Resource - High/scope In The Elementary Classroom
Resource - High/scope In The Elementary Classroom
Resource - High/scope In The Elementary Classroom
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HIGH/SCOPE<br />
ReSource<br />
FALL/WINTER 2008<br />
A M A G A Z I N E F O R E D U C A T O R S<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope in<br />
the <strong>Elementary</strong><br />
<strong>Classroom</strong><br />
Getting Schools Ready<br />
for Children<br />
Real Science<br />
in Preschool
<strong>High</strong>-Impact<br />
Benefits<br />
<strong>High</strong>-Energy<br />
<strong>In</strong>teraction<br />
<strong>High</strong>-Level<br />
Professionalism<br />
<strong>High</strong>-Priority<br />
<strong>In</strong>volvement<br />
Become a <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Member and Save on<br />
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<strong>High</strong>lights of the Program<br />
By joining the <strong>High</strong>/Scope ® Membership Association you<br />
become part of a self-selecting group of professional<br />
educators. And you affiliate yourself with a leader in<br />
educational programs and research.<br />
<strong>In</strong> a very real sense, you’re not just a member –<br />
you’re a partner.<br />
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and special events, about the latest research findings<br />
and the most advanced educational tools.<br />
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As a token of our appreciation, you’ll receive a free gift.<br />
Special <strong>High</strong>/Scope merchandise available to<br />
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Most important of all, you’ll be in the loop, in the know, and as<br />
involved as you want to be with an organization that has been<br />
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Check our Web site at www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org for specific<br />
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HIGH/SCOPE<br />
FALL/WINTER 2008<br />
Re So u r c e<br />
A M A G A Z I N E F O R E D U C A T O R S<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope in<br />
the <strong>Elementary</strong><br />
<strong>Classroom</strong><br />
Getting Schools Ready<br />
for Children<br />
Real Science<br />
in Preschool<br />
Contents<br />
Vol. 27, No. 2/Fall/Winter 2008 ISSN 0897-2007<br />
Features<br />
<strong>In</strong>terview: Exploring “<strong>The</strong> Sandbox <strong>In</strong>vestment” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6<br />
A conversation between <strong>High</strong>/Scope President Larry Schweinhart<br />
and author and universal preschool advocate David Kirp.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope in the <strong>Elementary</strong> School <strong>Classroom</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10<br />
A <strong>High</strong>/Scope trainer and consultant shares her experiences using the<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope approach at the early elementary level. by Sarah Fewson<br />
From Preschool to Ready School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17<br />
Using <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Ready School Assessment (RSA) data to support<br />
the preschool-elementary continuum. by Marijata Daniel-Echols<br />
Departments<br />
Letter From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4<br />
From Dr. Larry Schweinhart, <strong>High</strong>/Scope President<br />
What’s New @ <strong>High</strong>/Scope? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5<br />
News on the foundation’s latest products and projects.<br />
Teacher’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20<br />
An excerpt from <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s new book, Real Science in Preschool:<br />
Here, <strong>The</strong>re, and Everywhere, for early childhood teachers. by Polly Neill<br />
FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23<br />
How many anecdotes are enough? by Karen (Kay) Rush<br />
Products & Services for Educators<br />
Training @ <strong>High</strong>/Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Professional Development Programs — 2009 . . . . . . . .26<br />
New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29<br />
Ordering <strong>In</strong>formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>High</strong>/Scope Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover<br />
HigH/SCoPE RESoURCE<br />
ReSource is a guide to the activities, products,<br />
and services of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Foundation.<br />
It is published two times each year<br />
by <strong>High</strong>/Scope Press, a division of<br />
the foundation. <strong>High</strong>/Scope is a<br />
registered trademark and service mark<br />
of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Foundation.<br />
Director of Publications<br />
Nancy Altman Brickman<br />
nbrickman@high<strong>scope</strong>.org<br />
Editors<br />
Joanne Tangorra (Magazine Editor),<br />
Jennifer Burd, Marcella Weiner<br />
Publications Assistant<br />
Katie Bruckner<br />
Director of Marketing<br />
and Communications<br />
Kathleen Woodard<br />
Marketing Specialist<br />
Kacey Beach<br />
Design<br />
Wagner Design<br />
Graphic Artist<br />
Kazuko Sacks, Profit Makers LLC<br />
Order Fulfillment<br />
Jana Federer, Sherry Barker<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Press<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Educational Research Foundation<br />
600 North River Street<br />
Ypsilanti, MI 48198-2898<br />
734/485-2000, Fax 734/485-0704<br />
Web site: www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org<br />
© 2008 <strong>High</strong>/Scope Foundation.<br />
Permission to reprint ReSource articles<br />
must be obtained from the publisher.<br />
To download individual articles,<br />
go to News & <strong>In</strong>formation on our Web site.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 3
LETTER FRoM THE PRESiDENT<br />
Dear Readers:<br />
This electronic<br />
issue<br />
of ReSource<br />
gives special<br />
attention to<br />
the early elementary years. Unlike programs<br />
for younger children, early elementary<br />
programs are firmly institutionalized<br />
in public and private schools. <strong>The</strong> challenge<br />
of early elementary programs is<br />
that they contribute to all aspects of children’s<br />
development — not only language,<br />
literacy, and mathematics, but also character<br />
and social skills, creativity, the arts,<br />
and physical development.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s general early elementary<br />
work today focuses on ready schools. We<br />
have developed and validated the Ready<br />
School Assessment (RSA) to serve as<br />
the basis of a school’s improvement plan<br />
to become a ready school. <strong>The</strong> RSA is<br />
based on the research-based definition<br />
of a ready school developed in 1998 by<br />
a group commissioned by the National<br />
Education goals Panel (NEgP). it looks<br />
at how ready schools smooth the transition<br />
and strive for continuity between<br />
homes, early care and education programs,<br />
and elementary schools. it also<br />
looks at how ready schools do what all<br />
good schools do, such as being commit-<br />
HigH/SCoPE BoARD oF DiRECToRS<br />
Sharon Adams-Taylor<br />
Associate Executive Director,<br />
American Association of School Administrators, Arlington, VA<br />
Julie Biddle<br />
Dayton Satellite Center for Accelerated Schools,<br />
University of Dayton, Dayton, OH<br />
Libia Socorro Gil<br />
Senior Fellow, American <strong>In</strong>stitutes for Research, Washington, DC<br />
David Gleason<br />
President, Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, Franklin, TN<br />
Ed Greene<br />
EM GREENE Associates, <strong>In</strong>t’l., Princeton, NJ<br />
ted to the success of every child and<br />
teacher, using effective approaches to<br />
raise achievement, serving children in<br />
communities, and having strong leadership.<br />
our field test of the RSA involved<br />
71 elementary schools in 17 states.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Education Through<br />
Movement program is well developed<br />
and widely disseminated at the early<br />
elementary level. <strong>The</strong> program provides<br />
a framework of developmentally appropriate<br />
activities and teaching practices<br />
for each early childhood age level. <strong>The</strong><br />
four components of the movement-based<br />
active learning process are key developmental<br />
indicators (KDis) in movement<br />
and music, the movement core, the teaching<br />
model, and active learning support<br />
strategies. Phyllis Weikart, Karen Sawyers,<br />
and their colleagues have spread<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Education Through Movement<br />
program throughout the United<br />
States and in other countries.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s early elementary roots<br />
are in the federal Follow Through project,<br />
which operated from 1968 to 1995.<br />
in this project, <strong>High</strong>/Scope applied its<br />
curriculum principles to the early elementary<br />
grades and helped selected<br />
school districts serving low-income<br />
children across the country use the approach.<br />
our Follow Through research<br />
showed that the <strong>High</strong>/Scope active learning<br />
approach and teaching practices improved<br />
children’s school achievement<br />
at the early elementary level. After the<br />
Follow Through project was completed,<br />
the Bureau of indian Affairs supported<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope teaching practices in elementary<br />
schools on reservations from<br />
1996 to 2000. Several other enterprising<br />
elementary schools around the country<br />
have continued to use the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
early elementary approach. <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
institutes in Mexico, the Netherlands,<br />
and indonesia support schools in their<br />
countries that use <strong>High</strong>/Scope at the<br />
early elementary levels and beyond,<br />
even through high school.<br />
As early childhood programs become<br />
more widespread and established, they<br />
become more engaged with elementary<br />
schools. <strong>The</strong>ir relationship with the<br />
schools becomes more critical to their<br />
success and to the success of the schools.<br />
Both early childhood programs and the<br />
schools must stretch to embrace their<br />
common challenge of contributing to<br />
children’s development to their fullest<br />
potential.<br />
Larry Schweinhart, President<br />
James Hawkins<br />
Superintendent of Schools, Ypsilanti, MI<br />
Donal O. Moore<br />
Vice President, Automotive Sales,<br />
Polytech Netting <strong>In</strong>dustries, <strong>In</strong>c., Icking, Germany<br />
Richard Pagac<br />
President, Pagac & Company, P. C., Bloomfield Hills, MI<br />
Forum for Youth <strong>In</strong>vestment, Washington, DC<br />
Alberto Rodriguez<br />
Senior Education Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean,<br />
World Bank Group, Washington, DC<br />
Janell Shain<br />
<strong>Elementary</strong> School Principal and Coordinator of Preschool–12th Grade<br />
District Staff Development, Ralston Public Schools, Ralston, NE<br />
THE HIGH/SCOPE FOUNDATION is an independent, nonprofit organization founded by David Weikart in Ypsilanti, Michigan. <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s mission is to lift lives<br />
through education by engaging in curriculum development, research, training, and publishing and communication.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 4
What’s New News<br />
NEW!<br />
Real Science<br />
in Preschool<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
announces the<br />
publication of<br />
Real Science in<br />
Preschool: Here,<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, and Everywhere the latest title in<br />
our Teacher’s Idea Book Series. This book<br />
offers an overview of early science learning and<br />
helps teachers to recognize and support the six<br />
behaviors — evident in children’s play — that<br />
are part of the preschool scientific method: observing,<br />
classifying, experimenting, predicting,<br />
drawing conclusions, and communicating ideas.<br />
For more on this book, see page 29.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope has partnered with the<br />
Copyright Clearance Center to offer a variety<br />
of options for reproducing <strong>High</strong>/Scope publications.<br />
See Permissions & Reprints on our<br />
Web site for detailed information<br />
on how to easily obtain<br />
permission to reproduce<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope materials.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Copyright Clearance<br />
Center (CCC) now has 85<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope titles listed in<br />
its database.<br />
Ideas From the Field<br />
Here’s a new opportunity for <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
teachers to share their favorite small-group-time<br />
plan with their colleagues! Through Ideas From<br />
the Field on <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s eTools Forums,<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope highlights innovative small-group<br />
activities developed by early childhood teachers.<br />
If you have a great activity for small-group<br />
times, <strong>High</strong>/Scope wants to hear about it. You<br />
can easily submit your idea online; just go to the<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Web site<br />
(www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org)<br />
and type in “Share<br />
Your Activities” in the<br />
search box to find the<br />
form to submit. If your<br />
idea is chosen, you not<br />
only get the chance to<br />
see your idea posted on <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Web site<br />
but you’ll also receive a $15.00 gift certificate to<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s online store.<br />
Be sure to check the eTools Forums page<br />
for the most recent small-group activity that you<br />
can use in your classroom. If you have questions<br />
or need additional information, please contact<br />
Marcella Weiner at mweiner@high<strong>scope</strong>.org.<br />
Parent Newsletters and<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Fact Sheets<br />
Are you looking for an affordable and easy<br />
way to inform parents about child development<br />
and the <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach? <strong>High</strong>/Scope has<br />
the solution — You & Your Child newsletters<br />
and All About <strong>High</strong>/Scope fact sheets that you<br />
can download as PDF files and reproduce as<br />
many times as you<br />
need for 90 days.<br />
You & Your Child<br />
newsletters address<br />
specific topics of<br />
interest to parents,<br />
such as reading,<br />
writing, mathematics,<br />
and communication,<br />
and include<br />
support strategies<br />
for parents to use<br />
at home. Each<br />
newsletter contains<br />
photos and content<br />
that is easy for<br />
parents to read<br />
and understand.<br />
@<strong>High</strong>/Scope?<br />
on the foundation’s<br />
latest projects and products<br />
Written in easy-to-understand<br />
language, All About <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
fact sheets are ideal for informing<br />
parents about the key aspects of<br />
the <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach and for<br />
on-site teacher training. All About<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope fact sheets cover<br />
