ISSP_Curriculum EarlyChildhood

EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM GUIDE

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EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM GUIDE - International School Saigon Pearl

Guiding Principles for EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Overview of the

Các Nguyên Tắc GIÁO DỤC MẦM NON

Tổng quan về

NURSERY PROGRAM PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMPRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

CHƯƠNG TRÌNH NHÀ TRẺCHƯƠNG TRÌNH LỚP MẦMCHƯƠNG TRÌNH LỚP CHỒICHƯƠNG TRÌNH LỚP LÁ

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CONTENTS

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Guiding Principles for EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Early learning and development are multi-dimensional: developmental domains are highly interrelated. Development in one domain influences development in other domains. For example, a child’s language skills affect his or her ability to engage in social interactions. Therefore, developmental domains cannot be considered in isolation from each other. The dynamic interaction of all areas of development must be considered.

Young children are capable and competent. All children are capable of positive developmental outcomes. There are high expectations for all young children, regardless of their backgrounds and experience.

Children are individuals who develop at different rates. Each child is unique. Each grows and develops skills and competencies at his/her own pace. Some children may have a developmental delay or disability that may require early childhood educators to adapt expectations or experiences so that individual children can successfully achieve a particular benchmark. Children will exhibit a range of skills and competencies in any domain of development. All children within an age group should not be expected to arrive at each benchmark at the same time or to show mastery to the same degree of proficiency.

Knowledge of how children grow and develop, together with expectations that are consistent with growth patterns, are essential to develop, implement and maximize the benefits of educational experiences for children. Early care and early childhood educators agree on what they expect children to know and be able to do within the context of child growth and development. With this knowledge, early childhood educators make sound decisions about appropriate curriculum for the group and for individual children.

Young children learn through active exploration of their environment in child-initiated and teacher-selected activities. Early childhood educators recognize that children’s play is a highly supportive context for development and learning. The early childhood environment provides opportunities for children to explore materials, engage in activities and interact with peers and adults to construct their own understanding of the world around them. There is, therefore, a balance of child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities to maximize learning.

Families are the primary caregivers and educators of young children. We encourage families to be aware of programmatic goals, experiences that should be provided for children and expectations for their performance by the end of the preschool years. It is important for early childhood educators and families to work collaboratively to ensure that children are provided optimal learning experiences.

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Overview of the NURSERY PROGRAM

Communication, Language, and Literature Language for Communication Pre-Reading Pre-Writing

For young learners, focus is on emergent literacy in a natural, gradual development of a child’s listening, speaking, reading and writing while immersed in literacy, in a print enriched environment. Children are taught through repeated experiences in language through storytelling, oral communication, poems and rhymes, songs, and plays.

Math

Shape, Size, Space, Colors Number Time

Children learn math through investigative, hands-on, practical experiences with materials that the children can relate to in real life situations. Mathematics learning is embedded in experiences in play, storytelling and daily routines.

Physical Development and Health

Physical Development Health

Children develop physical skills and learn how to be healthy by interacting with the physical environment and dedicated lessons. Fine motor activities such as drawing, threading, play dough or puzzles encourage eye-hand coordination and control that are necessary for later writing development. Gross motor activities include climbing, digging, swinging, running that increase balance, endurance and strength. Physical activities are provided that build self-confidence and the motivation to challenge themselves physically and develop the necessary skills for daily life.

Science and Social Studies

All about Me Nature

Children become valuable members of the community through the integrated taking part in group activities, playing alone, alongside others and with others the routines, customs, rules and regular events of school; the links between school and the wider world, caring for the immediate environment; using words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, and photographs to represent thoughts, experiences and ideas. Science activities help children to explore, question and learn about themselves and the environment.

Creative Development

Pretend-Play Art Music

Play is how children learn! Play helps children to understand what they see and experience in the real world. They learn to develop their social, verbal, negotiating, and problem-solving skills through active and spontaneous play with their peers. Play can be joyful, serious, solitary, or social. Success in play promotes a child’s self-confidence and increases the desire to learn and do more. Students express ideas and thoughts through three-dimensional artwork in a collage center with materials such as clay, play dough and various other materials. Plays, puppet shows and props enhance their aesthetic expressions. Music, rhymes, rhythm, songs and finger plays add flavor to the artist’s mind in every child.

