Highscope Curriculum
Busy Little Bees uses the HighScope Curriculum. This Curriculum is
designed to provide a rich academic foundation while promoting independence,
decision-making, cooperation, creativity, and problem-solving in young children. It
includes learning objectives, effective adult interaction strategies, and assessment
measures that help programs ensure a high-quality experience for all learners.
Teachers using the HighScope Curriculum work in partnership with parents and
other family members to promote children’s learning. They provide information
about the curriculum and early learning, invite family members to participate in
classroom activities and parent workshops, discuss children’s progress, and share
ideas for extending classroom learning in the home. As a result, teachers report that
parents have a better understanding of how their children are developing and
learning.
To understand what Letter Links are and what they are intended to do, we must first gain an understanding of alphabetic knowledge.
ALPHABETIC KNOWLEDGE
- Definition: Children identify letter names and their sounds.
- Description: Children know letters are a category of symbols that can be individually named. They name a growing number of letters and associate them with their sounds (often beginning with the initial of their first name and/or other familiar words).
- How alphabetic knowledge develops:
- Alphabetic knowledge first means understanding the alphabetic principle, that there is a systematic relationship between letters and their sounds. Children then acquire increasing knowledge about these specific connections, that is, the sound(s) associated with each letter. The gateway to this understanding is often the child's own name, beginning with the first letter. Children achieve this recognition because their names are important to them. If you try to teach children the names and sounds of letters by rote (e.g., by the "letter of the day"), the connection is likely to be lost on them (Wasik, 2001).
Once children grasp the alphabetic principle, they often ask adults about the names and sounds of other letters. They make informed guesses at reading and writing familiar words, such as reading mom when they remember that m makes the /m/ sound. Thus, to fully develop alphabetic awareness, children need both phonological (sound) awareness and knowledge about how spoken sounds are represented by letters in print. HighScope's letter links, which are labels that pair the initial sound and letter of a child's name with a familiar object (such as Evan and egg), help children make this connection (DeBruin-Parecki & Hohmann, 2003). Children use letter links on their cubbies, sign-up lists, art projects, and so on. They soon learn not only their own letter links but also those of their peers.
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The Letter Links name learning system pairs a child’s printed name tag with a letter-linked picture for a word that starts with the same letter and sound. For example, Emily's letter link includes her nametag plus a picture of an elf.
The Letter Links system enables you to introduce your students to letter names and
sounds by building on children’s natural attachment to their own names. As children use
letter links to identify themselves and their classmates, they begin to develop an
understanding of the alphabetic principle — the understanding that alphabet letters and
the sounds of speech are connected. Children also build phonological awareness — the
ability to attend to the sounds of language as distinct from its meaning.
ACTIVE LEARNING AT HOME THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Just as children engage in active learning throughout the preschool daily routine, parents can incorporate learning into different parts of the day at home. For example, you can do the following:
- Engage your child in early math experiences by having him or her help you match socks when you take the laundry out of the dryer.
- Count various items--fruit in the bowl, toys on the shelf, or even mosquito bites on an ankle!
- Foster early literacy experiences by making a grocery list together.
- Name colors on packages when you do grocery shopping together.
- Remember to use transitions between activities as opportunities for learning. For example, if children are playing in the living room and it's time to clean up before the evening meal, you might suggest children choose what way they want to move as they put toys away--for example, move like an animal, dance, jump, skip, tiptoe.
- Have fun together!
TIPS FOR INTERACTING WITH YOUR CHILD
Young children are constantly learning--everything is new to them. here are some adult-child interaction strategies that will help foster children's active learning and development.
- Join children in their play. Get on the floor with children, join them at a table or in the sandbox, play games with them--become engaged in what they are doing!
- Imitate what the children are doing; that is, play with the same materials in the same way as the children. For example, an adult gives Emma a portion of play dough that has marbles hidden inside. Emma squeezes the dough with both hands. The adult also squeezes the dough with both hands.
- Make observations and comments about what you see the children doing. While watching Emma squeeze the play dough with the marbles hidden inside, the adult comments, "It looks like you have lots of marbles in your dough." Emma responds, "Yeah, and I am going to pick them out and line 'em up."
- Ask open-ended questions, but ask them sparingly. Open-ended questions encourage children to talk more, because these types of questions cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. For example, an adult lays out puzzle pieces and asks Nathan, "What do you think this puzzle picture might be?" Nathan responds, "I think it's a bear because...look...it's furry." Rather than asking more questions about why Nathan thinks it looks furry, the adult waits until he completes the puzzle and comments, "It looks like you were right; it is a big, grizzly bear." Questions can help get a conversation going, but it is more important not to overwhelm a child with too many questions.
- Follow children's pace and interests. Belinda was measuring the number of giant steps to the garage at her grandma's house. She then turned around at the garage door and decided to make "tiptoe" steps to the sidewalk. Her grandma followed Belinda by making tiptoe steps to the sidewalk.
STRATEGIES FOR HELPING YOUR CHILD BECOME A READER
- Have daily conversations with your child that include plenty of two-way interaction.
- Keep a variety of printed materials and writing materials in your home.
- Set up a special reading and writing space for your child.
- Let your child see you read and write.
- Make reading with your child a daily habit and pleasurable experience.
- Call your child's attention to reading and writing in everyday activities--for example, in grocery lists, on road signs, or on maps that you look at before going places.
- Make a message board to let your children know the plans for the day.
- Encourage your child to "read" and enjoy all the ways your child tries out reading.
- Display your child's writing, posting it at his or her eye level and for others to see.
- Make a bank or file of words your child likes to write.
- Go to the library with your child.
- Use television and technology wisely and keep focus on active learning.
HOW TO READ WITH YOUR CHILD
- Read slowly and naturally. Pronounce words carefully.
- Read with interest. Make your voice expressive. If you are interested, your child will be, too.
- Use different voices. Give different voices or other qualities to the different characters in the story. Let your child come up with different voices.
- Follows the words with your finger. This shows your child that spoken words can be represented as written words. Your child will learn to associate the sounds of speech with specific letters and letter combinations.
- Pause in your reading and encourage your child to talk about the pictures, story, and characters. Answer your child's questions. Ask your child to predict what will happen or to imagine different events or endings for the book.
- Follow up on what you've just read. Give your child drawing materials to illustrate events or characters of the book. Encourage your child to act out parts of the book or do things the way a character might. Visit the kinds of places and do the kinds of things that appear in the book. Make up stories and play games that build on the book's ideas.