topics such as <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
educational approach, active learning, adultchild<br />
interaction, the daily routine, and conflict<br />
resolution.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se products are an updated version of<br />
You & Your Child and All About <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
printed materials and are available in this more<br />
convenient and less expensive format so that<br />
you can choose the specific newsletter or fact<br />
sheet you need. To order, visit the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
online store at www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org.<br />
OnlineCOR Up & Running!<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
online Child Observation<br />
Record<br />
(COR) system has<br />
officially moved<br />
to its new site at<br />
OnlineCOR.net.<br />
Former <strong>High</strong>-<br />
Scope.net users<br />
will be automatically<br />
redirected to<br />
the new site, managed by <strong>High</strong>/Scope and its<br />
technical partner, Red-e-Set Grow. <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
welcomes both existing and new customers to<br />
OnlineCOR.Net, where they will find many new<br />
features, including user-defined fields that will<br />
allow administrators to meet reporting requirements<br />
specific to their individual programs;<br />
greater flexibility in setting report periods based<br />
on individual program start dates; fully integrated<br />
OSEP (Office of Special Education Program)<br />
Reports; and more.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 5
iNTERviEW: DAviD KiRP<br />
Exploring<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Sandbox<br />
investment”<br />
AN INTErvIEw wITH DAvID KIrP<br />
T<br />
he following interview is excerpted<br />
from a conversation<br />
that took place between <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope President Larry Schweinhart<br />
and author David Kirp before an audience<br />
of educators at <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational Conference in Ypsilanti,<br />
Michigan in May 2008. An advocate<br />
of universal preschool education, Mr.<br />
Kirp was the keynote speaker at the<br />
event, where he discussed his latest<br />
book <strong>The</strong> Sandbox <strong>In</strong>vestment: <strong>The</strong><br />
Preschool Movement and Kids-First<br />
Politics. He also has written and edited<br />
books on topics such as AIDs, race<br />
and gender, public education, and civil<br />
liberties, and he has been a guest on<br />
numerous radio and television shows,<br />
including National Public Radio’s All<br />
Things Considered.<br />
Larry Schweinhart: <strong>The</strong> first question<br />
is, how did you get into this business?<br />
David Kirp: i was walking on a<br />
beach one day with a friend, a pediatrician-turned-researcher,<br />
who told me<br />
about this fabulous research showing the<br />
long-term effects of preschool. This was,<br />
of course, Lifetime Effects: <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40<br />
[2005]. i got on an airplane and flew out<br />
here. Larry [Schweinhart] and everyone<br />
at <strong>High</strong>/Scope were extraordinarily<br />
generous with their time. i got to sit<br />
in at the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Demonstration<br />
Preschool and go out and meet with<br />
some of the folks from that fabled Perry<br />
sample. i came away amazed.<br />
At about the same time, my then-<br />
sister-in-law was struggling to find a<br />
decent preschool for her daughters. She<br />
had two choices: one was an out-of-thebox-for-profit<br />
preschool, sort of stripped<br />
to the walls; the other option was the<br />
nice-mom-down-the-street who had<br />
about 20 kids running around. When<br />
i read the little signs [she had created]<br />
on her walls and noticed her spelling<br />
mistakes, i thought, “i don’t know what<br />
kind of education these kids are going<br />
to get.”<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was a gap between what i had<br />
read about and seen here in Ypsilanti and<br />
what was really going on elsewhere that<br />
got me into the questions of my book.<br />
David Kirp’s hope is<br />
that preschool will<br />
become a powerful<br />
first step in a larger<br />
phenomenon he calls<br />
“kids-first politics,”<br />
and he talks about<br />
turning that “warmand<br />
fuzzy” notion into<br />
a concrete reality.<br />
LS: David, your book title has three<br />
parts to it: “<strong>The</strong> Sandbox investment,”<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Preschool Movement,” and “Kids-<br />
First Politics.” Can you unpack that title<br />
a bit?<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 6
iNTERviEW: DAviD KiRP<br />
DK: <strong>The</strong>re’s also a fourth element.<br />
if you look at the cover, what you’ve got<br />
is a bunch of kids in caps and gowns at<br />
a preschool graduation — they’re all<br />
wearing their little colored sneakers and<br />
jeans under their gowns. it’s this play<br />
between this hyper-adult — maybe even<br />
adult-inflicted — seriousness with the<br />
kids’ part of the story. <strong>The</strong> “sandbox<br />
investment” is meant to say something<br />
about the fact that, on the one hand —<br />
“sandbox” stand ing in for little kids —<br />
we really are talking about all the potential<br />
they have. i don’t like the images of<br />
kids as “sponges” or “vessels.” You’ve all<br />
work ed with kids — they crawl around,<br />
climb on counters, get into people’s<br />
business. Where would “vessel” fit on<br />
your list of images for children? Kids<br />
are explorers, and sandboxes are one<br />
kind of small world and place in which<br />
they can explore.<br />
“It really is true<br />
that the brain is<br />
enormously pliant<br />
during the early<br />
childhood years.<br />
Early experiences<br />
matter a lot, and<br />
skill . . . begets skill.”<br />
And why sandbox “investment”?<br />
Because so much of the attention surrounding<br />
preschool, for better and for<br />
worse i would say, has come because<br />
you take the long-term studies like Perry<br />
and they get translated into returns on<br />
investment. [<strong>The</strong> economic return to<br />
society of the Perry Preschool Program<br />
was $16 per dollar invested.] And that<br />
becomes a way of getting the attention<br />
of folks like police chiefs, DAs, legislators,<br />
Ben Bernanke at the Federal<br />
Reserve — people who aren’t going<br />
to get the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum but<br />
are really going to get the concept of<br />
a return on investment for society.<br />
And what do i mean by “kids-first<br />
politics”? Preschool is a great thing. it’s<br />
an important experience for kids if it’s<br />
done well, but it’s certainly not the only<br />
thing John Dewey’s [the influential educational<br />
reformer] best and wisest parent<br />
would want for children. Start with all the<br />
concerns of a mom during her pregnancy,<br />
and work your way through high-quality<br />
child care, health care, food, housing,<br />
and other issues. Perry Preschool was a<br />
great program, and it got the attention of<br />
the lawmakers and the business community,<br />
but it’s not enough. My hope is that<br />
preschool becomes a powerful first step<br />
in a larger phenomenon that i call kidsfirst<br />
politics, and i say a fair amount in<br />
my book about trying to make that less<br />
of a warm-and-fuzzy notion and more of<br />
a concrete reality.<br />
LS: one of the things that’s sort<br />
of surprising is that there has been this<br />
takeoff of the preschool movement,<br />
particularly in the last five to ten years.<br />
Why now? <strong>The</strong> economy isn’t very<br />
strong. What’s different? What’s making<br />
things happen?<br />
DK: in terms of the research, it’s<br />
all come together. To borrow a tired<br />
metaphor, there’s “a perfect storm” of<br />
research. You’ve got the long-term studies,<br />
like Perry, the Abecedarian Program<br />
[North Carolina], and the Chicago Child-<br />
Parent Center [CPC] Program, all show-<br />
���������������������������<br />
ing huge benefits for the kids who participated<br />
— benefits that come from<br />
high-quality programs that have welltrained<br />
teachers and involve parents. So<br />
there’s that research.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n, the economists come along<br />
and translate that research into dollarand-cents<br />
terms, which gets people’s<br />
attention.<br />
And then there’s all that research<br />
from neuroscience, which is very compelling.<br />
it really is true that the brain is<br />
enormously pliant during the early childhood<br />
years. Early experiences matter a<br />
lot, and skill — to borrow a phrase from<br />
Chicago economist [and Nobel Laureate]<br />
Jim Heckman — really does beget skill.<br />
So early childhood research — really<br />
good research — together with economics<br />
and brain research, are factors in<br />
this movement.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n there’s another factor, which is<br />
that organizations like the Pew Charitable<br />
Trusts, based in Pennsylvania, and<br />
the [David and Lucile] Packard Foundation<br />
[in California] decide not to behave<br />
like play-it-safe foundations. <strong>The</strong>y’re<br />
going to behave like social marketers<br />
and spread the gospel, and they’ve trained<br />
a network of really good advocates.<br />
Politicians begin to get the message, and<br />
all of a sudden we have someone like<br />
Tim Kane in virginia — a centrist Democrat<br />
— and what platform does he run<br />
on? Roads and preschool. For the governor<br />
of illinois [Rod R. Blagojevich], it’s<br />
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www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 7
iNTERviEW: DAviD KiRP<br />
all about universal child health care and<br />
preschool. And these turn out to be winning<br />
issues.<br />
My typical day on the road [while<br />
doing the research for the Sandbox <strong>In</strong>vestment]<br />
would be talking to someone<br />
like Jim Heckman or some neuroscientist<br />
or politician — really interesting<br />
folks — in the afternoons. i’d spend the<br />
mornings hanging out with kids, crouching<br />
in preschools across the country.<br />
<strong>The</strong> kids were really much more fun<br />
than the grownups. But i will say this:<br />
the work that i saw was unbelievably<br />
impressive. i saw small miracles being<br />
worked all the time, and having said that<br />
i also want to say, it’s not enough. Unless<br />
you [educators] get good about influencing<br />
the political process — where the<br />
money is — and unless you organize effectively<br />
to do something about all the<br />
budget cuts, you’re doing only half the<br />
work for those kids.<br />
if you ask legislators, they’ll tell you<br />
that lobbyists for kids have historically<br />
been among the least effective. Why?<br />
Because they’ve used “teddy-bear” politics<br />
rather than a sophisticated sharpedged<br />
appeal that politicians are going<br />
to hear — what Jim Hunt [former governor<br />
of North Carolina] calls the<br />
“smart politics of the heart.” When you<br />
talk about early childhood, there’s no<br />
politician who deserves more honor and<br />
recognition than Jim Hunt who for 30<br />
years, and still ticking, has been doing<br />
important work on behalf of little kids.<br />
“Smart politics” is very much what that<br />
story is about.<br />
What Pew Trusts did was to teach<br />
and train people to not simply have<br />
good hearts but to be effective as lobbyists,<br />
to know how to build coalitions<br />
and how to get people to talk to each<br />
other. i spent a lot of time in Texas.<br />
That group was able to do amazing<br />
things to get money. <strong>The</strong> combination<br />
of research, plus foundation support,<br />
plus activism, really changed the landscape.<br />
Research alone would have just<br />
sat there — the activists alone wouldn’t<br />
have had anything to work with. it’s that<br />
combination that works — and i can’t tell<br />
you how many times Perry Preschool<br />
and <strong>High</strong>/Scope show up in those conversations.<br />
LS: You’re seeing the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Difference banner right up above our<br />
David Kirp delivered the keynote address at a lunchtime gathering of attendees at <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />
Conference last May.<br />
heads, and here we are in Ypsilanti,<br />
Michigan. i want to acknowledge Jim<br />
Hawkins, the Superintendent of Ypsilanti<br />
Public Schools, one of the successors of<br />
the superintendent who gave permission<br />
for the Perry project to take place in the<br />
first place. i’d like to try to pull that particular<br />
piece out. What if <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
and the Perry Preschool Study never<br />
existed. How would things have been<br />
different in early childhood?<br />
“Unless you [educators]<br />
get good about<br />
influencing the political<br />
process — where<br />
the money is — and<br />
unless you organize<br />
effectively . . . you’re<br />
doing only half the<br />
work for those kids.”<br />
DK: When i first heard the story of<br />
Perry, i thought there were two really<br />
amazing things about this piece of<br />
research. one is that David Weikart<br />
[<strong>High</strong>/Scope founder] had the wit and<br />
wisdom to realize that the effects of<br />
education weren’t limited to education.<br />
Most education research measures education<br />
outcomes. Well, great, and there<br />
were great education outcomes, and you<br />
know the data: kids significantly less<br />
likely to be left back, or to be in special<br />
ed, more likely to graduate from high<br />
school, more likely to go to college.<br />
That’s great. But very few people had<br />
thought about things like the effect of<br />
early education on health, income,<br />
crime, and welfare. What’s the effect<br />
of early education on the likelihood<br />
that a kid is going to end up in jail or<br />
in prison? That was the first amazing<br />
thing to me about this piece of work.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second amazing thing is that it<br />
has gone on and on and on, following<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 8
iNTERviEW: DAviD KiRP<br />
the original sample of people. Politicians<br />
now have no patience for this, so what<br />
we have are a lot of really short-term,<br />
really narrowly-focused cognitive studies.<br />
A long-term study now might only<br />
go as far as third grade. But, in fact, a<br />
lot of the interesting effects that came<br />
out of the Perry study began to emerge<br />
after that point. So we’re not going to<br />
see those effects in the short-term studies<br />
we have now, A) because of the impatience<br />
of politicians, and B) because<br />
of the fetishizing of a very narrow range<br />
of learning skills.<br />
As many of you know, there were<br />
a number of other studies going on and<br />
“We’re not going<br />
to have Head Start<br />
round two....But what<br />
I’m hoping we have is<br />
an infusion of money<br />
tied to high-quality<br />
standards for pre-K<br />
education.”<br />
a number of other dreamers out there<br />
like Dave Weikart who believed in the<br />
infinite potential of kids, but Perry was<br />
really the gold standard study. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
