Early Childhood Standards of Quality for ... - State of Michigan

ELE: EARLY LEARNING IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES9. What is the evidence that all children are encouraged to be a member ofthe community, yet also be autonomous?10. How does the staff work to meet the needs of each child to ensure asense of belonging?11. How is the room arranged so that groups of different sizes can betogether (i.e., encouraging sociability and community)?12. How do families become aware of ‘community-building’ activitiesin the class?13. What opportunities do children have to be involved in the communitybeyond their own classroom?5. Early Learning Expectation: Children increase their understandingabout how basic economic concepts relate to their lives. [HSCOF-SS 6.5.3]Children typically:1. Can talk about some of the workers and services in their community.2. Can talk about some of the ways people earn a living.3. Begin to understand that people pay for things with a representation ofmoney; e.g., currency, checks, debit cards, credit cards.4. Make simple choices about how to spend money.Examples of Experiences and Strategies• Children have frequent opportunities to be involved in the life of theircommunity and their school.• Pretend play and dramatic play environments include realistic tools orequipment to use; e.g., measuring tape, child size tools, cooking tools,technology, calculators, cash register.• Community members visit the school to demonstrate or talk about theirtrades; e.g., baker, builder, painter, recycler.Questions for Reflection1. What opportunities are available for symbolic play? How do adultsbecome involved in the child’s play? How do these roles supportchildren’s learning?2. What learning activities model buying and selling?3. How are parents provided strategies to help their children begin tounderstand the concepts of ‘want’ vs. ‘need,’ ‘enough,’ ‘too much’ and asense of conservation vs. wasteful actions.132 Michigan Department of Education