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Music

Students respond to selected characteristics of music, including fast and slow, soft and loud, high and low, through purposeful movement:

Students explore simple rhythmic patterns Students explore songs and dances associated with various cultures

Social and Emotional Development

Self-Care Self-Confidence & Esteem Making Relationships Behavior and Self-Control Cultural Events

Children develop self-help skills to facilitate their independence, effectively communicate their needs, and become successful life-long learners. They are given daily opportunities to make choices in their activities, to practice taking care of their physical needs and personal belongings, and to interact in a variety of social settings (e.g. one-on-one, small group, whole class)

Information and Communication Technology

Manipulate mechanical objects & Toys Begin to use a computer (mouse, keyboard, monitor)

Children develop manipulative, mechanical and computer skills that are an appropriate first step into the world of technology. Children learn through integrated classroom activities and everyday educational experiences.

Swimming

Focus is placed on water exploration and play while promoting independence in the water with a non-family member. Students are introduced to blowing bubbles, kicking their legs, and using their arms in the water.

Early Childhood Host Country Studies

Students in Early Childhood spend time exploring the language and culture through singing, listening to and acting out stories, playing rhyming games, role-playing and pretend play, and shared reading of charts. Children gain an understanding of Vietnamese social values. Early Childhood students also cook and enjoy Vietnamese food, celebrate festivals, and explore the roles these play in the cultural life of the country.

Vietnamese Program as Required by MOET

The Ministry of Education and Training provides guidelines for the curriculum to be taught to Vietnamese passport holders. The requirements are incorporated into the Host Country Studies Program.

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Overview of the PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAM

Communication, Language, and Literature

Language for Communication Pre-Reading Pre-Writing

For young learners, focus is on emergent literacy in a natural, gradual development of a child’s listening, speaking, reading and writing while immersed in literacy, in a print enriched environment. Children are taught through repeated experiences in language through storytelling, oral communication, poems and rhymes, songs, and plays.

Math

Number Shape, Size, Space, Colors Time

Children learn math through investigative, hands-on, practical experiences with materials that the children can relate to in real life situations. Mathematics learning is embedded in experiences in play, storytelling and daily routines.

Science and Social Studies

All About Me Animals Mini-beasts Transportation Plants

Children become valuable members of the community through the integrated taking part in group activities, playing alone, alongside others and with others the routines, customs, rules and regular events of school; the links between school and the wider world, caring for the immediate environment; using words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, and photographs to represent thoughts, experiences and ideas. Science activities help children to explore, question and learn about themselves and the environment.

Creative Development

Pretend-Play Art Music

Play is how children learn! Play helps children to understand what they see and experience in the real world. They learn to develop their social, verbal, negotiating, and problem-solving skills through active and spontaneous play with their peers. Play can be joyful, serious, solitary, or social. Success in play promotes a child’s self-confidence and increases the desire to learn and do more. Students express ideas and thoughts through three-dimensional artwork in a collage center with materials such as clay, play dough and various other materials. Plays, puppet shows and props enhance their aesthetic expressions. Music, rhymes, rhythm, songs and finger plays add flavor to the artist’s mind in every child.

Social and Emotional Development

Self-Care Self-Confidence & Esteem Making Relationships Behavior and Self-Control

Children develop self-help skills to facilitate their independence, effectively communicate their needs, and become successful life-long learners. They are given daily opportunities to make choices in their activities, to practice taking care of their physical needs and personal belongings, and to interact in a variety of social settings (e.g. one-on-one, small group, whole class)

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Information and Communication Technology

Manipulate mechanical objects & Toys Knows how to use a computer (mouse, keyboard, monitor) Can complete a simple program

Children will develop manipulative, mechanical and computer skills that are an appropriate first step into the world of technology. Children learn through integrated classroom activities and everyday educational experiences.