wasn’t going to be another one like it.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was also some luck along in<br />
this process. Down the road at Michigan<br />
State, there was a young economist<br />
named Steve Barnett, who — like Dave<br />
Weikart — thought that the way to get<br />
this idea out into the world was to look<br />
at costs and benefits. And economists<br />
got interested in the study when the high<br />
school graduation figures came out, because<br />
high school graduation is one of<br />
the things that labor economists care<br />
about. And then when Perry started getting<br />
return-on-investment figures, and<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope repeated the study all the<br />
way to age 40 — that was and is a<br />
remarkable piece of work. <strong>The</strong>re is<br />
nothing out there like it.<br />
LS: Certainly Head Start has always<br />
reflected the preschool movement and<br />
its growth over the years, but it’s really<br />
been in many ways a state-by-state movement.<br />
Which states would you say have<br />
been the most noteworthy and really out<br />
there in front?<br />
DK: When i looked around, i didn’t<br />
see the usual candidates — the familiarly<br />
socially progressive states. Which states<br />
are the big success stories? oklahoma is<br />
one — all because of a little tweak in<br />
the finance formula; instead of school<br />
beginning at age 5, it begins at age 4.<br />
[in 1996, oklahoma made kindergarten<br />
available to 4-year-olds, providing children<br />
with one year of state-funded preschool.]<br />
That change set in motion this<br />
incredible dynamic, and there much of<br />
the program — there’s no state in which<br />
all of the preschool dollars go to public<br />
schools — is pre-K through elementary.<br />
Pre-K teachers are not treated as child<br />
care workers, who get paid $8.50 an<br />
hour and have one of the highest turnover<br />
rates of any field in the country.<br />
Preschool teachers in oklahoma get the<br />
kind of salaries that spell “respect.”<br />
North Carolina and other states have<br />
this great program [Smart Start] that<br />
trains preschool teachers and child care<br />
workers who come back after training<br />
and get higher salaries. in the last three<br />
years, they’ve cut the turnover rate from<br />
45 percent to 22 percent. Decent salaries<br />
and decent teacher training makes a<br />
huge difference in the lives of those kids.<br />
Where else? Arkansas, under Mike<br />
Huckabee. West virginia, Tennessee,<br />
georgia — a bunch of states where there<br />
was somebody, whether a politician,<br />
someone in the bureaucracy, or some<br />
combination of that plus outside support,<br />
recognizing that they needed to do something,<br />
that they were going to strengthen<br />
the civic vitality and the economic<br />
vitality of that state by providing highquality<br />
pre-K education.<br />
it’s really a mistake to think about<br />
this as a partisan issue. Just think about<br />
the ohio gubernatorial election last time<br />
around. <strong>The</strong>re was a right wing African<br />
American Republican candidate [Ken<br />
Blackwell] and pretty left center Democrat<br />
[Ted Strickland] running. Both of<br />
them were on the bandwagon for preschool,<br />
because the advocates had convinced<br />
both of them that this wasn’t<br />
about being a Republican or a Democrat,<br />
but about the kids.<br />
Washington is never going to be the<br />
big player in the story. We’re not going<br />
to have Head Start round two; we’re not<br />
going to have some big ambitious federal<br />
program. But what i’m hoping we have is<br />
an infusion of money tied to high-quality<br />
standards for pre-K education — money<br />
for quality and for parent information.<br />
give parents information on what it<br />
means to have a good preschool and<br />
they will migrate from that bare box-forprofit<br />
school, or that well-meaning mom<br />
down the street that i described earlier,<br />
to high-quality preschool. Parents have<br />
to be involved, the teacher has to know<br />
what he or she is doing, there’s got to be<br />
a real curriculum like the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Curriculum, and there’s got to be real<br />
engagement with students. And, as part<br />
of any federal incentive, there needs to be<br />
a plan in place with benchmarks, so that<br />
states can measure what they’re doing.<br />
So that’s my hope. it will happen in<br />
some way, shape, or form, but a kickstart<br />
from Washington would be a really<br />
great bonus at this point.<br />
Save these dates!<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational Conference<br />
May 6–8, 2009<br />
Preconference<br />
May 4–5, 2009<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 9
HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
in the <strong>Elementary</strong><br />
School <strong>Classroom</strong><br />
A<br />
s a <strong>High</strong>/Scope trainer and<br />
consultant, I knew as I ventured<br />
into elementary education<br />
that high-quality <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
programs existed in preschool classrooms<br />
around the world. I wanted to<br />
establish that same level of quality in<br />
an elementary classroom environment<br />
based on the same essential <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope components: active participatory<br />
learning; a challenging learning<br />
environment; supportive and authentic<br />
adult-child relationships; a problemsolving<br />
approach to conflict; and a<br />
consistent daily routine, including the<br />
plan-do-review sequence — unique to<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope — in which children<br />
make choices about what they will do,<br />
carry out their ideas, and reflect on<br />
their activities with adults and peers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> principles of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
educational model — with its emphasis<br />
on children as active learners — differ<br />
from those of the traditional K–8 teacher-directed<br />
instructional approach. With<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary learning environment<br />
offers an abundance of meaningful materials for<br />
children to explore.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope, children learn by doing,<br />
working with hands-on materials and<br />
initiating many projects of their own<br />
choosing. <strong>The</strong> role of the teacher is to<br />
use research-based best practices to<br />
guide and promote children’s learning.<br />
As i embarked on my career as an<br />
elementary education teacher, i challenged<br />
myself to see how i might extend<br />
those core <strong>High</strong>/Scope principles to my<br />
work in an elementary education classroom,<br />
moving away from traditional<br />
teacher-directed instruction toward student-initiated<br />
learning. My experience<br />
with <strong>High</strong>/Scope in the elementary set-<br />
by Sarah Fewson<br />
ting has confirmed what early research<br />
has shown (see sidebar, p. 11) — that<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope makes a significant difference<br />
in the learning and outcomes of<br />
school-aged children.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Learning Environment<br />
Some traditional classrooms contain<br />
learning areas including, but not limited<br />
to, children’s desks, a library area, and<br />
a carpet area. <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary<br />
classrooms also contain distinctly different<br />
activity areas, but these differ in the<br />
number of areas, as well as in their<br />
function. in a <strong>High</strong>/Scope classroom,<br />
these areas — rather than the teacher’s<br />
desk as in the traditional elementary setting<br />
— are the focal point of the classroom.<br />
<strong>The</strong> learning areas differ from<br />
grade to grade, according to the age of<br />
the children in the class. A kindergarten<br />
program, for example, would typically<br />
have a house area, whereas in a gradetwo<br />
classroom, there might be a building<br />
area instead. Some other areas in a<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 10
HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
school-age setting might also include a<br />
math area, science area, writing area,<br />
computer area, art area, bookmaking<br />
area, and quiet work area. Each area is<br />
designed around a particular curriculum<br />
topic such as reading, science, math,<br />
computer, and art. <strong>The</strong>se areas are<br />
settings designated for child-initiated<br />
learning activities.<br />
Materials<br />
in a <strong>High</strong>/Scope classroom, children<br />
have access to an abundance of meaningful<br />
materials throughout the school<br />
day. This variety and availability allows<br />
children to direct their own discoveries,<br />
and it accommodates for a variety of<br />
learning abilities.<br />
While a <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary<br />
environment uses many of the same<br />
materials found in traditional classrooms,<br />
the use and function of these<br />
materials differs; for example, paint in<br />
a traditional classroom may be brought<br />
out at the teacher’s discretion only during<br />
specific art classes, whereas in a<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope classroom paint is accessible<br />
to children on a daily basis to use in<br />
self-directed ways during instructional<br />
activities. An elementary <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
environment also provides a variety of<br />
open-ended materials (i.e., materials<br />
that can be used in many different ways)<br />
that invite students to engage in personal,<br />
meaningful, and educational experiences.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se materials are available to children<br />
to work with throughout the day, as well<br />
as during the plan-do-review sequence.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s <strong>Elementary</strong> Teaching Practices<br />
Daily schedule. Each day follows a consistent<br />
schedule, which is carefully planned to include<br />
individual, small-group, and large-group<br />
experiences and a balance of teacher-planned<br />
and child-planned activity. Each day includes a<br />
plan-do-review time, lasting one hour or more,<br />
in which children plan, carry out, and then reflect<br />
upon an activity of their own choosing.<br />
Small-group instructional workshops are<br />
planned by teachers around specific content in<br />
the major subject areas.<br />
<strong>The</strong> classroom. <strong>The</strong> room is divided into<br />
five or more distinct “interest” areas, such as<br />
reading and writing, math, science, art, and<br />
computers. <strong>In</strong> each area, a wide range of appealing<br />
materials are stored in consistent, accessible<br />
locations so children can get out the<br />
materials they want and put them away independently.<br />
Children are free to use any of the interest<br />
areas during plan-do-review time, and<br />
typically rotate through specific areas — such<br />
as reading and writing, art, and computers —<br />
during teacher-planned workshop times.<br />
Subject areas. Teachers plan instructional<br />
activities around content in important curriculum<br />
areas as defined by state and local standards.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y draw upon their knowledge of active learning<br />
principles and their own observations of children’s<br />
abilities and interests to plan small-group<br />
workshops focusing on concepts and skills in<br />
each subject area. <strong>The</strong> emphasis throughout<br />
these activities is on hands-on projects in which<br />
children work with manipulative materials, apply<br />
skills to solve practical problems, and learn to<br />
communicate the results of their efforts in a variety<br />
of formats. Many experiences require cooperative<br />
work and the use of effective communication<br />
skills. Teachers also encourage children<br />
to use important concepts and skills during the<br />
child-initiated activities that occur during work<br />
time and other segments of the schedule.<br />
Teacher-child interaction. <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
teachers avoid the use of reward and punishment<br />
to manage children’s behaviors and instead<br />
focus on creating a positive social environment<br />
in which expectations and limits are<br />
clear. Adults help children learn to use a problem-solving<br />
approach to resolve difficulties and<br />
conflicts. Adults strive to focus on children’s<br />
strengths rather than deficits and use teaching<br />
strategies that build on children’s intrinsic motivation<br />
to learn.<br />
Child assessment. <strong>High</strong>/Scope teachers<br />
document children’s progress by collecting brief<br />
anecdotal notes recording observations of children’s<br />
important behaviors and by compiling<br />
portfolios of student work samples and other<br />
kinds of documents that are evidence of children’s<br />
progress. <strong>The</strong>se assessment methods<br />
supplement traditional standardized achievement<br />
tests to provide a complete and balanced picture<br />
of children’s progress.<br />
<strong>The</strong> success of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary<br />
approach has been well documented in a number<br />
of studies. Program effectiveness was initially<br />
validated in the 1980s by the U.S. Department<br />
of Education/National <strong>In</strong>stitute of Education<br />
Joint Dissemination and Review Panel. <strong>The</strong><br />
curriculum has since been revalidated by the<br />
U.S. Department of Education’s Program Effectiveness<br />
Panel. Data gathered on the approach<br />
include improvements in children’s achievement<br />
test scores and literacy skills and teacher reports<br />
of improvements in children’s abilities to<br />
solve problems, make decisions, and express<br />
themselves creatively.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Services and Products for <strong>Elementary</strong> Educators<br />
ready School Assessment (rSA). This tool and related training can help schools become more<br />
ready for children.<br />
<strong>Classroom</strong> practices. We provide customized training to help teachers improve classroom practices<br />
in selected areas. (Note: <strong>High</strong>/Scope does not offer specific curricula for basic academic subjects<br />
such as reading, math, and science but instead focuses on how to teach using the existing curriculum.)<br />
Movement and music. <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Education Through Movement teaching model is the basis<br />
for a range of training services and products.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 11
HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
<strong>In</strong> the <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary classroom, children learn by doing — working with hands-on materials and<br />
initiating many projects of their own choosing.<br />
For example, if a teacher in a <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
classroom is teaching the concept of<br />
patterns in math, students would likely<br />
be encouraged to select a handful of<br />
materials for making series and patterns<br />
(e.g., coins, buttons, beads and string)<br />
from any area of the classroom. Children<br />
may then choose to select other materials<br />
(e.g., thread spools, paint brushes, tape<br />
rolls) during science when they are<br />
asked to compare objects in terms of<br />
