Fixing the Opportunity Gap to Close the Achievement Gap

Hello Friends,

Here's an article from Education Week. It speaks to what it would take to close the achievement gap which the authors interpret as an opportunity gap. It encourages us to think more broadly about how poor children can be successful in school. It requires more than excellent teachers  for children to soar.

Fixing the 'Opportunity Gap' to Close the Achievement Gap

What are your thoughts about this article? Does it relate in any way to the children in your care? Let's talk!

 

America’s staggering education gap

Hello Friends,

Here's an interesting article in Salon about how better prepared kindergarteners, from higher income families, do once they enter K. The gap between lower income and middle income is growing at an alarming rate and the poorer/lower income children are paying the price for it.

America’s staggering education gap

Do you see any evidence of this gap in the children in your care? Let's talk!

More on Numbers and Operations

Hello Friends,

Counting

In order to count, young children will need to  learn: number sequence, one-to-one correspondence,  and that the last number called when counting objects (a set) tells how many are in the set.

Children usually learn the first numbers 1-20 by rote. Number names like eleven, twelve, and thirteen don't follow a typical pattern like twenty, twenty-one, etc--these can be hard for children to learn and remember.

One-to-one correspondence means that a number name is given to one and only one object in a set that is being counted. The cardinal number is the last number called when all the objects in a set have been counted. That last number tells HOW MANY. When a child counts 4 dinosaurs, she says, "I have 4 dinosaurs" and she doesn't start to count all over again.

Number Sense

One of the first number ideas that a child displays is the understanding of how many are in a set. Children eaasily develop a sense of number about objects in a small set. Children can look at a group of objects and know how many without even counting. This is called subitizing. Children usually develop their understanding of quantity by counting how many in a set or making a certain set of objects.

 

Comparisons 

When comparing two sets, children can tell by looking which one is bigger or smaller. At an early age, children can say "one or two more". Fewer or less is not usually in the young child's vocabulary so she will likely say "littler" or "not as much". These words mean the same as fewer or less.

I'm sure you are teaching all of these concepts in your classrooms. Tell us how you do it. Let's talk.

 

Recompetition and Head Start

Hello Friends,

The Office of Head Start has not come right out and identified the programs that will loose their grant. This has got to be a nervous time for employees and families waiting to hear what the end result will be. How do programs get into such a predicament? What do you think about recompetion?

Let's talk!


Head Start Tight-Lipped on Which Centers to Lose Aid

Young Children and Numbers and Operations

Hello Friends,

Number concepts are often highlighted in the early childhood classroom. Number concepts should be emphasized when teaching math concepts to young children. Numbers and operations involve nine different concepts:

• Counting
• Number Sense
• Comparisons (more or less)
• Order
• Numerals
• Combining operations (adding)
• Separating operations (subtracting)
• Sharing operations (dividing)
• Set Making (multiplying) 

In the next post, I will unpack each of these concepts and explain the teacher's role in developing the skills in these areas in young children. How do you teach counting to young children? Do you think it's necessary to teach these as isolated concepts? Let's talk!

How Do We Engage Parents?

Hello Friends,

Here's a terrific article from Education Week on how to engage parents where they are? Lots of good information here about how the needs of all families are not the same. So our approaches cannot be the same. What do you think about this article? Let's talk!
You can access the article here:

Parents Need Differentiated School Engagement, Study Finds

Secretary Duncan on Preschool Expansion

Hello Friends,

Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, wrote this great article about the value of preschool edcuation and how it can benefit our society.  The headline of the opinion post is: High Quality Preschool is a Sure Path to the Middle Class

   http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/arne-duncan-high-quality-preschool-is-a-sure-path-to-the-middle-class/2013/04/18/9fa194ee-a629-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story_1.html

 

I found this opinion piece very interesting! After you read it, let me know what you think. 

       

More on the President's Plan for Expansion of Preschool Education

 

Hello Friends,

 

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education,talked quite a bit this past week about the President's plan for the expansion of preschool education. The information below is from the Department of Education Blog.

Obama Administration Budget Makes Major Investment in Early Learning

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Jonathan Schorr

Studies prove that children who have rich early learning experiences are better prepared to thrive in school. Yet the United States ranks 28^th in the world for the enrollment of 4-year-olds in early learning, and 25^th in public investment in preschool. Only 3 in 10 children attend a quality preschool program. Doing better is more than just a moral and educational imperative; it’s smart government: a public dollar spent on high-quality preschool returns $7 through increased productivity and savings on public assistance and criminal justice. From a growing number of voices, including from the recently concluded work of the Equity and Excellence Commission, the call has been clear to expand quality early learning in the United States.

To help all children begin school on a level playing field, the President has put forward in his 2014 budget request an historic new investment in early learning that would make preschool available to all 4-year olds from low-income families. The core elements of this proposal are:

• Preschool for All ($75 billion over 10 years). This investment would support grants to States for the implementation of high-quality preschool programs that are aligned with elementary and secondary education systems. The Department would share costs with States to provide universal access to high-quality preschool for children from low- and moderate-income families and provide incentives for States to serve additional middle-class families.

• Preschool Development Grants ($750 million). This program would provide grants to States to carry out activities that would build state capacity for implementing high-quality preschool programs, and expand model programs at the local level. The Department would provide competitive grants to States with preschool systems at various stages of development that are planning to provide universal access to high-quality preschool for four-year-old children from low-and moderate-income families to carry out the activities needed to successfully serve four-year-old children in high-quality programs.

