RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENTSTANDARDS
RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENTSTANDARDSTHESE EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS ARTICULATE SHAREDEXPECTATIONS FOR WHAT YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD KNOWAND BE ABLE TO DO. FURTHER, THEY PROVIDE A COMMONLANGUAGE FOR MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARD ACHIEVINGSPECIFIC LEARNING GOALS. (Kendall, 2003; Kagan & Scott-Little, 2004)
TABLE OF CONTENTSAcknowledgements. 2Physical Health and Motor Development.12Rationale. 3Intended Use. 3History. 4Social and Emotional Development.20Language Development. 27Guiding Principles. 5Essential Practices. 6Organization of The Standards. 8Literacy.34Cognitive Development.43Outline of The Standards. 10RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDSMathematics.48Early Learning and Development StandardsScience.54Social Studies. 58Glossary.64Creative Arts.61Citations.69INTRODUCTION1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe Rhode Island Board of Education adopted the Rhode Island Early ChildhoodLearning and Development Standards on May 23, 2013. The Race to the Top – EarlyLearning Challenge grant provided funds for the revision and expansion of thestate’s early learning and development standards.Charting the Course for Success: Rhode Island’s Early Childhood Learning andDevelopment Standards were made possible by many dedicated individualsgiving countless hours to the project. We are grateful for the multitude of earlychildhood stakeholders: The RI Early Learning Council (ELC), ELC Early Learningand Development Standards Subcommittee, family child care providers, child careadministrators and teachers, Head Start, providers participating in BrightStars,We must also recognize those who were instrumental in drafting multiple versionsof the early learning and development standards:Consultants and National Experts:The Core Team:RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDSRIDE Pre K, public school, and special education programs and parents whoprovided input and made recommendations that enriched the level of content andquality of the standards. Rhonda Farrell of the Rhode Island Head Start Association,and Colleen Dorian of Family Child Care Homes of Rhode Island deserve specialrecognition for arranging the many public feedback sessions. Special thanks toLeslie Gell from Ready to Learn Providence and Simmy Carter and Bryna Hebertof the Providence Center for ensuring the voice of the Spanish speaking earlychildhood community was incorporated into these standards.Kristen GreeneRhode Island Department ofEducationBrenda DuhamelRhode Island, Office of Health andHuman ServicesClancy BlairProfessor of Applied Psychology,New York UniversityMichele PalermoRhode Island Department ofEducationSara MickelsonRhode Island Department ofEducationSusan Dickstein, PhDBradley Hospital Early ChildhoodCenter/Brown Medical SchoolRhode Island Association for InfantMental HealthJudi Stevenson-GarciaRhode Island Department ofEducationDouglas H. ClementsKennedy Endowed Chair in EarlyChildhood Learning and Professor,University of DenverLinda EspinosaProfessor of Early ChildhoodEducation (Ret.) University ofMissouri, ColombiaKathleen HebbelerManager of the Community Servicesand Strategies Program,SRI InternationalRuth GallucciRhode Island Department ofEducationJeffrey CapizzanoPolicy Equity GroupCatherine Scott-LittleAssociate Professor, HumanDevelopment and Family Studies,University of North CarolinaDorothy StricklandSamuel DeWitt Proctor Professorof Education Emerita, Rutgers, TheState University of NJKaren AndersonEducation Development Center, IncJackie BourassaEducation Development Center, IncLinda KimuraDirector, Babies Can’t WaitVisit www.rields.comOr scan this code with your devicefor our mobile-friendly version.INTRODUCTION2
RATIONALEFrom birth, children are curious and motivated to learn. Asthey grow and learn, their brains change dramatically, especially during the firstthree years of life. These changes are influenced by genetics and environmentalexperiences (including relationships and physical conditions) as children developin realms of thinking, speaking, behaving, and reasoning. (Kupcha-Szrom, 2011; Center onthe Developing Child, 2012)By interacting with their world, young children make discoveries, figure out howthings work, try out new behaviors, learn social rules, and solve problems. Highquality early learning and relationships enhance their development in every way:social, cognitive, linguistic, artistic, and physical. When they actively exploreenvironments and materials, children build concept knowledge and thinkingskills. When they are able to develop nurturing and supportive relationships withcaregivers (their parent or other primary caregiver, adult family members, andother familiar adults), childcare providers, and teachers,* they are also laying asolid foundation for learning. (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004) Earlydevelopment across all domains secures this foundation for a child’s later successin school and in life. (Maine Department of Education, 2005)Early learning standards articulate shared expectations for what young childrenshould