how fast they roll down a ramp. Again<br />
during art, when the students are asked<br />
to use flashlights to capture shadows,<br />
children may select materials from the<br />
environment to incorporate as part of<br />
their learning.<br />
Activity areas are stocked with<br />
manipulatives related to curriculum<br />
topics and children’s interests; these<br />
materials are well organized and stored<br />
in consistent locations. Shelves, containers,<br />
and baskets are clearly labeled and<br />
placed within children’s reach. <strong>The</strong> type<br />
of labels used in a classroom will vary<br />
according to the developmental stage of<br />
the children. Kindergarten children are<br />
often still picture-reading at this stage<br />
and require labels that incorporate pictures.<br />
As children’s decoding abilities<br />
develop, tracing labels (which show the<br />
outline of an object) and labels with<br />
words are often sufficient. once the<br />
areas have been established, and mate-<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope is for<br />
<strong>Elementary</strong>-Age<br />
Students Too!<br />
<strong>In</strong> this new workshop, you’ll discover what plan-do-review looks like in<br />
a K–3 classroom, learn how to plan meaningful content workshops, as well as<br />
gain practical ideas to set up a learning environment that meets local, state,<br />
and regional guidelines and <strong>High</strong>/Scope principles.<br />
FW-IN521 $675/participant<br />
rials labeled, the areas themselves are<br />
labeled with names.<br />
Stocking the areas with materials<br />
traditionally found in teachers’ closets<br />
and cupboards is a big change for teachers<br />
switching to a <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach.<br />
This change often requires teachers to<br />
let go of some personal control. As i<br />
have trained groups on how to set up<br />
their elementary learning environments<br />
according to <strong>High</strong>/Scope principles,<br />
teachers often worry they will run out of<br />
materials by the third month of school.<br />
This point is a valid one, as teachers do<br />
not receive large budgets to replenish<br />
their classroom supplies, and so i reassure<br />
teachers new to <strong>High</strong>/Scope that<br />
they do not need to put all their materials<br />
out at the beginning of the year. For<br />
example, they can add materials such as<br />
paper, glue, and other art supplies that<br />
tend to diminish as the year progresses.<br />
giving children access to materials<br />
provides them with an opportunity to<br />
be responsible for their environment<br />
and to make purposeful choices about<br />
materials they select to work with. This<br />
supports their developing independence<br />
and sense of initiative.<br />
Activity areas are<br />
stocked with manipulatives<br />
related to<br />
curriculum topics and<br />
children’s interests;<br />
these materials are<br />
well organized and<br />
stored in consistent<br />
locations.<br />
Seating<br />
in a traditional classroom, the teacher’s<br />
desk is typically the focal point of<br />
the classroom, and children sit in neatly<br />
arranged rows of desks (with the most<br />
“difficult” students strategically seated<br />
near the teacher). <strong>High</strong>/Scope class-<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 12
HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
rooms, with an emphasis on cooperative<br />
learning, feature group seating at tables<br />
in the various interest areas. individual<br />
work areas are also available for quiet,<br />
independent work. <strong>The</strong>se individual<br />
areas may include a space in the reading<br />
area or at the teacher’s desk, or students<br />
simply may be encouraged to take clipboards<br />
to quiet areas. Children’s work<br />
places in each of the learning areas<br />
serve a dual function as a place where<br />
students can accomplish their work and<br />
as a space where the materials in that<br />
particular area can be explored by all<br />
children during plan-do-review.<br />
Wall Displays<br />
<strong>The</strong> walls of traditional classrooms<br />
typically feature commercially-made<br />
posters, precut designs, and other readymade<br />
displays purchased by teachers<br />
for their instructional and decorative<br />
value. in a <strong>High</strong>/Scope setting, teacherprepared<br />
bulletin boards are limited to<br />
messages for children, information for<br />
parents, and weekly schedules. <strong>The</strong> classroom<br />
becomes instead a representation<br />
of children’s learning and discoveries.<br />
Teachers create a print-rich environment,<br />
displaying student writing as well<br />
as labels, important messages, group<br />
writing samples, and schedules, because<br />
students learn to read by trying to make<br />
sense of print they encounter in their<br />
everyday activities. in addition to featuring<br />
lots of print, the walls become<br />
covered with children’s creations — art-<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope classrooms<br />
emphasize<br />
cooperative learning<br />
by featuring<br />
group seating at<br />
tables in the various<br />
interest areas.<br />
work, science, and math projects, for<br />
example — and photographs of the<br />
children at work time with written descriptions<br />
of their activities below. <strong>The</strong><br />
students themselves select the pieces of<br />
their work they would like to display<br />
rather than the teacher choosing the<br />
“best” or “neatest.” Allowing children<br />
the opportunity to display work that<br />
is meaningful to them leads to their increased<br />
self-esteem and sense of belonging<br />
in the classroom.<br />
<strong>In</strong> a <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary classroom, shelves, containers, and baskets are clearly labeled and placed<br />
within children’s reach.<br />
Content Workshops and<br />
Curriculum<br />
Setting up the classroom according<br />
to <strong>High</strong>/Scope principles better enables<br />
teachers to meet the curriculum requirements<br />
of their state or province using a<br />
model called “content workshops.” <strong>The</strong>se<br />
are small-group instructional workshops<br />
planned by teachers around specific<br />
content in the major subject areas of the<br />
curriculum. Teachers introduce content<br />
workshops by giving a brief lesson on a<br />
particular topic or subject; then children<br />
move to table groups or other suitable<br />
places in the classroom, such as the reading<br />
area or carpet area, and begin to implement<br />
what they’ve learned by using<br />
and manipulating related materials.<br />
What does a content workshop look<br />
like? Three or four small groups of<br />
children (assuming a classroom size<br />
of approximately 20 students with one<br />
teacher) work at separate stations and are<br />
engaged simultaneously in curriculumrelated<br />
activities using various materials.<br />
<strong>The</strong> children then rotate among the tables<br />
in order to experience all activities. <strong>The</strong><br />
teacher’s role during a content workshop<br />
is similar to a teacher’s role in a pre-K<br />
small-group time. Specifically, the teacher<br />
focuses on the children, assesses skill<br />
and knowledge, challenges, extends, and<br />
encourages learning through open-ended<br />
questions and authentic conversation,<br />
sharing control with students.<br />
A math content workshop, for example,<br />
might include estimation of length as<br />
the curriculum focus. Following a brief<br />
discussion with the whole group about<br />
the concept, the teacher would then have<br />
prepared activities at separate table<br />
groups. instructions for these activities<br />
would be given verbally, as well as<br />
visually or in written form, according to<br />
the developmental level of the students.<br />
Table group “A” may have a variety of<br />
standard measuring tools, including<br />
yardsticks, rulers, and measuring tapes<br />
for students to explore the classroom<br />
environment. <strong>The</strong> focus for this group<br />
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HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
Children at Rose Avenue Public School in Toronto use materials to explore series and patterns — an activity<br />
related to the curriculum topic in math.<br />
may simply be to practice using these<br />
standard measuring tools. Table group<br />
“B” may be asked to select and measure<br />
various items in the classroom using<br />
nonstandard measuring tools, such as<br />
shoes, make-believe dollar bills, and<br />
erasers. This group’s goal may be to begin<br />
to explore the concept of an approximate<br />
measure. Table group “C” may be<br />
asked to move into the carpet area and<br />
select objects in the classroom, display<br />
the items on the carpet from smallest to<br />
largest, and — as an extension — use<br />
rulers to measure the length of each<br />
object in inches and then record that information.<br />
<strong>The</strong> focus of this group may<br />
be to explore the concept of ordering<br />
objects according to their measurement<br />
and to practice recording information<br />
related to measurements.<br />
in comparison to traditional teaching<br />
methods, which involve an extended<br />
period of teacher-directed, large-group<br />
instruction followed by individual practice,<br />
content workshops are more effective<br />
for a number of reasons: individual<br />
needs are better met during small-group<br />
interactions, communication and learning<br />
from peers is encouraged, and all<br />
children have an opportunity to be engaged<br />
using active learning.<br />
Conflict Resolution<br />
Every classroom, <strong>High</strong>/Scope or<br />
otherwise, experiences various types<br />
of conflict between children. Children<br />
in elementary school may experience<br />
conflict as they build a sense of self in<br />
relation to others and begin to see themselves<br />
as independent from friends and<br />
family; develop a sense of assertiveness<br />
and self-confidence; experiment with<br />
power and control in relation to others;<br />
and form “preferences” in terms of who<br />
they want to relate to and how they want<br />
to relate to others. School-age conflict is<br />
in fact developmentally appropriate, yet<br />
children are often not called upon to be<br />
involved in resolving conflicts. in traditional<br />
elementary classrooms, conflict is<br />
still often solved by adults (i.e., teachers<br />
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or principals) who impose their own<br />
solutions on children or even punish<br />
children for behavior that may have<br />
contributed to the conflict situation.<br />
Teachers in traditional classrooms<br />
often indirectly encourage conflict by<br />
reinforcing the importance of privilege,<br />
status, and ownership. When teachers<br />
point out that they “like the way ______<br />
is sitting,” choose line leaders of the day,<br />
use a prize box or “bonus bucks” to reward<br />
particular achievements or behaviors,<br />
they inadvertently create feelings of<br />
anxiety in children who may feel themselves<br />
to be second best. Some conflict<br />
can be beneficial in order for young<br />
children to learn to resolve it. However,<br />
conflict can also distract children from<br />
learning, decrease their self-esteem,<br />
make them feel lonely and distressed,<br />
and — when conflict is prolonged and<br />
consistent — may even cause children<br />
to begin to dislike school.<br />
Teachers in a <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary<br />
setting learn to limit conflict in a number<br />
of ways. Specifically, adults encourage<br />
empathy in school-aged children; provide<br />
a range of activities with open-ended materials<br />
so that all students have the opportunity<br />
to feel successful in their actions;<br />
offer opportunities for cooperative work;<br />
and build authentic relationships with<br />
students. <strong>High</strong>/Scope teachers in a school<br />
setting learn to adapt the six steps to<br />
conflict resolution (Evans, 2002) to conflicts<br />
between school-aged children.<br />
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HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
When adopting the problem-solving<br />
approach to conflict, teachers in an elementary<br />
program need to consider that<br />
school-aged children can be physically<br />
strong and able to cause considerable<br />
Teachers in traditional<br />
classrooms often<br />
indirectly encourage<br />
conflict by reinforcing<br />
the importance of<br />
privilege, status,<br />
and ownership.<br />
harm to others, unlike pre-K children<br />
who are still relatively small. Moreover,<br />
unlike many children in a pre-K program,<br />
school-aged children may be able<br />
to identify the problem without the<br />
Children at the Rose School use words and<br />
pictures to detail their plans for work time<br />
and then reflect on what they’ve done.<br />
teacher needing to define it for them.<br />
School-aged children may have had<br />
years of experience in conflict and thus<br />
may exhibit a greater sense of inflexibility<br />
to their solution; this may result<br />
in a longer period of time in finding a<br />
mutually satisfying solution.<br />
on the other hand, although schoolaged<br />
children may have experience with<br />
conflict, they may be inexperienced in<br />
having a say in the resolution. Schoolaged<br />
children seem to have an innate<br />
sense of fairness and conception of<br />
reason; therefore, their solutions are<br />
more likely to be logical than solutions<br />
proposed by preschool children. Lastly,<br />
school-aged children are more likely to<br />
remember previous conflicts and prior<br />
ways of solving problems. Teachers in<br />
an elementary program can facilitate the<br />
problem-solving process by empowering<br />
students to believe they are problem-<br />
solvers; giving children opportunities<br />
to solve non-threatening problems and<br />
to solve problems as a group; accepting<br />
children’s solutions; supporting children<br />
in their efforts to come up with a solution;<br />
and being consistent in allowing<br />
children to solve problems.<br />
Plan-Do-Review<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s plan-do-review in the<br />
elementary classroom is based on the<br />
same principles as plan-do-review in<br />
a preschool setting: it involves active<br />
learning, is a child-initiated time of the<br />
day, and uses the same adult-support<br />
strategies. in the plan-do-review process,<br />
children learn to take initiative, solve<br />
problems independently, work with<br />
others, and build knowledge and skills<br />
(Epstein, 2007).<br />
When elementary teachers first hear<br />
of plan-do-review, they worry that it<br />
takes time away from the curriculum.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 15
HigH/SCoPE ELEMENTARY<br />
Each day in the <strong>High</strong>/Scope elementary setting follows a carefully planned and consistent schedule.<br />
it is only when they come to learn more<br />
about the process that teachers understand<br />
that plan-do-review helps to meet<br />
curriculum expectations. For example,<br />
children explore materials that are curriculum-related.<br />
Moreover, the teacher<br />
learns how to use plan-do-review to<br />
scaffold children’s learning and to use<br />
children’s experiences to support the<br />
curriculum at other times of the day.<br />
Furthermore, the method that teachers<br />
adopt for planning and reviewing is<br />