The administration also requests funding to increase or maintain key investments in a number of programs that seek to improve outcomes for young children, especially for those with high needs:

• Early Intervention Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities ($463 million, $20 million more than the fiscal year 2013 amount). These formula grants help States implement statewide systems of early intervention services for all eligible children with disabilities and developmental delays from birth through age two and their families.

• Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities ($373 million). These formula grants help States make a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment available to all children with disabilities ages three through five to help ensure that young children with disabilities succeed in school.

The Department of Health and Human Services is also investing in young children by requesting significant increases in funding for programs that include Head Start, Early Head Start and the Child Care and Development fund

How will these plans for preschool expansion fly--what do you think?

Developing Reading Skills in Young Children

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

— Emilie Buchwald

Did you know that some researchers feel that there is a genetic basis for reading? In addition, the foundation for oral language skill development is laid during the infant and preschool years. Children should be able to accurately perceive and produce speech sounds as this is the basis for understanding the relationship between sounds and letters. Understanding oral language is directly related to written language comprehension and writing.

 

Emergent literacy skills and particularly phonological awareness skills form a bridge between the child's developing oral language and the acquisition of written language competence. Here's some information on emergent/early literacy skills:

• Phonological awareness-- awareness of the sounds of language. This is perhaps the best predictor of reading ability. Can children rhyme; determine the number of syllables in a word, etc.

• Letter identification--Children recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet
• Concepts about print-- Developed by New Zealand educator Marie Clay, concepts about print (CAP) refers to what emergent readers need to understand about how printed language works and how it represents language. Successful beginning readers develop concepts about print at an early age, building on emergent literacy that starts before formal schooling. (This is why talking to young children--oral language development is so important!)
• • Print carries a message. Even when a child "play reads" text using pictures and memory, the child demonstrates an understanding of this concept, even if she cannot read the words, or reads them backwards or front to back.
  • Books are organized, with a cover, title, and author, and reading in English flows in a particular and consistent direction, left to right and top to bottom. When young students successfully point to or otherwise track the print as someone reads aloud, they demonstrate their understanding of orientation and directionality.
  • Printed language consists of letters, words, and sentences. The emergent reader gradually learns to distinguish between these forms, learns the concepts of "beginning" and "end," and understands punctuation that marks text (e.g., period, comma, and question mark).
  • Recognition of matching or upper- and lower-case letters, as well as some common spelling sequences, are slightly more complex concepts of print mastered by more experienced beginning readers.

What are you doing to develop early literacy skills for the children in your care? How do you encourage parents in their role as their child's first teacher? Let's talk!

Talking to Young Children About the Boston Tragedy

   

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” - Mr. Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

  Chances are that the children in your care may have heard something from the news, from classmates, or overheard adults talking about yesterday’s tragic events at the Boston marathon.  Overheard comments or conversations can cause a child to be in fear for his or her  safety. Yesterday's events highlight the importance of talking to children.  

Listen to your child: 

If your children are asking questions take the time to talk with them calmly and honestly.  Most importantly, do not force children to talk about things until they are ready.  If they ask you about the bombings, ask them what they think happened and what they heard.  This way you will be able to clarify any misleading information or confusion and reassure them that they are safe

.
Answer their questions: 

Be sure to keep your answers developmentally appropriate and limit how much information you share.  Younger children need brief and simple information but mostly need reassurance that they are safe.  Like Mr. Rogers’ mother, quoted above, focus on the positive.  Instead of concentrating on yesterday’s terrible events, mention how quickly the police responded or how Bostonians opened their homes to cold and hungry runners.  This will help reassure the children.

Recommend that parents monitor screen time:

Caregivers probably cannot control what children hear or see when they are not with you but parents can monitor at home.  Parents should use an online newsfeed to prevent children from seeing disturbing images on the TV.  Repetitive traumatic photographs may scare the child.  There are many online resources both parents and caregivers can use to help young children if they are asking about the Boston Marathon.  Here are a few:

• Child Care Aware of America 
• Washington Post’s The Answer Sheet
• Save the Children’s Tips for Talking to Your Child about a Crisis
• Talking to Children about Terrorism and War from The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Information on the President's Plan for Pre-K

Hello Friends,

Today I am sharing some information, from the National Women's Law Center in Washington, DC, that describes the new plans to enhance service for prekindergarten children from low and moderate incomes. In order for these plans to come to fruition, they will have to get through the Congress. How easy will that be?

These plans are exciting! What do you think will actually happen? Will the prekindergarten experience be made available for more children?

Will it be kindergarten watered down?

Let's talk!

Here's the fact sheet:

http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/presidentsproposalfactsheet.pdf

Here are the plan's questions and answers:

http://www.nwlc.org/resource/president-obama%E2%80%99s-plan-early-education-questions-answers

 

Language Development in Young Children

Hello Friends,

Have you noticed that Early Childhood seems to be on the minds of many in recent days from President Obama down? There was a great article in the New York Times today on the differences in language development between poor children and their more affluent peers. The article emphasizes the importance of the development of oral language for all children and addresses how one study shows how poorer moms can be taught to talk to their children more to decrease the gap. We hear so much about the achievement gap and just think, it starts with very young children. 

The Times article can be accessed here:  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/the-power-of-talking-to-your-baby/?ref=opinion

What are your thoughts about language development in young children and how it affects skill development?