know and be able to do. Further, they provide a common language formeasuring progress toward achieving specific learning goals. (Kendall, 2003; Kagan &Scott-Little, 2004) Charting a Course for Success in the Ocean State: Rhode Island’sEarly Learning and Development Standards (hereafter, The Standards) outlinesearly learning expectations at key benchmarks, from birth to 60 months of age.INTENDED USEEarly learning is the foundation of Rhode Island’s entireeducational system. The Standards will serve several purposes in thestate’s early childhood part of that system. First and foremost, these revisedstandards will guide early care and education practices, such as curriculumand assessment choices, to ensure children receive every opportunity to makeprogress in the designated learning domains. These standards also can supportthe understanding among caregivers and family members** of key early learningmilestones. Additionally, the standards inform primary grade teachers of theeducational trajectory of the state’s youngest learners so that these teachers areeven better prepared to serve all children.The following guidance clarifies the intended use of The Standards:How to Use These Standards To guide early educators in the development of curriculum To inform families about learning milestones To provide a framework for implementing high-quality early childhoodprograms To promote optimal early learning trajectories into kindergartenHow NOT to Use These StandardsRI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS As specific teaching practices or materialsWhile presented in a stand-alone document, these standards should not beconsidered in isolation. They comprise one key element of the state’s early learningsystem has and have been strategically designed to work in conjunction with otherparts of the system—assessment, curriculum, professional development, programstandards, and workforce competencies. The Standards are designed to promotehigh-quality care and education for the state’s youngest children, including thoseat risk for entering kindergarten without adequate foundations for success. Inthis way, the document serves as a valuable resource to the entire early care andeducation community.* A child’s teacher is anyone invested and involved in the child’s learning: parents, caregivers, therapists,and doctors, as well as preschool and school teachers** A child’s primary caregiver may be a parent but also may be a relative or someone outside the biologicalfamily. For purposes of simplicity, this document uses the word “family” to mean that person (or persons)who has assumed the primary responsibility of caring for and raising a child. As a checklist of competencies As a stand-alone curriculum or programThis core, or master, set of standards articulates comprehensive educationalexpectations for children from birth to five years of age; they have been derived fromthe latest research and public input. The Rhode Island Department of Education willoffer ongoing technical assistance and resources to help administrators, teachers,and families understand and implement them.INTRODUCTION3
HISTORYThis document extends RhodeIsland’s 2003 early learningstandards, which were originallycreated by the state’s EarlyChildhood Task Force. The 2003RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDSstandards were based on the then-latestresearch on child development and learning,and they provided clear and strators on what children should knowand be able to do by the time they enterkindergarten. The 2003 standards were ofexceptionally high quality and thus providedthe foundation for the revisions.Island’s early childhood stakeholders to articulate this new set of early learning anddevelopment standards that meet or exceed nationally recognized criteria and thatare uniquely adapted for the children and families in the state.These standards extend educational expectations to infants and toddlers, and theyare integrated with preschool early learning standards to create a seamless birthto-60-month continuum. The infant and toddler standards are set forth with thefollowing important considerations, which are relevant to all early learners:Rhode IslandEarly LearningStandards2003Since 2003, the field of early learning has seendramatic advances. For example, the NationalEarly Literacy Panel (2008) and National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) havepublished groundbreaking reports that summarize the scientific literature on thedevelopment of literacy and mathematical skills in very young children. The Centerfor the Developing Child at Harvard University has also stimulated advancementsin the field by articulating the key components of executive functioning—a set ofskills that lay the foundation for adaptive, goal-directed thinking and behavior thatenable children to override more automatic or impulsive actions and reactions.At the same time, Head Start and Early Head Start have adopted new nationalstandards (2007), and most states have endorsed the K–12 Common Core StateStandards for English language arts and mathematics. Rhode Island’s revised earlylearning and development standards incorporate principles from these scientificadvances and national-level indicators. E