connected to specific curriculum expectations<br />
and children’s developmental<br />
levels. Plan-do-review is conducted in<br />
different ways according to the age of<br />
the children in the classroom. Kindergarten<br />
students may plan and recall<br />
orally and with props, whereas students<br />
in grade two and grade three may use<br />
journals to independently record their<br />
plans and reflect on their work-time<br />
experiences.<br />
Making a Difference<br />
Extending <strong>High</strong>/Scope practices into<br />
the elementary classroom leads to both<br />
improved teacher effectiveness as well<br />
as positive student outcomes. Using the<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope approach in my third-grade<br />
classes supported my students’ performance<br />
on standardized tests, for example.<br />
When asked to use manipulatives<br />
and include pictorial explanations for<br />
their answers to the math sections of<br />
the test, my students were able to draw<br />
on their familiarity with using mathrelated<br />
manipulatives in a meaningful<br />
way during plan-do-review every day.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir previous classroom experience<br />
with manipulatives gave them greater<br />
confidence at testing time in demonstrating<br />
their understanding of math concepts<br />
through concrete objects.<br />
<strong>The</strong> method that<br />
teachers adopt for<br />
plan-do-review is<br />
connected to specific<br />
curriculum expectations<br />
and children’s<br />
developmental levels.<br />
Students also became more independent<br />
and self-motivated learners as a<br />
result of teaching practices that allowed<br />
children to engage in active, hands-on<br />
learning and projects of their own<br />
choosing. For example, some students<br />
saw themselves as “scientists” when they<br />
formed a science “club.” others (some<br />
of whom were typically very active)<br />
began to consider themselves as artists,<br />
working in a focused way on paintings<br />
of nature for forty-five minutes during<br />
plan-do-review.<br />
My students were also able to internalize<br />
the value of cooperation verses<br />
competition and communicate this important<br />
difference to others. one child,<br />
who attended a birthday party outside<br />
of school, returned to tell me that the host<br />
parent had organized competitive games;<br />
she said she explained to the adult that<br />
she preferred cooperative activities.<br />
After the first year of my adapting<br />
the <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach to teaching<br />
and learning, i attended the usual endof-year<br />
meeting during which teachers<br />
determine where each student will be<br />
placed the following school year. i felt<br />
confident advocating on behalf of students<br />
who had once been considered<br />
“challenging” but who had learned in<br />
my <strong>High</strong>/Scope classroom how to better<br />
regulate their emotions and to resolve<br />
difficulties and conflicts through problemsolving.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se students were no longer<br />
considered “difficult.”<br />
Making a difference in the classroom<br />
sometimes requires that teachers make<br />
changes in their classroom practices. My<br />
own journey in extending <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
into elementary settings has been overwhelmingly<br />
rewarding, and i’ll continue<br />
to use this active learning approach in<br />
my classroom. i am convinced it is the<br />
way to make a positive and lasting difference<br />
in my students’ lives.<br />
References<br />
Epstein, A. S. (2007). Essentials of active<br />
learning in preschool: Getting<br />
to know the <strong>High</strong>/Scope curriculum.<br />
Ypsilanti, Mi: <strong>High</strong>/Scope Press.<br />
Evans, B. (2002). You can’t come to my<br />
birthday party! Conflict resolution<br />
with young children. Ypsilanti, Mi:<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Press.<br />
Sarah Fewson is a <strong>High</strong>/Scope consultant<br />
and trainer and elementary<br />
school teacher in Toronto, Ontario,<br />
Canada.<br />
For more information on<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s elementary<br />
approach, see our Web site.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 16
HigH/SCoPE’S READY SCHooL ASSESSMENT<br />
From Preschool to Ready School:<br />
Using Data to Support a Preschool–<br />
Early <strong>Elementary</strong> Continuum<br />
by Marijata Daniel-Echols<br />
A<br />
mong educational researchers,<br />
policy analysts, and<br />
policymakers, support for<br />
developing and implementing a continuum<br />
of curriculum content and<br />
pedagogy between preschool and<br />
early elementary school is at an alltime<br />
high. <strong>In</strong>terest has been fueled by<br />
increases in state-funded preschool<br />
initiatives that bring early childhood<br />
education into direct relationship with<br />
the K–12 system in new ways. <strong>The</strong><br />
push to expand preschool is driven<br />
by longitudinal research that demonstrates<br />
a connection between early<br />
childhood experiences and elementary<br />
school performance.<br />
<strong>The</strong> primary focus<br />
of the RSA is to help<br />
elementary schools<br />
think critically about<br />
their policies and<br />
practices. Users are<br />
challenged to look at<br />
evidence to see how<br />
ready they are to<br />
educate all children.<br />
A prominent example of work focused<br />
on an early childhood–elementary<br />
continuum is the Foundation for Child<br />
Development’s PreK–3rd initiative. its<br />
creators describe it as an initiative that<br />
aims to contribute to the creation of “a<br />
new first level of American education,”<br />
extending from age three to age eight<br />
(Foundation for Child Development,<br />
2008). its goal is to encourage the alignment<br />
of preschool standards, curriculum,<br />
instruction, and assessment with the kindergarten<br />
through third-grade elementary<br />
experience and expectations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Kellogg Foundation’s Supporting<br />
Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids<br />
(SPARK) is another example of a national<br />
effort to increase school readiness and<br />
ensure smooth transitions for children as<br />
they move from preschool to elementarylevel<br />
classrooms (W.K. Kellogg Foundation).<br />
SPARK supports partnerships<br />
among preschools, elementary schools,<br />
and community stakeholders, encouraging<br />
them to work together to better serve<br />
their children and families.<br />
While in recent years there has been<br />
growing interest in preschool to elementary<br />
articulation, the concept is not new.<br />
<strong>The</strong> National Education goals Panel’s<br />
(NEgP) Ready Schools <strong>Resource</strong> group<br />
produced a list of ten characteristics of<br />
a ready school (Shore et al., 1998). <strong>The</strong><br />
second trait listed was that “a ready<br />
school strives for continuity between<br />
early care and education programs and<br />
elementary schools” (p. 5).<br />
From Concepts to Constructs<br />
in a grant related to, but not directly<br />
a part of, the SPARK project, the <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope Foundation received four years<br />
of funding from the Kellogg Foundation<br />
to develop the Ready School<br />
Assessment tool (RSA). <strong>The</strong><br />
theory behind the work is that<br />
in order to have a strong<br />
articulation of preschool<br />
and elementary education<br />
content and practice there<br />
must be a way to translate<br />
general concepts of a<br />
ready school into specific,<br />
measurable constructs. <strong>The</strong><br />
RSA measures eight dimensions<br />
of a ready school: Leaders and<br />
Leadership; Transitions;<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 17
READY SCHooL ASSESSMENT<br />
Teacher Supports; Effective Curricula;<br />
Engaging Environments; Family,<br />
School, and Community Partnerships;<br />
Respecting Diversity; and Assessing<br />
Progress. Each dimension has 11 to 21<br />
indicators — policies and practices that<br />
support and promote best practices of<br />
ready schools. For example, another<br />
trait on the NEgP’s list of ready school<br />
characteristics is that “ready schools have<br />
strong leadership” (Shore, 1998, p. 5).<br />
in the Leaders and Leadership dimension<br />
of the RSA, measurable aspects<br />
of strong leadership are defined (e.g.,<br />
whether or not the school principal has<br />
academic training or classroom experience<br />
in early childhood education).<br />
<strong>The</strong> primary focus of the RSA is to<br />
help elementary schools think critically<br />
about their policies and practices. in particular,<br />
users of the tool are challenged<br />
to look at evidence to see how they are<br />
and are not ready to educate all children.<br />
<strong>The</strong> focus is not on whether or not children<br />
are ready for school, nor is it on the<br />
degree to which preschools conform to<br />
the expectations of K–12 systems. <strong>The</strong><br />
goal of the RSA is to help forge a connection<br />
between preschool and elementary<br />
school that is grounded in early<br />
childhood education best practice.<br />
Data Analysis in Context<br />
As with any initiative to improve a<br />
program or school, responsible reform is<br />
driven by data. More importantly, that<br />
data must represent valid and reliable information<br />
about the children, families,<br />
teachers, and communities from which it<br />
is drawn. in addition to achieving established<br />
psychometric properties of validity<br />
and reliability, the RSA helps ensure the<br />
use of data that is a full reflection of the<br />
specific circumstances and characteristics<br />
of a school. it requires a process of group<br />
evidence-gathering, analysis, and consensus<br />
scoring. An RSA team consists<br />
of representatives from the field of early<br />
childhood, parents, community partners,<br />
teachers, and school administrators. By<br />
bringing together these varied points of<br />
view, the RSA encourages the full inclusion<br />
of data needed to comprehensively<br />
evaluate the strengths and challenges of<br />
a school’s policies and practices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> online Ready School Profiler shows a school’s relative strength in each of the dimensions<br />
and subdimensions of school readiness as measured by the RSA. Profile graphs show comparison<br />
bars indicating how a school has scored relative to the average of a sample of schools that have<br />
completed the RSA.<br />
An essential part of comprehensive<br />
measurement is to gather multiple types<br />
of evidence from multiple sources. A<br />
common way that policymakers and<br />
parents evaluate whether or not an elementary<br />
school is successful is by looking<br />
at children’s test scores. Using child<br />
outcomes as one measure of school performance<br />
is a reasonable expectation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> goal of the<br />
RSA is to help<br />
forge a connection<br />
between preschool<br />
and elementary<br />
school that is<br />
grounded in early<br />
childhood education<br />
best practice.<br />
However, expecting children to flourish<br />
in learning environments that are illequipped<br />
to support them is not. <strong>The</strong><br />
degree to which there is continuity between<br />
children’s early childhood and<br />
elementary experiences can be viewed<br />
as an important indicator of a successful<br />
school. This type of understanding of<br />
school accountability to include a preschool<br />
to elementary continuum does<br />
not exclude a role for child assessment<br />
data — but it does encourage analysis<br />
of that data in context. Just as best practice<br />
encourages authentic assessment of<br />
children’s full range of development, so<br />
too is it important to understand schools<br />
not just by sets of scores on tests, but by<br />
information about the context in which<br />
those scores were produced.<br />
Putting a Plan in Place<br />
Beyond gathering good data, there<br />
must also be a plan in place for how that<br />
data will be used to draw conclusions<br />
about a school and how that analysis<br />
will translate into school improvement<br />
goals. A high-quality data-gathering<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 18
READY SCHooL ASSESSMENT<br />
and analysis process should lead to<br />
easily understood conclusions and the<br />
creation of clear, measurable, and<br />
achievable goals. For example, among<br />
schools that pilot-tested the RSA (a mix<br />
of 71 urban, suburban, and rural schools<br />
from 17 states), many believed that their<br />
preschool to kindergarten transition<br />
practices were adequate. <strong>The</strong> process of<br />
documenting actual rather than assumed<br />
practices revealed that most of those<br />
As schools identify<br />
the areas in which<br />
they excel in supporting<br />
young learners,<br />
they must also use<br />
data to reveal where<br />
improvements are<br />
needed.<br />
same schools were not doing all that<br />
they could in this ready school dimension.<br />
Schools used this data to put in<br />
place specific programs geared toward<br />
better outreach to parents and support<br />
for children, for example, making home<br />
visits, providing school supplies, meeting<br />
with preschool teachers to learn<br />
about incoming students, and using a<br />
mix of outreach strategies (e.g., radio<br />
announcements; distribution of easy-<br />
to-read, colorful school calendars; com-<br />
Through a simple link in eTools, research project participants can log on and complete surveys with<br />
confidence that their information is secure.<br />
municating with parents in their native<br />
language). importantly, these schools<br />
evaluated the success of their new initiatives<br />
through evidence-gathering both<br />
pre- and post-program implementation.<br />
Strong preschool–to–elementary continuums<br />
of content and practice can help<br />
ensure positive outcomes for children.<br />
As schools identify the areas in which<br />
they excel in supporting young learners,<br />
they must also use data to reveal where<br />
improvements are needed. A simultaneous<br />
focus on preparing children for<br />
school and preparing schools to educate<br />
all children is well served by ongoing<br />
data collection, analysis, and the imple-<br />
Ready School<br />
Assessment (RSA)<br />
RSA is a planning tool designed to<br />
provide school improvement teams with a<br />
developmental profile of the strength of readiness features in their school setting.<br />
<strong>The</strong> RSA centers on eight dimensions of school readiness critical to the success<br />
of children as they enter and begin their elementary school careers.<br />
Visit readyschoolassessment.org on the Web for more information.<br />
mentation of policies and practices<br />
based upon the conclusions drawn from<br />
the data.<br />
References<br />
Foundation for Child Development.<br />
PreK-3rd.: A new beginning for<br />
American education. Retrieved July<br />
30, 2008, from http://www.fcd-us.<br />
org/initiatives/<br />
Shore, R. Ready schools: A report of<br />
the Goal 1 Ready Schools Research<br />
Group. Washington, DC: National<br />
Education goals Panel.<br />
W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Supporting<br />
Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids<br />
(SPARK). Retrieved July 30, 2008,<br />
