HighScope Preschool Curriculum Book
THE HIGHSCOPEpreschoolcurriculumPREVIEW KIT
Ready for schoolsince 1970For 50 years we have helped children achieve school readiness in all areas of academic andsocial learning using the renowned HighScope approach and curriculum. We help earlyeducators take the learning process beyond traditional academic subjects to foster childcreativity, confidence, and independence to prepare children for success in school and inlife. This approach to early education has been proven to achieve powerful, positive results.Play based, child centered, and grounded in research:Take a closer look at how HighScope can help you make surethat every child enters school ready and eager to learn.WHAT’S INSIDE?Preschool Curriculum. 6Infant-Toddler Curriculum. 10Literacy Resources. 14STEAM Resources. 16Professional Learning Courses. 18Professional Learning Resources. 21Family Engagement. 21Adult-Child Interactions. 22Daily Routine. 23Social-Emotional Learning. 24Inclusion in the Classroom. 25Program Quality Asssessment. 26Child Assessment. 282Shop these resources and more at HighScope.org Press@HighScope.org 800.407.7377
THE HIGHSCOPEPreschoolCurriculumA comprehensive, research-based curriculumcarefully designed to provide a rich academicfoundation and foster child creativity,confidence, and independence.Preschool Curriculum includes:1 The Essentials2 The Learning Environment3 Intentional Planning6Shop these resources and more at HighScope.org Press@HighScope.org 800.407.7377
Three steps to successfulimplementationWe realize that choosing the right curriculum for your programis an important decision. This is why we’ve made it easier thanever to get started using the HighScope Curriculum.With a simplified step-by-step approach, this collection ofcurriculum resources has been thoughtfully created to supportearly childhood educators and ensure that the transition to theHighScope Curriculum is successful and effective.The HighScope Curriculum is filledwith everything teachers love.123THEESSENTIALSTHE edcurriculum resourcesEngaging classroommaterials and supportsDetailed activitieswith practical guidanceNow, your program can immediately begin creating a childcentered learning environment with a high level of engagement,exploration, and enthusiasm.
1PRESCHOOL CURRICULUMTHE ESSENTIALSTogether, these curriculumresources provide the basis forunderstanding HighScope’sfoundational principles, includingactive participatory learning,Plan-Do-Review , positive adultchild interactions, and intentionalteaching to guide and extendchildren’s individual learningthroughout HighScope’s eightcurriculum content areas.nnnThe HighScope Preschool Curriculum 9-book SetKey Developmental Indicator (KDI)Scaffolding ChartsLesson Plans for the First 30 Days, 2nd Ed.Curriculum contents also sold separately at HighScope.org
HighScope Preschool CurriculumProduct code: P1415SETThis set of nine books is a comprehensive curriculum resource that helps teachers, administrators, andearly education students build effective programs around HighScope’s foundational principles. Written in practical terms, it presents updated curriculum content in eight key areas, intentional teachingstrategies for child development programs, and the latest research information on how young childrendevelop and learn. It explores how to create supportive experiences for young children with signatureaspects of the HighScope approach: active learning, plan-do-review, daily routines, and other key features of the HighScope curriculum.Manual and eight key developmental indicator booksISBN: 978-1-57379-659-0HighScope.org
2The HighScope Preschool CurriculumThe word curriculum comes from the Latinword for the course in a running or chariotrace. The HighScope Preschool Curriculumadvances students along a course of developmentas they gain essential knowledge and skills. Theessence of this “course” is the dynamic interactionof an educational philosophy, a body of research,a series of teaching practices, and a set of meaningful learning goals for children. The HighScopePreschool Curriculum and the eight companionbooks in this set (Epstein, 2012a–h) represent theHighScope Educational Research Foundation’sprogress to date in the ongoing work of curriculum development. This introduction describes thecurriculum’s origins, its basic principles, and theevidence of its effectiveness for children, families,and society.Learning in the HighScope Preschool Curriculumbegins with children’s direct and immediate experiences with people, materials, events, and ideas.“Families and communities shapethe context in which children grow,framing children’s most important earlyexperiences and encounters with theirenvironments.”