arly learning occurs within the context of nurturing relationships; it is onlythrough consistent and secure early relationships that children feel safeenough to explore their environments and learn. Play—especially with adultsand with other children—is a key element for early learning and a primaryvehicle through which young children begin to understand themselves inrelation to others and to orient themselves to the world and to the delightof learning. Strictly defined, it is any freely sought activity that is pleasing tothe “player.” It can be physical (bouncing up and down or riding a tricycle),imaginative (playing “peek-a-boo” or “dress-up”), creative (building withblocks or drawing pictures), social (acting out a dramatic episode), or mental(daydreaming). And it can be any combination of these. Paradoxically, play isthe most important work of childhood. E arly learning is integrated across all areas of development; and while specificdomains of learning are identified, each area of learning is influenced byprogress in others. As well, each child may progress at different rates in eachof the domains. Finally, while learning is sequential—starting simple (concrete)and becoming more complex (abstract)—development unfolds in fits andstarts. Early learning is rooted in culture and supported by the family.In 2011, Rhode Island was one of nine states to be awarded a federal Race to theTop Early Learning Challenge grant, which provided the state with the resourcesto revise its early learning standards. The Rhode Island Department of Educationand the Executive Office of Health and Human Services worked collaborativelywith national experts, Rhode Island’s higher education community, and RhodeINTRODUCTION4
GUIDING PRINCIPLESThe principles that guided The Standards are set forthbelow and divided into two areas. The first set of principles articulatesSeveral additional principles and considerations guided the development of therevised early learning and development standards:values that the state holds true for the implementation of all early learning anddevelopment standards in early childhood programs. These principles are outlinedin the original standards document published in 2003 and repeated here: While The Standards represent expectations for all children, each child willreach the individual learning goals at his or her own pace and in his or her ownway. R espect and the well-being of children and families will be given the highestpriority in the organization and planning of community actions. T he Standards are appropriate for all children, birth to 60-months, includingchildren who are dual language learners and children with disabilities. P olicymakers will take into consideration and be knowledgeable about theeducation, care and support of children and families when developing andassessing legislation, regulation, and funding of programs for young children. T he Standards represent the expectations for children’s learning anddevelopment and are to serve as a guide for selecting curriculum andassessment tools. F amilies will be respected and supported as partners in the education anddevelopment of their child. I n order to meet The Standards, individual children will require different typesand intensities of support across domains. T eachers, families, and children will use play as a way to develop the wholechild, generate knowledge of the larger world, and support the developmentof qualities for lifelong learning. T he Standards are aligned with the K–12 Common Core State Standards andthe Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. E ducators will base their decisions upon current knowledge of predictablesequences of child development and how children learn, the differences amongchildren and families, and subjects that are related to the interests of children.RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS C hild development theory will be the foundation for teaching—recognizing thatlearning is sequential, dependent upon experience, and based on knowledgeof the whole child, including the child’s culture and individual characteristics.The revised early learning and development standards feature one notablechange from Rhode Island’s 2003 standards: The Standards now embed play asan important aspect of learning throughout the document. As such, play is nottreated as a specific standard to be met but as the primary means by which childrendemonstrate early learning accomplishments. It is through play that children learnthe skills, knowledge, and dispositions that help support their success in laterschooling. This philosophy is emphasized throughout the document. A ll children will be regarded and respected as competent individuals whodiffer in their learning styles, their home environments, and the ways that theyunderstand and represent their world. C hildren will learn in an environment where their physical and psychologicalneeds are met so they feel safe, feel valued as unique individuals, and areengaged actively in acquiring new skills and knowledge. A child’s sense of responsibility to self and others will be best supported whenteachers shape the learning environment in ways that support the developmentof an involved citizenry. E ducational programs will be developed in partnership with families, teachers,and the community in order to inspire children to acquire knowledge, buildnew skills, seek challenges, and develop as citizens.INTRODUCTION5