from http://www.wkkf.org/SPARK<br />
Marijata Daniel-Echols is <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope’s Chair of Research.<br />
For more on <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
Ready School Assessment,<br />
go to our Web site.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 19
HigH/SCoPE<br />
Teacher’s Corner<br />
Real Science in Preschool:<br />
Here, <strong>The</strong>re, and Everywhere<br />
by Polly Neill<br />
T<br />
he following article is an excerpt<br />
from the new book Real Science<br />
in Preschool: Here, <strong>The</strong>re, and<br />
Everywhere, published by <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Press. For more information, see p. 29.<br />
Find the Science<br />
House areas are generally very busy<br />
places where a lot of different things go<br />
on at the same time, with the play often<br />
spilling over into the block area or other<br />
interest areas. So much is happening<br />
that we have to focus our science senses<br />
in order to spot children exhibiting the<br />
behaviors that are part of the preschool<br />
scientific method. Again, as children engage<br />
in these behaviors, they are laying<br />
the groundwork for more formal science<br />
learning later on in school.<br />
Observing<br />
<strong>The</strong> house area often is the<br />
center of a number of different<br />
activities, and it can be a bit<br />
<strong>In</strong> this preschool classroom, the<br />
house area becomes a beauty parlor,<br />
as children engage with concepts of<br />
hair texture and style.<br />
overwhelming for a child who is new<br />
to the program and who is comfortable<br />
just observing. As we learned earlier,<br />
children who stand by quietly at first<br />
are absorbing information. in the house<br />
area, they are taking in the location of<br />
the pots and pans, the dishes, and the<br />
silverware. Additionally, while taking<br />
stock of how children interact with one<br />
another as they role-play, the observing<br />
children are anticipating how they might<br />
fit into this social structure. <strong>The</strong> following<br />
are examples of some of the sciencerelated<br />
play children might observe in<br />
the house area:<br />
Today several of the children are<br />
cooking a “birthday cake” using the<br />
pine cones and little yellow sponges<br />
they found in the canisters. <strong>The</strong>y ask<br />
two other children to “please set the<br />
table for the party ’cause the cake<br />
will be ready soon and 37 people will<br />
be here any minute!”<br />
Another part of the house area becomes<br />
an emergency room for a<br />
veterinarian who must operate on<br />
a puppy whose mom says she has<br />
“monsters in her tummy.” <strong>The</strong> vet’s<br />
office is very busy, because the phone<br />
rings a lot, too.<br />
As children play, they<br />
engage in behaviors<br />
that are part of the<br />
preschool scientific<br />
method — laying<br />
the groundwork for<br />
more formal science<br />
learning later.<br />
Children who are observing may be<br />
silent or they may show evidence of what<br />
they are taking in with comments like<br />
the following. <strong>The</strong>se remarks indicate<br />
that children are processing information<br />
as they observe, leading them to classify<br />
and engage in other scientific behaviors.<br />
“My mom uses pans like that at<br />
home.”<br />
“i could comb her hair and make<br />
it smooth.”<br />
“You could go out and run with<br />
the puppies — that makes them<br />
sleepy.”<br />
Classifying<br />
<strong>The</strong> house area can be one of<br />
the best environments for children<br />
who are classifying, organizing,<br />
or sorting objects or information.<br />
Materials such as pots and pans,<br />
utensils, linens, and plastic fruits<br />
and vegetables easily lend themselves<br />
to children’s classifications,<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 20
REAL SCiENCE iN PRESCHooL<br />
and the types of play scenarios that develop<br />
in this learning area often involve<br />
children distinguishing and grouping<br />
materials, roles, and actions, as exemplified<br />
by the following (some of these<br />
scenarios refer to scenarios given in<br />
“observing,” above). Also note that as<br />
children elaborate on their play, they may<br />
bring materials over from other areas.<br />
<strong>The</strong> house area can<br />
be one of the best<br />
environments for<br />
children who are<br />
classifying, organizing,<br />
or sorting objects<br />
or information.<br />
<strong>The</strong> cake bakers say that their cake<br />
recipe calls only for “the pine cones<br />
and the yellow sponges — we don’t<br />
want any of the packing peanuts.”<br />
While Tommy and Maria are setting<br />
the table, they organize not only all<br />
the plates and bowls but also the<br />
silverware to make sure there is one<br />
piece for each place setting. When<br />
it’s time to clean up, they put the<br />
knives with the other knives, and<br />
the forks with the other forks; then<br />
they put all the plates together and<br />
all the bowls together.<br />
over in the veterinarian’s office,<br />
the vet’s assistant has to find all the<br />
tools the vet needs for an operation<br />
on the sick puppy, so she went over<br />
to the woodworking area and got<br />
the hand drill, some clamps, and<br />
a screwdriver.<br />
<strong>The</strong> mommies who are caring for<br />
their babies are sorting through<br />
the blankets to find the softest ones<br />
to wrap their babies in, because it<br />
is naptime.<br />
Experimenting<br />
As children continue and elaborate<br />
on their play scenarios, they try out<br />
solutions to problems and test their predictions<br />
(the following scenarios are a<br />
continuation of those given above):<br />
<strong>The</strong> cake bakers consulted their<br />
cookbooks about whether or not the<br />
cake needed some kind of liquid and<br />
then checked with José, the teacher.<br />
Children and adults can turn the house area into a doctor’s office and pretend to be doctors and patients.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Six Components<br />
of the Preschool<br />
Scientific Method<br />
Observing: Paying close attention to<br />
something to learn more about it<br />
Classifying: Grouping similar things<br />
together by identifying the relationships<br />
between things and the categories they<br />
belong to<br />
Experimenting: Testing an idea to see<br />
if it is true, or trying a solution to see if<br />
it works<br />
Predicting: Describing what you expect<br />
will happen<br />
Drawing conclusions: Fitting one’s<br />
observations into one’s existing system<br />
of knowledge and understanding<br />
Communicating ideas: Sharing one’s<br />
questions, observations, predictions, and<br />
conclusions with others<br />
Real<br />
Science<br />
in Preschool:<br />
Here, <strong>The</strong>re, and<br />
Everywhere<br />
Authentic, hands-on science<br />
learning takes place every day<br />
throughout the classroom as well as<br />
outdoors. You’ll learn to recognize<br />
and support the six behaviors that<br />
are part of the preschool scientific<br />
method and that you’ll see in all types<br />
of children’s play — behaviors that<br />
lay the groundwork for children’s<br />
later science learning in school.<br />
FW-P1366 $25.95<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 21
REAL SCiENCE iN PRESCHooL<br />
After observing the play of two of his classmates, this boy approaches the girls and asks how he might<br />
join their activity.<br />
He said he wasn’t sure about cakes,<br />
but he reminded them about the time<br />
they made apple bread and forgot to<br />
add the cider. <strong>The</strong>y said, “That loaf<br />
was yucky — all crumbly! But the<br />
one that Sheretta’s group made was<br />
yummy — i bet they remembered<br />
the cider!”<br />
<strong>The</strong> table setters are solving a problem<br />
with the plates: “Would we have<br />
enough places if we used the bowls<br />
and the little plates too? or, we could<br />
just give everybody a paper plate or a<br />
piece of paper towel.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> vet’s assistant is in the process of<br />
designing an experiment for carrying<br />
the sick puppy: “We have to figure<br />
out a way to carry the puppy that<br />
won’t cause him to bounce at all<br />
since he is very sore. i don’t think we<br />
can carry him ‘cause we could trip<br />
or somethin’ like that. i know — we<br />
could try a basket or a box and put<br />
something soft in it so that he’s all<br />
cuddled up. That should do it!”<br />
Predicting<br />
As children continue to develop their<br />
play scenarios, their predictions — their<br />
ideas about what they think might happen<br />
— go hand in hand with their experiments.<br />
Let’s check back in with our<br />
cake bakers, table setters, veterinarians,<br />
and moms:<br />
“i think that the cake is going to be<br />
dry if we don’t add some milk or<br />
water. Let’s ask José (the teacher)<br />
what we should put in — maybe<br />
some juice?”<br />
“Hey guys, there is no way we’re<br />
gonna have enough plates for everyone<br />
at the party — whadda we do<br />
now? Uh-oh, that means we don’t<br />
have enough candles either.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> developing their<br />
play scenarios,<br />
children’s predictions<br />
— what they think<br />
might happen — go<br />
hand in hand with<br />
their experiments.<br />
“i think this puppy is going to feel so<br />
bad after his operation that he won’t<br />
be able to walk by himself — he’s<br />
gonna need some help.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> moms are worried about finding<br />
a quiet place for their babies to sleep:<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is so much noise in the house,<br />
they’ll never sleep in there!”<br />
Drawing Conclusions<br />
After observing, classifying, experimenting,<br />
and making predictions, our<br />
young scientists add the knowledge they<br />
have gained to that they already have<br />
and then draw conclusions about how<br />
things work:<br />
“i think using all the dishes will be<br />
enough for everyone and then we<br />
won’t have to use the paper towels.<br />
But that still means there aren’t<br />
enough chairs and a lot of people<br />
will have to sit on the ground and<br />
they might not like that.”<br />
“i think putting the puppy in the big<br />
basket is a better idea, ’cause then he<br />
won’t try to move around and get<br />
out. <strong>The</strong> vet said he should be quiet.”<br />
Communicating Ideas<br />
once children have formed some<br />
conclusions about the problem or idea<br />
they have been working on, they seek<br />
ways to communicate the information to<br />
others and/or to be able to refer back to<br />
what they have learned:<br />
“José, we want to write down the<br />
stuff we put in our cake so we can<br />
make it again tomorrow. if we tell<br />
you, will you write it down for us?<br />
Some of the things are from in here.”<br />
(Child points to an illustrated cookbook<br />
they were using.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> girls who were playing mommies<br />
asked if the teachers could put a<br />
message on the message board for<br />
the next day about “being quiet while<br />
babies are sleeping.” Carol (a teacher)<br />
thought that might work, but<br />
wondered if the children could think<br />
of a way that the other kids would<br />
remember to be quieter during work<br />
time. Suraya suggested that they<br />
make a sign to put up when the<br />
babies are sleeping.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 22
HigH/SCoPE FEEDBACK<br />
FQA<br />
Recording Anecdotal Notes:<br />
How Many Are Enough?<br />
by Karen (Kay) Rush<br />
H<br />
ow many anecdotes should<br />
I take when observing a<br />
preschool child? Does <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope recommend a specific number?<br />
To answer this question, keep in<br />
mind the reasons for taking anecdotes:<br />
to observe and plan each day for each<br />
child and the class as a whole, to complete<br />
the Preschool Child observation<br />
Record (CoR) for each child two to<br />
three times per year, to share developmental<br />
information about children with<br />
their parents, and to summarize and<br />
document student progress for administrative<br />
reporting purposes.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope does not put a number on<br />
how many anecdotes you need to take on<br />
a child. <strong>The</strong> “correct” number is whatever<br />
enables you and your program to<br />
meet the goals just stated. As a general<br />
rule, <strong>High</strong>/Scope advises teachers to<br />
make several observations per week per<br />
child. Sometimes Head Start agencies<br />
require a certain number of anecdotes.<br />
This policy may be instituted because<br />
of administrative concerns that teachers<br />
will wait until the last minute (e.g., just<br />
before it is time for a child’s assessment<br />
or parent conferences) instead of making<br />
ongoing notes throughout the program<br />
year.<br />
As a general rule,<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope advises<br />
teachers to make<br />
several observations<br />
per week per child,<br />
but does not specify<br />
a required number<br />
of anecdotes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> best way to facilitate planning,<br />
serve children’s developmental needs,<br />
and communicate with parents and administrators<br />
is to take regular notes on<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 23
HigH/SCoPE FEEDBACK<br />
Using sticky notes and clipboards, teachers can jot down notes while interacting with children, then fill in the details later at planning time.<br />
children. This does not mean one note<br />
for each child in each area every day.<br />
However, by looking back at your notes<br />
periodically, you can see where you<br />
need to fill in anecdotes on a particular<br />
child and/or area of development. <strong>The</strong>n<br />
you can be on the lookout for relevant<br />
examples. As a guiding philosophy, consider<br />
the following encounter i had at a<br />
training session for camp counselors.<br />
A young lady found out i was an employee<br />
of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Educational<br />
Research Foundation, and she said to<br />
me, “i really like the philosophy of<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope, but i don’t like that assessment<br />
part where you just have to stand<br />
back and take a day to take notes on the<br />
kids. i’d rather be involved with them<br />
instead of observing them.” i responded,<br />
“That’s fantastic that you want to be<br />
involved with them, and i’m sure the<br />
children want you to be involved as well.<br />
i bet you would be able to take more<br />
in-depth and meaningful anecdotes on<br />
your children if you wrote them while<br />
you were involved and interacting with<br />
onlineCoR<br />
Get to the COR of the Assessment Process!<br />
OnlineCOR is the next generation of Web-based assessment<br />
software —<br />
Teachers: Enter anecdotes online, view planning activities, and connect with<br />
online forums.<br />
Adminstrators: Create an instant network and access information and reports<br />
from multiple sites on a secure server.<br />
Parents: View the child’s progress in an online portfolio including anecdotes,<br />
artwork, photos, and more!<br />
Start with the online tour at www.OnlineCOR.net — it’s worth the time, and<br />
worth some thought.<br />
them.” i suggested using sticky notes, a<br />
clipboard in each area, and other simple<br />