— National Education Goals Panel(Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995, p. 6)Origin of the HighScopePreschool CurriculumAlthough the HighScope Curriculum is now usedin settings serving the full range of preschoolage children, it was originally developed to servechildren at risk of school failure from poor neighborhoods in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1962, David P.Weikart, director of special services for the city’spublic schools, initiated what later became knownas the HighScope Perry Preschool Study. Hedesigned this project in response to the persistentfailure of high school students from the poorestneighborhoods. Over the years, these studentsconsistently scored in the lower ranges on intelligence tests and academic achievement tests.Alarmed by these trends, Weikart searched forcauses and cures. He concluded that the low IQscores reflected inadequate learning opportunitiesin the schools these students attended rather thanlimited innate intelligence.A series of committees including elementaryschool principals, social workers, and psychologists looked for practical programs that theDivision of Special Services could implement tocounteract this pattern of school failure. A reviewof child development research published in thelandmark book Intelligence and Experience (Hunt,1961) suggested that early intervention with threeand four-year-old children held the promise ofreversing this negative trend. Influenced by thisview, committee members eventually proposed apreschool education program for the at-risk children. Typical nursery schools of the day focused
Introduction: The HighScope Approach to Preschool Educationon social and emotional growth. However, committee members believed that the curriculum inthe proposed program should also address children’s intellectual development to better preparethem to succeed in school.Because this was an innovative proposition,there was some question as to whether and howsuch a program would work. To test the program’sefficacy right from the start, Weikart and his teamrandomly assigned children from the target lowincome neighborhood to two groups, one whowould have the preschool experience and anotherwho would have no preschool experience. Ina subsequent project, the HighScope PreschoolCurriculum Comparison Study, the program’s effectiveness was also compared to two other models— the traditional nursery school approach and adirect instruction program. (See “Evidence of Effectiveness,” on p. 7 for results from both studies.)The team further agreed on three basic criteria for the development of an effective preschoolcurriculum: A coherent theory about teaching and learning must guide the curriculum developmentprocess. Curriculum theory and practice must supporteach child’s capacity to develop individualtalents and abilities through ongoing opportunities for active learning. The teachers, researchers, and administratorsmust work as partners in all aspects of curriculum development to ensure that theory andpractice receive equal consideration.For half a century, the HighScope PreschoolCurriculum has held true to these founding criteria, even as it evolves to encompass the latestknowledge from theory, research, and practice.The curriculum was originally based on the writings of Jean Piaget and his colleagues (Piaget &Inhelder, 1966/1969), and the progressive educational philosophy of John Dewey (1938/1963).Action plus reflection equals learning — HighScopeteachers create opportunities in the daily routinefor children to reflect on and talk about their playexperiences.Since then, HighScope has drawn on the work ofLev Vygotsky (1934/1962) and other “constructivist” models, which maintain that children actively“construct” their understanding of the world basedon their experiences and social interactions, ratherthan just passively receiving knowledge and skillsfrom adults. The curriculum has also been updatedusing findings from contemporary cognitive-developmental research and recent brain research (seechapter 1).1The Central Principles ofthe HighScope PreschoolCurriculumThe diagram on the next page, “The HighScopePreschool Wheel of Learning,” illustrates the curriculum principles that guide HighScope preschoolteachers in their daily work with children. Thissection briefly introduces each component of thewheel; subsequent chapters discuss each of theseprinciples in greater detail.For a complete description of the history and evolution of the HighScope Preschool Curriculum, see Hohmann, Weikart, andEpstein (2008, pp. 3–5).13
4The HighScope Preschool CurriculumThe HighScope Preschool Wheel of LearningActive participatory learningThrough active participatory learning — having direct experiences and deriving meaning fromthem through reflection — young children construct knowledge that helps them make sense oftheir world. The power of active learning comesfrom initiative. Young children act on their innatedesire to explore; they ask and search for answersto questions about people, materials, events, andideas that arouse their curiosity; they solve problems that stand in the way of their goals; and theygenerate new strategies to try.As children follow their intentions, theyengage with the curriculum’s content as identifiedin the key developmental indicators (KDIs).KDIs are child behaviors that reflect developingmental, emotional, social, and physical abilities.(See pp. 28–29 for the full list of preschool KDIs.)KDIs occur during children’s creative, ongoinginteractions with people, materials, events, andideas, for example, when they are planning (KDI2), expressing emotions (KDI 9), using gross-motorskills (KDI 16), speaking with adults and peers(KDI 22), measuring (KDI 36), involved in pretendplay (KDI 43), exploring the natural and physical world (KDI 51), and participating in classroomdecision making (KDI 55).The extent to which adults support children’sinitiative and understand children’s actions interms of the KDIs determines the adults’ success inimplementing the HighScope Curriculum. Clearly,active learning experiences influence every aspectof our work with children and form the core ofthe preschool curriculum.