ESSENTIAL PRACTICESThe Standards represent expectations for young children’slearning and continual growth in all areas: intellectual,physical, and emotional. Updated and expanded, they are grounded infoundational knowledge about how young children develop and learn. Researchconfirms that successful approaches to supporting early learning are based onknowledge of the whole child, including a child’s individual strengths, characteristics,and culture; that learning is dependent upon experiences; that developmentaldomains are interconnected; that relationships and play are fundamental toa children’s learning; and that the intentionality of teachers and caregivers cangreatly enhance growth and development.RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDSEducating all children: All children differ in their intellectual, physical, andemotional abilities and potential; and children frequently develop at different rates.Some require a great deal of time and support, (Rhode Island Department of Education, 2012)while others are fiercely independent. Regardless of a child’s pace of developmentor inherent capacity, research has confirmed that the earliest years are the mostcritical, particularly for any child who might be struggling: “There is an urgent andsubstantial need to identify as early as possible those infants and toddlers in needof services to ensure that intervention is provided when the developing brain ismost capable of change.” (NECTAC, 2011) Children with disabilities: The Standards represent expectations for allchildren. However specific timelines and indicators may need to be adapted forindividual children, particularly those with disabilities. Some children may needmore individualized or more intensive instruction than others in order to makeprogress. Other children may require accommodations to their environment,or they may need adaptive or assistive technology in order to participate inlearning experiences that promote progress. Teachers need to understandthat all children should be provided with a variety of ways to demonstratewhat they know and can do. Differentiating instruction and individualizing itsintensity and frequency through a data-based, decision-making process* willensure that all children are meeting these important early learning standards. Supporting children who are dual language learners: In Rhode Island, theethnic diversity within communities also means that young learners bringa wide range of linguistic experiences to their early care and educationsettings. Children who speak a language other than English in their homes andcommunities have varying levels of exposure to and competence in Englishwhen they enter early care and education programs. While confirming theimportance of supporting these children to learn English, The Standards alsocl
RI EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT . STANDARDS. INTRODUCTION. 2 The Rhode Island Board of Education adopted the Rhode Island Early Childhood Learning and Development Standards on May 23, 2013. The Race to the Top – Early . Learning Challenge grant provided funds for the revision and expansion of the state’s early learning and development .
learning and development standards incorporate principles from these scientific advances and national-level indicators. In 2011, Rhode Island was one of nine states to be awarded a federal Race to the . Top Early Learning Challenge grant, which provided the state with the resources to revise its early learning standards.
Creating Early Learning Environments OVERVIEW OF PLAY AND EXPLORATION: EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM GUIDE Play and Exploration: Early Learning Program Guidewas distributed to the early learning and child care sector in the spring of 2008. The Guide is a resource for early childhood educa- tors to promote high quality, age-appropriate, play-based learning experiences for young chil-
Is early learning embedded in multiple sections of the state plan in a way that demonstrates the state’s goals, policy agenda, and priorities around early learning? 2. Integrating early learning into school improvement: If early learning is a key part of elementary school improvement strategies, schools will be more likely to succeed
1.5.2 Reaching families most in need of parenting and early learning support 1.5.3 What do we know about parental involvement in early learning in ECEC and school settings? PART 2: CASE STUDIES OF GOOD PRACTICE 2.1 Outcomes and learning about parental involvement in Early Learning from Bernard van Leer Foundation supported projects and initiatives
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The OECD has launched the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study, recognising the impact that children’s early learning has on later life outcomes. The goal of the study is to provide robust empirical data on children’s early learning through a broad scope of domains that comprise cognitive and social and emotional development.
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