strategies for jotting things down. i also<br />
told her she didn’t need to write a com-<br />
By looking back<br />
at your notes<br />
periodically, you can<br />
see where you need<br />
to fill in anecdotes<br />
on a particular<br />
child and/or area<br />
of development.<br />
plete anecdote on the spot — just enough<br />
to jog her memory so that at planning<br />
time she could fill in the details. “Try it<br />
and get back to me to let me know how<br />
it went,” i concluded. At our next encounter<br />
she told me that she was able<br />
to get more out of her notes now that<br />
she had an easy way to do them that<br />
didn’t interrupt her play and interactions<br />
with the children. She was now able to<br />
see much more growth developmentally,<br />
socially, and in all areas of their “bright<br />
little lives.”<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 24
HigH/SCoPE PRoFESSioNAL DEvELoPMENT<br />
Training<br />
@<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Workshops —<br />
Learn more about the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
educational approach by attending workshops,<br />
customized training, <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Regional Conferences, or the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational Conference. Topics include<br />
all the major elements of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
approach — active learning, adult-child<br />
interaction, the daily routine, <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
key experiences, and assessment using<br />
the Child Observation Record (COR).<br />
Courses —<br />
Designed for more in-depth curriculum training, courses range from one week to seven weeks in<br />
length. <strong>The</strong>y include curriculum training designed for teachers and administrators and adult training<br />
courses designed to prepare participants to be <strong>High</strong>/Scope trainers.<br />
Advanced Courses —<br />
Recommended for those who have taken the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum and/or Training of Trainers<br />
(TOT) courses. <strong>The</strong>se courses offer in-depth, sophisticated work with content areas, such as literacy,<br />
mathematics, science, visual arts, movement and music, the Preschool Child Observation Record<br />
(COR), and the Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA). <strong>The</strong>y also cover a wide range of processes,<br />
such as mentoring, evaluation, and working with children and adults in full-day programs<br />
and multiage, bilingual, and intergenerational settings.<br />
Certification requirements<br />
To become a <strong>High</strong>/Scope Certified Teacher —<br />
Candidates must demonstrate their competence in implementing the <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach and<br />
using <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s child assessment instrument in their own classroom settings. Successful teachers<br />
must attain an average score of 4.5 or higher on a 5.0 scale using <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Program Quality<br />
Assessment (PQA) and must document and share daily plans with <strong>High</strong>/Scope. Completing the<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Preschool Curriculum Course is extremely beneficial in helping teachers develop skills<br />
measured by the PQA.<br />
To become a <strong>High</strong>/Scope Certified Trainer —<br />
Candidates must successfully complete seven weeks of training, including the Preschool Curriculum<br />
Course and the Training of Trainers Course. Coursework includes learning observation and feedback<br />
techniques, assessing staff needs, developing course agendas, and presenting both abstract<br />
and concrete concepts. To be certified, trainers must demonstrate both their curriculum knowledge<br />
and their training skills.<br />
Certified <strong>High</strong>/Scope Trainers ensure that an agency’s teaching practices are appropriate, effective,<br />
and consistent. Research indicates that programs with ongoing <strong>High</strong>/Scope training have more<br />
effective and productive interaction between adults and children, a consistent daily routine, and a<br />
more engaging environment for students.<br />
To become a <strong>High</strong>/Scope Certified Program —<br />
Child service programs in which all teachers are certified may become <strong>High</strong>/Scope Certified<br />
Programs.<br />
Spotlight on<br />
Training from<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope is for <strong>Elementary</strong>-Age<br />
Students Too!<br />
Kindergarten Teachers<br />
Primary grade Teachers<br />
Principals<br />
Child Care Staff<br />
Curriculum Specialists<br />
Mentor Teachers<br />
Wondering what happens to pre-K<br />
children when they enter big school?<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope now offers a workshop that<br />
examines the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum in<br />
elementary grade classrooms. Discover<br />
what plan-do-review looks like in a K–3<br />
classroom, learn how to plan meaningful<br />
content workshops, and gain practical<br />
ideas for setting up a learning environment<br />
that meets local, state, and regional<br />
guidelines and <strong>High</strong>/Scope principles.<br />
Tuition: $675/person<br />
July 13–17, 2009<br />
offered on-site in Lakeworth, Florida<br />
Customized Workshops by<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
<strong>Classroom</strong>s and child care programs<br />
are unique. <strong>High</strong>/Scope staff is available<br />
to visit programs and provide classroom<br />
observation, feedback, and mentoring.<br />
one <strong>High</strong>/Scope staff member can visit<br />
and provide support for two to three<br />
classrooms per day. Strengths and opportunities<br />
identified in these sessions help<br />
drive curriculum and training plans for<br />
teachers and supervisors. With input<br />
from teaching staff, parents, and others,<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope can design a course agenda<br />
to deliver to fifteen workshop participants.<br />
Fees for customized services are<br />
$1,200/day plus travel expenses.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 25
HigH/SCoPE PRoFESSioNAL DEvELoPMENT<br />
WORKSHOPS<br />
Summer 2009<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope offers the following<br />
workshops and courses at the foundation’s<br />
headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan.<br />
Workshops provide examination<br />
and discussion about a specific component<br />
of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum.<br />
Training Courses provide teachers with<br />
all of the technical assistance to fully<br />
implement the curriculum and to build<br />
the capacity to provide ongoing support<br />
to their colleagues.<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduction to the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Curriculum for <strong>In</strong>fants and<br />
Toddlers<br />
This week-long workshop is designed<br />
to provide teachers with an overview of<br />
the successful <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum<br />
for infants and Toddlers. This is a perfect<br />
opportunity for Early Head Start<br />
teachers, Head Start teachers, program<br />
administrators, and parents.<br />
IN543 • July 13–17, 2009<br />
<strong>In</strong>fant/Toddler Child Observation<br />
Record (COR)<br />
in this two-day workshop, participants<br />
will work through a multistep approach<br />
to the daily process of observing,<br />
recording, interpreting, and planning<br />
based on infant-toddler development.<br />
WK547 • July 13–14, 2009<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduction to the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Curriculum for Preschool<br />
Teachers: Basic Principles<br />
and Strategies<br />
This workshop provides teachers with<br />
a one-week overview of the components<br />
of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum. Discussion<br />
will focus on curriculum content<br />
areas, valid and reliable assessment, the<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope daily routine, team building,<br />
effective adult-child interaction<br />
strategies, and more.<br />
IN511 • June 22–26, 2009<br />
or July 27–31, 2009<br />
Preschool Child Observation<br />
Record (COR)<br />
This workshop provides teachers with<br />
background, knowledge, and practical<br />
applications of the CoR. <strong>The</strong> Preschool<br />
CoR focuses on children’s everyday activities<br />
rather than isolated tasks used in<br />
standardized school readiness and<br />
achievement tests.<br />
WK513 • July 15–16, 2009<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduction to <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
Growing Readers Early Literacy<br />
Curriculum<br />
<strong>The</strong> growing Readers Early Literacy<br />
Curriculum (gRC) is a comprehensive<br />
set of detailed plans for more than 90<br />
teacher-led small-group activities and<br />
accompanying children’s book collection.<br />
<strong>The</strong> activities actively engage and<br />
instruct young children in literacy comprehension,<br />
phonological awareness,<br />
alphabetic principle, and concepts about<br />
print. in this workshop participants will<br />
learn how to use these materials effectively<br />
to help children build new knowledge<br />
and literacy skills.<br />
WK610 • July 20–21, 2009<br />
Layered Leadership<br />
in this two-day workshop, supervisors<br />
will discuss and make plans for building<br />
and sustaining high-quality early childhood<br />
education programs. Discussion<br />
includes establishing an effective daily<br />
routine for children and staff; identifying,<br />
hiring, and motivating staff to implement<br />
the organizational plan; evaluating the<br />
team’s efforts and growth; documenting<br />
success; and regrouping when challenges<br />
occur.<br />
Tuition is $240/participant and includes<br />
a copy of the award-winning<br />
publication, <strong>The</strong> School Administrator’s<br />
Guide to Early Childhood Programs,<br />
published by the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Foundation.<br />
WK624 • July 23–24, 2009<br />
Movement and Music Overview<br />
Conducted at the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Retreat<br />
and Meeting Center in Clinton,<br />
Michigan (room and board included)<br />
This one-week course promotes<br />
understanding of the movement-based<br />
active learning process, the movement<br />
and music curriculum areas and teaching<br />
model, strategies for successful<br />
curriculum integration, and several<br />
beginning folk dances.<br />
IN558 • July 6–11, 2009<br />
Movement and Music Teacher<br />
Certification Program<br />
Conducted at the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Retreat<br />
and Meeting Center in Clinton,<br />
Michigan (room and board included)<br />
This summer program (two summers)<br />
promotes mastery of Education Through<br />
Movement content developed by Phyllis<br />
S. Weikart.. Teachers are Certified as<br />
Education Through Movement Teachers.<br />
TE554 • July 6–17, 2009<br />
Part Two is in Summer 2010<br />
Continued on next page<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 26
HigH/SCoPE PRoFESSioNAL DEvELoPMENT<br />
TRAINING COURSES<br />
Training of Trainers (TOT)<br />
(Conducted over two summers)<br />
Prerequisite is the Preschool Curriculum<br />
Course or equivalent.<br />
<strong>The</strong> three-week Training of Trainers<br />
course is designed for those who have<br />
already completed extensive training in<br />
the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum and wish to<br />
extend their skills to training adults in the<br />
educational approach. <strong>The</strong> course is held<br />
over two summers at the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Foundation headquarters in Ypsilanti,<br />
Michigan; two weeks the first summer<br />
and one week the second. Those successfully<br />
completing the course earn<br />
certification as <strong>High</strong>/Scope trainers<br />
with an endorsement in the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Preschool Curriculum.<br />
Week 1 Developing and<br />
Presenting Workshops<br />
TR515 • July 20–24, 2009<br />
Week 2 Observation/Feedback<br />
TR516 • July 27–31, 2009<br />
Week 3<br />
TR517 • Summer 2010<br />
Preschool Curriculum Course<br />
(PCC)<br />
(Conducted over two summers)<br />
<strong>The</strong> four-week Preschool Curriculum<br />
Course is designed to prepare teachers<br />
and caregivers to implement the <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope Curriculum in their early childhood<br />
programs.<br />
Week 1<br />
Fundamentals in the <strong>High</strong>/<br />
Scope Preschool Curriculum<br />
TE511 • August 3–7, 2009<br />
Week 2<br />
Children in the <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Preschool Environment<br />
TE512 • August 10–14, 2009<br />
Weeks 3–4<br />
Summer of 2010<br />
For more information on <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
professional development options, customized<br />
on-site training, or certification,<br />
please contact Gavin Haque at 734-485-<br />
2000, Ext. 218, or via e-mail at training@<br />
high<strong>scope</strong>.org, or visit our web site at<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org.<br />
To register for training, call 734-485-<br />
2000, Ext. 234, fax 734-485-4467, or register<br />
online at www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org.<br />
NEW!<br />
online Courses<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope is now offering online<br />
course work in which participants join an<br />
e-learning community and have access<br />
to group discussion as well as individual<br />
attention from the course instructor.<br />
Course work can be accessed and completed<br />
anywhere, anytime — all with<br />
personal attention from the instructor<br />
and classmates.<br />
Large-Group Time for Active Learners<br />
if you want to learn how to bring children<br />
and adults together for action songs,<br />
cooperative games and projects, movement<br />
activities, storytelling, and more,<br />
then you should consider this workshop!<br />
Small-Group Time for Active Learners<br />
in this course you will learn to make<br />
small-group time a truly meaningful<br />
experience. in a high-quality classroom,<br />
teachers and children explore new materials,<br />
new experiences, and new ideas<br />
during small-group time.<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Child Planning and<br />
Recall Process<br />
This course gives you the tools to<br />
help children become intentional and<br />
reflective about their experiences and<br />
build skills that will last them a lifetime.<br />
Assessing Preschool Program Quality<br />
Using the PQA<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope’s Program Quality Assessment<br />
(PQA) measures a program’s<br />
effectiveness in the areas of learning environment,<br />
daily routine, adult-child interaction,<br />
parent involvement, curriculum<br />
planning and assessment, staff<br />
qualifications and development, and program<br />
management. Use of this tool will<br />
increase your understanding of highquality<br />
practice. Learn to observe and<br />
administer the PQA in your classrooms.<br />
For more detailed descriptions of<br />
these new online courses, as well as<br />
schedule and cost information, please<br />
visit our Web site.<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 27
Looking for a<br />
new preschool<br />
curriculum?<br />