Introduction: The HighScope Approach to Preschool EducationAdult-child interactionActive learning depends on positive adult-childinteractions. Mindful of the importance of providing a psychologically safe climate for younglearners, adults using the HighScope preschoolapproach strive to be supportive as they converse and play with children. Throughout the day,guided by an understanding of how preschoolchildren think and reason, they practice positiveinteraction strategies — sharing control withchildren, focusing on children’s strengths, formingauthentic relationships with children, supportingchildren’s play, and adopting a problem-solvingapproach to social conflict. This interaction styleenables the child to freely and confidently expressthoughts and feelings, and to experience truepartnerships with adults in play and conversation.Adults rely on encouragement and use a problem-solving approach to deal with everydayclassroom situations rather than a child-management system based on praise, punishment, andreward.Learning environmentBecause the physical environment has a powerful impact on the behavior of children andadults, the HighScope Curriculum places a strongemphasis on planning the layout of the programsetting and selecting appropriate materials. Thisactive learning environment provides childrenwith ongoing opportunities to make choices anddecisions. Thus, adults organize the play spaceinto specific interest areas to support preschoolchildren’s abiding interest in such activities as sandand water play, building, solving puzzles, pretendplay, drawing and painting, reading and writing,counting, sorting, climbing, singing, and moving.The interest areas contain a wide and plentifulassortment of easily accessible materials children can use to carry out their play ideas. Natural,found, commercial, and homemade materialsprovide many opportunities each day for childrento engage with curriculum content in creativeand purposeful ways. Adults arrange storageRather than manage children from a distance, adultsin HighScope programs interact with them whereverthey are and at their level.for materials using low shelves, clear boxes, andlabels children can understand (using pictures andsimple words), so they can independently find,use, and return the items they need.Daily routineIn addition to arranging the setting, adults alsoplan a consistent daily routine that supportsactive learning. The routine enables young children to anticipate what happens next and givesthem a great deal of control over what they doduring each part of their preschool day. TheHighScope preschool daily routine includes theplan-do-review process, which enables children to express their intentions, carry them out,5
6The HighScope Preschool Curriculumlarge-group time both children and adults initiatemovement and music activities, story reenactments, and cooperative play and projects. Througha common daily routine focused around opportunities for active learning, children and adults builda sense of community.AssessmentThe layout of the classroom, and the materials in it,are carefully planned because of their strong impacton what children learn.and reflect on what they have done. Adults setthis process in motion by asking an appropriatequestion, such as “What would you like to do?”Children indicate their plans, then carry themout — for just a few minutes or for as long as anhour. Pretending, building block structures, anddrawing are common child-initiated activities during the “do” period, after which adults encouragechildren to review their experiences. The childrenmay talk about what they have done or expressthemselves by demonstrating, drawing, or writing.Opportunities for adult-guided group experiencesare another consistent feature of the routine. Atsmall-group time children explore and experiment with new or familiar materials adults haveselected based on their daily observations of children’s interests, the KDIs, and local events. DuringIn HighScope settings, assessment includes arange of tasks to observe, document, evaluate, andcontinually strive to improve interactions with children, families, and coworkers. Teamwork built onsupportive adult relationships forms a solid basefor adults doing this work together. Each day theteaching team members gather accurate information by observing and interacting with childrenand taking daily anecdotal notes based on whatthey see and hear. Before the children arrive,after