Long Term Planning
Before the school year begins I develop a long-term plan to help assist in the implementation of curriculum. This long-term plan is informed by early childhood development, inquiry-based practices, the Reggio Emilia-inspired approach and standards of learning used by DC Public Schools. I use a multitude of diverse and cross-disciplinary sources to create joyful learning experiences for my Pre-Kindergarten students that align with our curriculum objectives. The foundation of our long-term planning is Teaching Strategies GOLD Objectives of Learning (as seen below). The GOLD objectives create our school's assessment and report card system for Pre-Kindergarten students. Each of my 20 students needs to master each of the objectives and fall within the Pre-Kindergarten developmental band by the end of the year.
As a Pre-Kindergarten team we focus initially on the Social and Emotional and Physical domains due to their necessity in building any other academic skills. We then proceed to each of the other objectives in numerical order for Long Term Planning. However, due to the way I set up the classroom environment (The Third Teacher) and my use of inquiry and project-based approaches many of the other objectives are covered simultaneously through child-led experiences. Since this is a common occurrence I always plan to observe and document their learning across all domains throughout the year through long and short term planning.
I use the following curriculum guides to meet students where they are, develop strategies, select materials and help develop the long-term plan:
-Responsive Classroom: The First Six Weeks of School for the beginning of the year that connects to the Social and Emotional, Physical, Language and Cognitive Domains.
-Get Set For School Pre-K Teachers Guides for Language and Literacy as well as Numbers and Math for Mathematics
-Handwriting Without Tears for Writing
-Learning Together with Young Children for Social and Emotional and Cognitive Domains
Other approaches and frameworks that I use to help define the long term plan are:
-The Framework for Global Competence by Veronica Boix Mansilla
-The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools by Mariale Hardiman
-Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach
The essential questions come from each of the objectives within Teaching Strategies GOLD and are incorporated throughout the long-term plan and revisited multiple times a year. I take time to reflect on what happens throughout the long-term plan to ensure that students are gaining the skills and experiences necessary to master the various objectives. Each of the curriculum and framework guides brings a holistic and well-rounded approach to the long-term plan and school year.
I use the following curriculum guides to meet students where they are, develop strategies, select materials and help develop the long-term plan:
-Responsive Classroom: The First Six Weeks of School for the beginning of the year that connects to the Social and Emotional, Physical, Language and Cognitive Domains.
-Get Set For School Pre-K Teachers Guides for Language and Literacy as well as Numbers and Math for Mathematics
-Handwriting Without Tears for Writing
-Learning Together with Young Children for Social and Emotional and Cognitive Domains
Other approaches and frameworks that I use to help define the long term plan are:
-The Framework for Global Competence by Veronica Boix Mansilla
-The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st Century Schools by Mariale Hardiman
-Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach
The essential questions come from each of the objectives within Teaching Strategies GOLD and are incorporated throughout the long-term plan and revisited multiple times a year. I take time to reflect on what happens throughout the long-term plan to ensure that students are gaining the skills and experiences necessary to master the various objectives. Each of the curriculum and framework guides brings a holistic and well-rounded approach to the long-term plan and school year.
Long-Term Plan: Pre-Kindergarten
Below is a long term plan I created to teach Pre-Kindergarten students. Starting with the Teaching Strategies GOLD objectives I considered the learning development of young children and created a long-term plan to address the necessity for building relationships first in the sequence before moving into more academic domains throughout the year. I started with Social and Emotional and Physical domains for that reason and then added Language, Cognitive, Literacy and Mathematics (as seen on page 2). Once each domain was organized into units I used the objectives to create learning goals within each unit. Those learning goals were then used to create related essential questions that are revisited throughout the year (seen in bold under each learning goal on pages 3-16). Some examples of the essential questions are:
-Essential questions for Social and Emotional and Physical Domains: Does the child independently and consistently self regulate and manage classroom routines? Engage in positive relationships and participate in the group? Travel, balance and utilize gross-motor skills? Utilize fine motor skills to manipulate objects?
-Essential questions for Language and Cognitive Domains: Does the child independently and consistently listen and understand spoken language? Verbally express themselves and engage in conversations? Sustain work, solve problems and use their imagination? Remember and connect experiences, classify and symbolically represent their thinking?
-Essential questions for Literacy Domain: Does the child independently and consistently comprehend phonological awareness? Know the letters and sounds of the alphabet? Utilize print concepts? Comprehend stories and retell them? Write their name and to express meaning?
-Essential questions for Mathematics Domain: Does the child independently and consistently understand and engage with number concepts? Utilize spatial relationships and describe shapes? Compares and measures objects? Copies and creates patterns?
Each domain represents what topics the emergent projects or units the lessons will center around. All objectives will be covered on an ongoing basis but projects focus on a combination of domains throughout the year. As a Reggio Emilia-inspired and constructivist school we do not pre-select themes or topics of study until after we meet the children, learn about their families and observe them in the classroom to determine what type of project would be most meaningful for them. For this reason the Long-Term plan only includes a general overview of what standards and objectives will be covered during a given time period rather than a set theme.
Below is a long term plan I created to teach Pre-Kindergarten students. Starting with the Teaching Strategies GOLD objectives I considered the learning development of young children and created a long-term plan to address the necessity for building relationships first in the sequence before moving into more academic domains throughout the year. I started with Social and Emotional and Physical domains for that reason and then added Language, Cognitive, Literacy and Mathematics (as seen on page 2). Once each domain was organized into units I used the objectives to create learning goals within each unit. Those learning goals were then used to create related essential questions that are revisited throughout the year (seen in bold under each learning goal on pages 3-16). Some examples of the essential questions are:
-Essential questions for Social and Emotional and Physical Domains: Does the child independently and consistently self regulate and manage classroom routines? Engage in positive relationships and participate in the group? Travel, balance and utilize gross-motor skills? Utilize fine motor skills to manipulate objects?
-Essential questions for Language and Cognitive Domains: Does the child independently and consistently listen and understand spoken language? Verbally express themselves and engage in conversations? Sustain work, solve problems and use their imagination? Remember and connect experiences, classify and symbolically represent their thinking?
-Essential questions for Literacy Domain: Does the child independently and consistently comprehend phonological awareness? Know the letters and sounds of the alphabet? Utilize print concepts? Comprehend stories and retell them? Write their name and to express meaning?
-Essential questions for Mathematics Domain: Does the child independently and consistently understand and engage with number concepts? Utilize spatial relationships and describe shapes? Compares and measures objects? Copies and creates patterns?
Each domain represents what topics the emergent projects or units the lessons will center around. All objectives will be covered on an ongoing basis but projects focus on a combination of domains throughout the year. As a Reggio Emilia-inspired and constructivist school we do not pre-select themes or topics of study until after we meet the children, learn about their families and observe them in the classroom to determine what type of project would be most meaningful for them. For this reason the Long-Term plan only includes a general overview of what standards and objectives will be covered during a given time period rather than a set theme.
As seen in my long-term plan I explain how its design connects to student achievement and why I sequenced the focus of the units as I did. Embedded within each unit you can read the related essential questions and objectives. Since we are an emergent project-based school the units only focus on domains of learning rather than a pre-selected topic. The children design that part throughout the year.
School Year Calendar
The DC Public School Calendar was used to map out the length of each unit and which objectives would be covered within each one. Important dates and days off school were taken into account so that it wouldn't effect the long-term plan's implementation.
The DC Public School Calendar was used to map out the length of each unit and which objectives would be covered within each one. Important dates and days off school were taken into account so that it wouldn't effect the long-term plan's implementation.
Once the long-term plan was created the curriculum resources were utilized to create more detailed unit plans.