Just beginning<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
implementation? HIGH/SCOPE<br />
STEP STEP<br />
BY<br />
Preschool programs are all unique; each one faces different challenges<br />
when implementing a new curriculum. Some programs have an experienced<br />
and trained staff and can take on new challenges quickly. Others<br />
may not be as experienced and prefer to take things more slowly. And,<br />
of course, budgets are always an issue.<br />
Implementing a high-quality curriculum, if done well, is like a journey.<br />
It may take a little time, but what you learn along the way creates positive<br />
child outcomes and a stronger teaching staff. Regardless of the challenges<br />
you are facing, we can help you take that journey...step by step.<br />
To simplify the process, we have created three steps — each including<br />
recommendations for products and training. As you progress, you will<br />
build knowledge and skills that prepare you and your team to take the next<br />
step. It’s a way to learn about and implement the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum<br />
in easy, manageable pieces. From there you can step up to more depth in<br />
specific areas such as literacy, math, intentional teaching, assessment,<br />
and more.<br />
And the best part is...<br />
You can take each step — one at a time — at your own pace and<br />
within your budget. Or, if your team can move more quickly, buy all<br />
of the steps at one time. It’s up to you! And, you are not limited to the<br />
packages we have created. We can help you create and customize<br />
your own step packages, if you prefer.<br />
Ready to take the first step?<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Step by Step offers you an affordable and achievable plan<br />
for curriculum implementation. Learn more about each step or let us<br />
help customize steps that are right for you by contacting:<br />
For <strong>Resource</strong>s:<br />
Kathleen Woodard 734/485-2000, ext. 255 info@high<strong>scope</strong>.org<br />
For Training:<br />
Gavin Haque 734/485-2000, ext. 218 training@high<strong>scope</strong>.org
HigH/SCoPE CATALog<br />
New Products<br />
Take a closer look at our newest titles!<br />
We have just introduced some exciting products and classroom resources. <strong>The</strong>se are just a few of the many titles<br />
featured in our latest catalog. To see what else we have to offer, visit our online store.<br />
Real Science<br />
in Preschool: Here,<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, and Everywhere<br />
Wondering how to “do science”<br />
with preschoolers? This latest volume in<br />
the Teacher’s idea Book series shows<br />
you how authentic, hands-on science<br />
learning takes place every day throughout<br />
the classroom as well as outdoors.<br />
You’ll learn to recognize and support<br />
the six behaviors that are part of the<br />
preschool scientific method (observing,<br />
classifying, experimenting, predicting,<br />
drawing conclusions, and communicating<br />
ideas) that you’ll see in all types of<br />
children’s play — behaviors that lay the<br />
groundwork for children’s later science<br />
learning in school. introductory chapters<br />
provide an overview of early science<br />
learning and supportive adult-child interactions,<br />
while later chapters take you<br />
on a tour of classroom interest areas to<br />
find the science learning going on and<br />
consider strategies and materials that encourage<br />
children’s ideas. Also includes<br />
information on creating science-related<br />
group-time activities based on children’s<br />
interests and templates for developing<br />
your own group-time activities.<br />
FW-P1366 $25.95<br />
P. Neill. Soft cover, photos, approx.<br />
170 pages. 978-1-57379-364-3<br />
From Message to<br />
Meaning: Using a<br />
Daily Message<br />
Board in the Preschool<br />
<strong>Classroom</strong><br />
When teachers<br />
and children read<br />
the daily message<br />
board together<br />
at greeting time,<br />
they engage in a shared reading experience<br />
that leads to conversation<br />
and the exchange of ideas. <strong>The</strong> message<br />
board — whether a dry-erase<br />
board, easel pad, chalkboard, or similar<br />
surface — provides children with important<br />
information about the day ahead.<br />
As active participants in deciphering the<br />
information presented on the message<br />
board, children are more likely to remember<br />
it. This knowledge helps children<br />
to feel more secure in the classroom;<br />
as a result, they are able to act more independently<br />
and move more easily from<br />
one part of the day to the next.<br />
This book describes the benefits of<br />
using a daily message board at greeting<br />
time, guides teachers through the process<br />
of creating messages, and offers<br />
strategies for making the message board<br />
an engaging and interactive experience<br />
for children.<br />
This book also includes<br />
Strategies for incorporating a daily<br />
message board into your own early<br />
childhood program<br />
guidelines for “writing” messages<br />
<strong>Classroom</strong> examples with illustrations<br />
of actual messages<br />
Tips for follow-up activities<br />
FW-P1355 $19.95<br />
S. Gainsley. Soft cover, photos and<br />
illustrations. 978-1-57379-355-1<br />
Tasty Talk:<br />
40 Mealtime<br />
Conversation<br />
Starters<br />
You can<br />
make snack-<br />
and mealtimes<br />
important<br />
learning times for preschool children!<br />
Tasty Talk: 40 Mealtime Conversation<br />
Starters puts ideas for conversation and<br />
simple games at your fingertips so you<br />
can get children thinking, talking, reflecting,<br />
and sharing on a variety of<br />
subjects while enjoying a snack or meal.<br />
in addition to helping boost children’s<br />
literacy and social skills, these ideas<br />
can help children engage with other key<br />
curriculum content through playful talk<br />
with adults and other children. Attractive<br />
4" by 5" cards, printed on one side, come<br />
in a handy miniature lunch box.<br />
FW-P1357 $14.95<br />
B. Marshall. 43 4” x 5” 2-color cards<br />
in 43/4” x 51/2” metal lunch box.<br />
978-1-57379-356-8<br />
Continued on next page<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 29
HigH/SCoPE CATALog: NEW PRoDUCTS<br />
Moving Past<br />
Praise: Supporting<br />
Children With<br />
Encouragement<br />
in this media<br />
program, you’ll learn<br />
why encouragement<br />
is more effective than<br />
praise in improving<br />
children’s selfworth<br />
and self-esteem. You will<br />
discover how to move from praising<br />
children to encouraging them using<br />
three easy-to-implement support<br />
strategies. in addition, you’ll observe<br />
real classroom examples of<br />
teachers using encouragement to<br />
support preschool children and hear<br />
tips on how you can incorporate<br />
these strategies into your teaching<br />
practices.<br />
Video: FW-P1360 $24.95<br />
Color, approx. 20 minutes, viewer<br />
guide included. 978-1-57379-359-5<br />
DVD: FW-P1361 $29.95<br />
978-1-57379-360-5<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>In</strong>door and<br />
Outdoor Learning<br />
Environment<br />
To support children’s<br />
active learning,<br />
adults in early childhood<br />
programs set up<br />
the learning environment<br />
to provide children<br />
with plentiful<br />
materials and choices about how to use<br />
them. This means designing the overall<br />
learning space with different interest<br />
areas and labeling and storage systems<br />
that provide children easy access to the<br />
items they wish to use in their play.<br />
This all-new media program includes<br />
examples from a variety of <strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
settings showing how adults can foster<br />
children’s initiative and creativity<br />
through a supportive learning environment,<br />
both indoors and outdoors.<br />
Video: FW-P1358 $34.95<br />
Color, viewer guide included.<br />
978-1-57379-357-5<br />
DVD: FW-P1359 $39.95<br />
978-1-57379-358-2<br />
Storybook Talk:<br />
Conversations for<br />
Comprehension<br />
“Let’s read it<br />
again!” is a phrase<br />
that teachers and<br />
parents are likely<br />
to hear often when<br />
reading with preschoolers.<br />
Storybook<br />
Talk shows you how to make reading<br />
and rereading a beloved book enjoyable<br />
for both children and adults while<br />
improving children’s comprehension.<br />
<strong>The</strong> book gives guidance on storybook<br />
selection and analysis and offers 63<br />
strategies for inviting child talk during<br />
story reading that build children’s vocabulary<br />
as well as their ability to connect<br />
with stories, retell them, and predict<br />
what happens next. Research shows<br />
that when adults read interactively with<br />
children, the children build skills that<br />
motivate them to read and enable them<br />
to learn from reading. With Storybook<br />
Talk, you can help children experience<br />
reading as a source of both information<br />
and pleasure!<br />
FW-P1354 $19.95<br />
M. Hohmann & K. Adams. Soft cover,<br />
photos, 66 pages. 978-1-57379-353-7<br />
NEW from <strong>High</strong>/Scope — the ability<br />
to download valuable fact sheets and<br />
newsletters as PDF files that you may reproduce<br />
for 90-days. <strong>The</strong>se new products<br />
are available exclusively in <strong>High</strong>/Scope’s<br />
online store at www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org.<br />
Here’s how it works: After you purchase<br />
the fact sheet(s) or newsletter(s) you will<br />
be e-mailed a link to download the PDF<br />
file directly to your computer. Each PDF<br />
file contains a license that gives you<br />
permission to reproduce this copyrighted<br />
material for 90-days. A convenient and<br />
economical way to share information on<br />
the <strong>High</strong>/Scope Curriculum!<br />
All About<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope<br />
Fact Sheets<br />
<strong>The</strong> information<br />
contained<br />
in these<br />
10 fourpage<br />
fact<br />
sheets is<br />
ideal for<br />
informing<br />
parents, policymakers,<br />
administrators, and others about the<br />
key aspects of the <strong>High</strong>/Scope approach<br />
and can also be used for on-site teacher<br />
training. <strong>The</strong>se PDF fact sheets are<br />
available in both black and white and<br />
color, so you can choose the format that<br />
best suits your needs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 10 All About <strong>High</strong>/Scope fact<br />
sheets are written in clear, concise,<br />
easy-to-understand language and cover<br />
these topics:<br />
1. Educational Approach<br />
FW-D1001 978-1-57379-365-0<br />
2. <strong>High</strong>/Scope Foundation<br />
FW-D1002 978-1-57379-366-7<br />
3. Program Setting<br />
FW-D1003 978-1-57379-367-4<br />
Continued on next page<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 30
HigH/SCoPE CATALog: NEW PRoDUCTS<br />
4. Active Learning<br />
FW-D1004 978-1-57379-368-1<br />
5. Adult-Child <strong>In</strong>teraction<br />
FW-D1005 978-1-57379-369-8<br />
6. Daily Routine<br />
FW-D1006 978-1-57379-370-4<br />
7. Plan-Do-Review<br />
FW-D1007 978-1-57379-371-1<br />
8. Preschool Key Developmental <strong>In</strong>dicators<br />
FW-D1008 978-1-57379-372-8<br />
(includes a special separate page listing<br />
the <strong>High</strong>/Scope KDis that can be<br />
posted on a wall for easy reference.)<br />
9. Resolving Conflicts<br />
FW-D1009 978-1-57379-373-5<br />
10. Child and Program Evaluation<br />
FW-D1010 978-1-57379-374-2<br />
$9.95/each<br />
includes one 90-day license for<br />
reproduction.<br />
You & Your<br />
Child Parent<br />
Newsletter<br />
Series<br />
Each of<br />
these practical<br />
and informative<br />
PDF newsletters<br />
addresses<br />
a specific<br />
topic of interest to parents<br />
and includes helpful support strategies<br />
they can use at home. <strong>The</strong> four-page<br />
newsletters are offered in both black and<br />
white and color, so you can choose the<br />
format that best suits your needs.<br />
For programs that want to add individual<br />
site information, each newsletter<br />
includes an attractively designed page<br />
so that sites can imprint news and notes<br />
about their program.<br />
Each You & Your Child newsletter<br />
contains photos, captions, and content<br />
that is easy to understand and read and<br />
that covers topics important to parents:<br />
Young Children and Reading<br />
FW-D1011 978-1-57379-385-8<br />
Young Children and Writing<br />
FW-D1012 978-1-57379-386-5<br />
Young Children and Mathematics<br />
FW-D1013 978-1-57379-387-2<br />
Young Children and Art<br />
FW-D1014 978-1-57379-388-9<br />
Young Children and Dramatic Play<br />
FW-D1015 978-1-57379-389-6<br />
Young Children and Music<br />
FW-D1016 978-1-57379-390-2<br />
Young Children and Movement<br />
FW-D1017 978-1-57379-391-9<br />
Young Children as Family Members<br />
FW-D1018 978-1-57379-392-6<br />
Young Children as Communicators<br />
FW-D1019 978-1-57379-393-3<br />
Young Children as Decision Makers<br />
FW-D1020 978-1-57379-394-0<br />
Young Children as Challengers<br />
FW-D1021 978-1-57379-395-7<br />
Young Children as Problem Solvers<br />
FW-D1022 978-1-57379-396-4<br />
$9.95/each<br />
includes one 90-day license for<br />
reproduction.<br />
To view our entire catalog,<br />
click here<br />
To Order:<br />
Order Online<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org<br />
Order Toll-Free<br />
1-800-40-PRESS<br />
Fax Toll-Free<br />
1-800-442-4FAX<br />
Or mail orders and/or payments to<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Press<br />
600 N. river Street<br />
Ypsilanti, MI 48198-2898<br />
We accept personal checks, MasterCard,<br />
Visa, Discover, AMEX, and purchase orders.<br />
Prices are subject to change without notice.<br />
Important Ordering<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation<br />
Phone, Mail, and Fax Orders<br />
Terms for purchase orders are 30 days net.<br />
We do not offer a cash discount. Payment must<br />
be in U.S. funds.<br />
Shipping <strong>In</strong>formation<br />
Orders are shipped within 10 days (all instock<br />
items).<br />
U.S. orders shipped UPS. <strong>In</strong>ternational orders<br />
shipped Global Priority or Fed Ex Economy.<br />
Shipping calculated at 8% of total on prepaid<br />
orders (also $3 handling fee). Actual shipping<br />
(also $3 handling fee) charged on billed orders.<br />
Shipping charges will vary according to location.<br />
rush-Order Service<br />
<strong>In</strong>-stock items shipped within 24 hours via<br />
UPS Ground. Please call for expedited shipping<br />
options.<br />
A $6 handling fee applies.<br />
We will notify you immediately if an item is<br />
out of stock.<br />
return Policy<br />
Full credit for items returned within<br />
6 months of purchase and in original<br />
condition (shrinkwrap must not be<br />
removed). rMA number required before<br />
returning merchandise.<br />
20% restocking fee charged on all returns<br />
without shrinkwrap.<br />
Please mail return<br />
merchandise only to:<br />
<strong>High</strong>/Scope Press<br />
C/O TGI Direct<br />
1225 rosewood, Ann Arbor, MI 48104<br />
www.high<strong>scope</strong>.org ReSource Fall/Winter 2008 31
INSPIRING EDUCATORS to INSPIRE CHILDREN<br />
Don’t forget<br />
to let us know what you think!<br />
Please take a few moments to complete our survey about this<br />
new electronic format of ReSource magazine. Whether you love it or hate it,<br />
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Please help us make these updates<br />
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