California Preschool Learning Foundations

1 CaliforniaPreschool LearningFoundationsVolume 3 California DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SACRAMENTO, 2012 CaliforniaPreschool LearningFoundationsVolume 3 History Social Science SciencePublishing InformationThe California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3) was developed by the Child Development Division, California Department of Education. This publication was edited by Faye Ong, working in cooperation with Laura Bridges, Consultant, Child Development Division. It was designed and prepared for printing by the staff of CDE Press, with the cover and interior design created by Cheryl McDonald. It was published by the Department of Education, 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-5901.

2 It was distributed under the provisions of the Library Distribution Act and Government Code Section 11096. 2012 by the California Department of Education All rights reservedISBN 978-8011-1727-5 Ordering InformationCopies of this publication are available for sale from the Califor-nia Department of Education. For prices and ordering information, please visit the Department Web site at http://w w or call the CDE Press Sales Office at 1-800-995-4099. NoticeThe guidance in the California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3) is not binding on local educational agencies or other entities. Except for the statutes, regulations, and court decisions that are referenced herein, the documents is exemplary, and compliance with it is not mandatory.

3 (See Education Code Section )iiiContentsA Message from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction vAcknowledgments viiIntroduction xiFoundations in History Social Science1 Foundations in Science48 Appendixes A. The Foundations103B. An Overview of the Alignment of the California Preschool Learning Foundations with Key Early Education Resources113vA Message from the State Superintendent of Public InstructionI am delighted to present the California Preschool Learning Foundations (Volume 3). This publication is part of a three-volume series designed to improve early Learning and development for California s Preschool children.

4 Young children are naturally eager to learn. We encounter their amazing curi-osity at every turn. Their wonder about the world extends to understanding of human traditions and activity. They also ask about how the physical world works. However, even with their great curios-ity about the world of people and things, not all young children enter kindergar-ten ready for school. All too often, some already lag behind their classmates, which may adversely affect their continued learn-ing and development in kindergarten and beyond. High-quality Preschool teaching connects with young children s strong interest in concepts and processes from the history social science and science domains while contributing to long-range social and academic who attend high-quality pre-schools benefit from rich opportunities to learn through play.

5 Their play focuses on the world around them for example, social roles rooted in human history and culture and the life of their community. They also playfully experiment with liv-ing and nonliving things and discover how they change. Children thrive when offered a curriculum that integrates all domains in a way that is culturally and linguistically meaningful and appropriate to their the goal of ensuring that all pre-schools in California offer high-quality programs, the California Department of Education collaborated with leading early childhood educators, researchers, advo-cates, and parents to develop Volume 3 of the Preschool Learning Foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can acquire when provided with the kinds of inter-actions, instruction.

6 And environments shown by research to promote early learn-ing and development. Volume 3 focuses on two domains: history social science and science. These domains have received less attention than some other domains, but their importance has been increasingly recognized by early childhood education experts. As research that is summarized in this volume indicates, young children are natu-rally drawn to concepts and processes in history social science and science. They look to their families and their teachers to help them explore these Learning domains. High-quality teaching builds on children s interests and engages them in making sense of social and physical to provide children with high-quality Preschool experiences fit into the overall mission of both the Department and the federal Head Start program.

7 Learning and development that occurs before a child enters Preschool is as important as the Learning and develop-ment that occurs during the school years. A continuum of Learning and develop-ment begins early in life and continues through higher education. Understanding the links between the different ages and vidifferent early childhood services allows educators to see how to build on children s earlier Learning and prepare children for the next educational challenge. To foster greater understanding of children s learn-ing and development during the first five years, this volume explains the connec-tions among the infant/toddler Learning and development Foundations , Preschool Learning Foundations , Common Core State Standards, kindergarten content stan-dards, and the Head Start Child Develop-ment and Early Education Framework.

8 An investment in high-quality care and educa-tion programs throughout the early years will promote Learning for all children and ensure school readiness when they enter Foundations will help guide and support all California preschools in provid-ing developmentally appropriate instruc-tion and activities that engage young hearts and minds. Such Learning will lead to children s well-being and success throughout life. Tom TorlaksonState Superintendent of Public InstructionviiAcknowledgmentsT he development of the Preschool Learning Foundations involved many groups: project leaders; lead researchers; the expanded research con-sortium; the Preschool Learning founda-tions research consortium; staff from the California Department of Education; early childhood education stakeholder organiza tions; facilitators of the draft review sessions and the participants.

9 And participants in the Web posting LeadersThe following staff members are grate-fully acknowledged for their contributions: Peter Mangione and Charlotte Tilson, Researchers Special thanks are extended to the lead researchers for their expertise and contri-butions as lead writers. Note: The names, titles, and affiliations of the individuals listed in these acknowledgments were correct at the time the publication was Social ScienceJanet Thompson, University of California , DavisRoss Thompson, University of California , Davis ScienceOsnat Zur, WestEdExpanded Research ConsortiumVolume 3 was developed by an expanded research consortium.

10 Domain experts and their affiliations are identified below. These individuals contributed their expertise to this project and collaborated with the Preschool Learning Foundations research consortium. History Social ScienceOscar Barbarin, Tulane University Barbara Bowman, the Erikson Institute and the Chicago Public SchoolsAmy Obegi, Solano Community College Carolyn Pope Edwards, University of Nebraska, LincolnMichael Lopez, National Center for Latino Child and Family ResearchGayle Mindes, DePaul UniversityScienceMarco Bravo, San Francisco State Univer-sity and Santa Clara UniversityCaroline Carney, Monterey Peninsula College Lucia French, University of RochesterRochel Gelman, Rutgers UniversityKaren Lind, Illinois State UniversityArt Sussman, WestEdSandra Waxman.