Physical Development and Health

Physical Development Health

Children develop physical skills and learn how to be healthy by interacting with the physical environment and dedicated lessons. Fine motor activities such as drawing, threading, play dough or puzzles encourage eye-hand coordination and control that are necessary for later writing development. Gross motor activities include climbing, digging, swinging, running that increase balance, endurance and strength. Physical activities are provided that build self-confidence and the motivation to challenge them physically and develop the necessary skills for daily life.

Physical Education

Paramount to Physical Education at ISSP is promoting lifelong physical activity as fundamental to social, emotional and physical well-being. By exposing students to a wide variety of individual and collaborative physical activities, the ISSP Physical Education program offers students opportunities to develop interests and set personal goals, while experiencing inherent challenge and enjoyment.

ISSP Physical Education Curriculum is based on the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) standards.

Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.

Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.

Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.

Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.

Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Swimming


Music

Students play non-pitched instruments correctly and begin developing a steady beat on pitched instruments. They perform with appropriate instrument technique on non-pitched instruments. Students recognize and perform high and low sounds in response to visual representations. They create movement to interpret songs, poems, and stories.


Students in Early Childhood spend time exploring the language and culture through singing, listening to and acting out stories, playing rhyming games, role-playing and pretend play, and shared reading of charts. Children gain an

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understanding of Vietnamese social values. Early Childhood students also cook and enjoy Vietnamese food, celebrate festivals, and explore the roles these play in the cultural life of the country.



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Overview of the PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Our pre-kindergarten program creates an environment where students feel secure, independent, responsible and valued. Our international setting fosters a unique understanding and sensitivity to the cultural and linguistic diversity of the students and the community. We strive to instill a love of learning, through a rich variety of developmentally appropriate educational experiences. We immerse the children in learning that is active and relevant, creating an environment that is child-directed, where both the child and the teacher are active learners.

Language Arts & Literacy

For these young learners, focus is on emergent literacy in a natural, gradual development of a child’s listening, speaking, reading and writing while immersed in literacy, in a print enriched environment. Children are taught through repeated experiences in language through storytelling, oral communication, poems and rhymes, songs, and plays.

Maths

Mathematics is taught through investigative, hands-on, practical experiences with methods and materials that the children can relate to in real life situations. Teachers embed mathematic learning experiences in play, storytelling and daily routines. The PK mathematics content strands are . . .

Number and Operations Understand the relationship between quantities and whole numbers up to 10

Geometry and Measurement Recognize and describe shapes and spatial relationships. Compare and order objects according to location and measurable attributes.

Algebra Recognize and duplicate patterns.

Science & Social Studies

Children become valuable members of the community through taking part in group activities, playing alone, alongside others and with others; through routines, customs, rules and regular events of school; the links between school and the wider world, caring for the immediate environment; using words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, and photographs to represent thoughts, experiences and ideas. Topics explored are:

School and school community Community helpers Families The neighborhood

Science activities help children to explore, question and learn about themselves and the environment. Projects are student-initiated, and/or encouraged to be pursued by teachers, who remain as guides and active partners in learning. Specific topics are:

Five Senses Plants and trees Animals Health and Nutrition

Physical Education


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ISSP Physical Education Curriculum is based on the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Standards.


Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.





Swimming


Music

Students play non-pitched instruments correctly and begin developing a steady beat on pitched instruments. They perform with appropriate instrument technique on non-pitched instruments. Students recognize and perform high and low sounds in response to visual representations. They create movement to interpret songs, poems, and stories.

Art

Students develop understanding of colors and color mixing. Students develop vocabulary of shapes. They experiment with several new tools and materials while beginning to develop control over their fine motor skills. Students use their imaginations, personal experiences, and memories to create artwork. Students construct 3D sculptures as well as 2D paintings and drawings. Students analyze artwork by famous artists.





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Overview of the KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Our kindergarten is a caring community of learners working in partnership with parents to promote a school environment where students feel secure, independent, responsible and valued. The children learn in a safe and nurturing environment where risk-taking is encouraged and where they value themselves as capable and competent learners.