the children leave, or while the childrenare napping, teaching team members engage indaily planning sessions in which they share theirobservations of children, analyze the observationsin terms of the KDIs, and make plans for the nextday. Periodically, the team uses the observationsrecorded in their daily anecdotal notes to complete individual child assessments with CORAdvantage (Epstein et al., 2014). Supervisors andteachers also periodically complete a programassessment using the Preschool Program QualityAssessment (PQA; HighScope, 2003a) to look atthe effectiveness of their curriculum implementation, relationships with families, professionaldevelopment, and overall program management.These five basic principles — active learning,positive adult-child interactions, a child-friendlylearning environment, a consistent daily routine,and team-based assessment — form the framework of the HighScope Curriculum. This bookelaborates on each of these principles. The othereight books in this set, the KDI companion books,provide detailed information on how adults canuse these principles as they support the development of the knowledge and skills identified by theKDIs in each of the eight curriculum content areas.
Introduction: The HighScope Approach to Preschool EducationAssessment that is grounded in children’s everyday experiences in the classroom is a key element of HighScopeprograms. This teacher observes carefully as the child ties another length of twine to his stick creation. Later she willadd an anecdotal note and a photo of the finished project to his assessment portfolio.Evidence of EffectivenessOver the years, researchers have tested the validity of the HighScope approach to preschooleducation, gathering longitudinal data in both theHighScope Perry Preschool Study and the HighScope Preschool Curriculum Comparison Study.Between 1989 and 1992, HighScope researchersalso investigated the effectiveness and outcomesof the HighScope teacher-training model in theHighScope Training of Trainers Evaluation. Inaddition, independent studies have looked at theeffectiveness of the HighScope Curriculum relativeto other program models. This section reviews theresults of these research initiatives and explainshow the HighScope approach to preschool education produces lasting benefits for children,families, educators, and society.Findings of the HighScope PerryPreschool StudyData on the effects of the curriculum in theHighScope Perry Preschool Study come frominterviewing and reviewing the records of the123 students who participated in the preschoolintervention project from 1962 to 1967 (Schweinhart et al., 2005). In addition to informationgathered directly from the students over theyears (participants were age 40 at the time of theirmost recent interviews), research staff also examined their school, social services, and arrest records.They found major differences favoring the 40-yearolds who had been enrolled in the active learningpreschool program (see graph, opposite page). Social responsibility. By age 40, 36 percentof preschool program group members had7
8The HighScope Preschool Curriculumbeen arrested five or more times as comparedwith 55 percent of the no-preschool programgroup, and fewer had been arrested for violentcrimes (32 percent vs. 48 percent), propertycrimes (36 percent vs. 58 percent), and drugcrimes (14 percent vs. 34 percent). Earnings and economic status. At age 40,more of the program group than the no-program group were employed (76 percent vs. 62percent), and the program group had highermedian annual earnings than the no-programgroup ( 20,800 vs. 15,300). At age 40, moreof the program group owned their own homes(37 percent vs. 28 percent), owned their owncars (82 percent vs.
teachers create opportunities in the daily routine for children to reflect on and talk about their play experiences. 1For a complete description of the history and evolution of the HighScope Preschool Curriculum, see Hohmann, Weikart, and Epstein (2008, pp. 3–5).
Alignment of The HighScope Curriculum and COR Advantage . With . Colorado Academic Standards for Preschool . This document aligns the content in the Colorado Academic Standards for Preschool with thelearning objectives of the HighScope Curriculum for preschool and the developmental milestones of HighScope's child assessment tool, COR Advantage. Based on more than 50 years of research on .
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