Office
  of Teaching and Learning)
• Introducing the WA State Voluntary Early Learning
  Development Benchmarks (Gail Gillis,
  Curriculum Specialist)
• Small Group Activity Benchmarks exploration
• Who Wants to be a Millionaire Benchmarks
  Edition
• Sharing/Questions (Dan King Keith Lyum, Child
  Care Providers Preschool Teachers)

3
What are Benchmarks and why do we need them?

• Benchmarks are used as a basis of comparison in
  measuring or judging capacity, quality, value,
  or quantity.

4
Benchmark Example

• The weight a child should achieve at birth to be
  considered healthy.

5
What are Early Learning and Development
Benchmarks?

• Define what children should know and be able to
  do.
• Example Four-year-old children will be able to
  state name, where they live, parents
  names, and sibling names
• Note These are usually observable in
  childrens behavior or verbal
  interactions

6
Five Dimensions (Domains) of Development

• In each, we specify what children know and are
  able to do
• Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor
  Development
• Social and Emotional Development
• Approaches Toward Learning
• Language, Literacy, and Communication
• Cognition and General Knowledge

7
What are the Washington State Benchmarks ?

• Provides the basis for an integrated approach to
  learning/a source document
• Describes some key expectations for what children
  should know and be able to do, birth to
  kindergarten entry
• Addresses five domains of early childhood
  learning and development
• Provides a voluntary guide to support all those
  who are raising, caring for, and teaching young
  children

8
What the Washington State Benchmarks are Not !

• They are not designed to be
• an exhaustive guide to child development
• a developmental checklist
• a curriculum guide
• the basis for teacher credentialing
• an assessment tool to collect statewide
  information regarding childrens development
• an assessment tool to make high stakes decisions
  about individual childrens placements or entry
  to kindergarten

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How to Read the Document
Domain Language, Literacy, and
Communication Sub-Domain Language
Domain Component Oral Language Goal Children
use oral language for a variety of purposes
60 months to Kindergarten Indicator Enjoys
listening to stories from diverse
cultures Strategies When telling stories from
different cultures, highlight aspects of the
story that might be interesting for child
Birth to 18 months Indicator Enjoys listening
to oral stories Strategies Tell stories
to child
18 to 36 months Indicator Requests to hear
stories Strategies Set aside time daily to
engage in storytelling with child
36 to 60 months Indicator Tells a short make-
believe story with assistance Strategies
Encourage child to create make-believe stories
and write them down as child tells the story
out loud
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Small Group Activity

• Choose a Domain, Sub-Domain, Goal
• Language of the domain clear/accurate?
• Items that you particularly like?
• Items that you would like everyone to look at
  carefully?
• Ideas for implementation?

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• WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

Early Learning Development Benchmarks
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Lets play

• WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

Early Learning Development Benchmarks
13
100
Are the Early Learning Development Benchmarks
Voluntary?

• C Absolutely not!

• A Of course.

• B Maybe.

• D Who cares?

14
200
Who are a childs first and most important
teachers?

• C Preschool

• A Kindergarten

• B Parents

• D Peers

15
300
Which of the following is NOT a Domain of the
Early Learning Benchmarks?

• C

• A

Financial planning for retirement
Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor Development

• B

• D

Language, Communication, and Literacy
Social and Emotional Development
16
500
In addition to the previous three, what are the
two remaining domains of the Early
Learning Benchmarks?

• C

• A

Cognition and General Knowledge AND Approaches
Toward Learning

• Calculus AND Nuclear Physics

• B

• D Alphabet AND Counting

Hopscotch AND Dodgeball
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1,000
The Benchmarks are intended to

• A

link early development to later success in
school and life by aligning the Benchmarks with
the EALRs and K-3 GLEs

• C

contribute to a unified vision for the early
care and education system in Washington State
promote reasonable expectations and practical
strategies for parents and those who care for and
teach young children to support their learning
and development.

• B

• D All of the above.

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2,000
What period of life is characterized by the most
rapid development?

• C 10 - 15

• A Birth - 5

• B 5 - 10

• D 15 - 20

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4,000
Which of the following is not the END of a
critical stage of development in the Early
Learning Benchmarks?
Dont forget your lifelines!

• C 36 months

• A 18 months

• B 24 months

• D 60 months

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8,000
Which of the following will the Early Learning
Benchmarks NOT do?

• C

• A

Provide some simple play and learning activities
that adults can use to enhance childrens
development.
Provide teachers with a learning continuum that
will help ease childrens transition from one
stage of development to the next.

• B

• D

Serve as an assessment tool to make high stakes
decisions about individual childrens placements
or entry to kindergarten.
Help parents better understand what they can
expect to see as their children develop.
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16,000
How is diversity acknowledged and celebrated
within the Early Learning Benchmarks?

• C

• A

The ages indicated for achieving each of the
indicators are broad guidelines to when and
how children will achieve the indicators.
The indicators and strategies incorporate
modifications for diverse children.

• B

• D

Children with special learning needs may
accomplish the indicators in a time span that is
different from that indicated in the Benchmarks.
All of the above.
22
According to the guiding principles, the content
of the Benchmarks should
32,000

• C

• A

acknowledge and respect childrens cultural
and linguistic differences.
recognize that young children are active
learners.

• B

• D All of the above.

recognize that children acquire skills from
multiple teaching approaches and diverse
environments.
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64,000
The Benchmarks should be aligned, where
appropriate, to existing education benchmarks
in Washington state, including

• C

• A

EALRs, GLEs, Head Start Framework outcomes
Whats a benchmark?

• B

• D

ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP
SAT, ACT AP
24
125,000
For every goal within a Domain, Two types of
information are provided under each age
category. These items include

• C

• A

Indicators for children
Recommended TV programs

• B

• D

Strategies for caregivers
A B
25
250,000

• Within Domain I, under Gross Motor Skills
• Put these indicators for children of Strength And
• Coordination Of Large Muscles in order of
• Birth 18 months
• 18 months 36 months
• 36 months 60 months
• 60 months Kindergarten Entry

• C Rolls over

• A

Hops forward on one foot

• B Walks backwards

• D Skips with skill

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500,000
Which of the following is an example of a
Strategy for Caregivers within a Domain in the
Benchmarks?

• C

• A

Signals own needs with sounds or motions
Seeks peaceful resolution to conflict

• B

• D

Establish a procedure for taking turns and
explain that each child will have a turn.
Begins to control impulses
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1,000,000
What role do the Early Learning Benchmarks play
for child care providers?

• C Both A B

• A

A guide for what children should know and be able
to do at critical stages of development.

• B

• D None of the above.

A resource for play and learning activities
targeted to specific stages of development.
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Congratulations
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THE END