The goals of our program are to develop in children a sense of excitement, curiosity and wonder about how the world works, to help each child develop a positive self-concept and to become a fully functioning member of a group and help each child develop basic thinking, reasoning, and motor skills.

Language Arts

Reading

At ISSP, our curriculum focuses on developing students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Recent classroom research shows that reading ability develops best when a balanced reading program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading workshop, which includes a mini-lesson, private reading time, and partner reading time. In addition to independent reading workshops, the components of a balanced literacy framework include:

Interactive read-alouds Shared reading Phonics / Word Study Interactive Writing Small Group Instruction (Guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions) Writing Workshop

Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6personal narrative

personal narrative

personal narrative

personal narrative

personal narrative

personal narrative

expository

expository expository expository expository expository expository narrativepoetry poetry poetry poetry poetry poetry persuasive

fairytales fairytales persuasive writing

fiction

realistic fiction realistic fiction literary essay

Writing

Kindergarten students will begin with a focus on storytelling and personal narratives, moving from oral telling about the story they’ve drawn, to labeling, to sentences. Students will explore the genres of personal narrative, expository, and poetry writing. During writers’ workshop, students will engage in the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

Listening and SpeakingSpeaking and listening are woven into the various areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop attentive listening and clear communication of ideas. Maths

The mathematics program takes an investigative approach, which helps students make the transition from the concrete to the abstract. Emphasis is placed on using mathematics process skills to solve practical problems in a variety of contexts throughout the year. The kindergarten mathematics strands are:

Number and Operations Understand the relationship between quantities and whole numbers. Use objects and pictures to represent situations involving combining and separating.

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Geometry and Measurement Recognize and sort basic two- and three-dimensional shapes; use them to model real-world objects. Compare and order objects according to location and measurable attributes.

Algebra Recognize, create, complete, and extend patterns.

Data Analysis and Probability Sort, classify, or represent a set of data.

Science

All science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry activities that are designed to further the understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of elementary children.

Life Science Humans use their senses to interact with their surroundings. Students focus on describing the characteristics and variations between living and nonliving things.

Physical Science Earth is composed of land, air and water. Students will learn to differentiate between landforms and bodies of water in their local community. Using observation, they will learn to identify weather patterns.

Environment What we do impacts our immediate environment. Students will learn how they can maintain, destroy and repair their environment.

Social Studies

Students are encouraged to reflect upon their own cultural identities as well as to recognize and respect cultural similarities and differences within a global perspective. Kindergarten students will study the following social studies areas:

School and School Community Students will develop an understanding of being a good citizen. They will describe their classroom, areas in the school and their purpose.

Community, Self and Others In the students’ classroom community, they will learn to recognize and identify their similarities and differences.

Families The importance of ‘family’ will be explored. Students will identify common characteristics they share with other families.

Neighborhood Through neighborhood walks and map-making, children will learn how neighborhoods meet their needs. Physical Education


ISSP Physical Education Curriculum is based on the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Standards.


Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they

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apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.





Swimming

Students are engaged in a variety of physical activities through different unit themes - Manipulative Madness, Take Turns & Tag Time, Fitness Fanatics, Throwing, Rolling, Kicking, Scooter Sensation, & Rhythm & Movement. Emphasis is placed on developmentally appropriate locomotor and non-locomotor skills, body and spatial awareness, using manipulatives, demonstrating basic skills with rhythm.

Music

Students respond to the expressive qualities of getting faster/slower and getting louder/softer. They demonstrate appropriate audience behavior in various situations. They also demonstrate the use of the singing speaking, whispering voice with appropriate volume.

Art

Students develop understandings and vocabulary of color groupings (primary, secondary, warm and cool). Students also develop technique and vocabulary to create and group lines and shapes and patterning. Students analyze artwork and symbols, and begin comparing and contrasting art styles. Students continue developing techniques and controlled use of tools. Students use imagination, personal experiences, memories and stories to create artwork.

Mandarin

Basic vocabulary is introduced. Games and songs are used to interest the students in the language. Numbers from 1 to 10, simple greetings and family members are topics developed as an introduction to Chinese.





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ISSP_Curriculum EarlyChildhood