Early Learning Standards Framework

Content Standards and Learning Criteria for West Virginia

Pre-Kindergarten (WV Pre-k) (2520.15)

Janet Benincosa, TI Specialist

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Standard 1: Self Concept
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in developing self-expression and awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Makes positive statements about self Expresses pride in accomplishments Adjusts to new situations Demonstrates appropriate trust in adults Recognizes and expresses feelings in socially appropriate ways Demonstrates independence Acts out roles by imitating typical actions associated with the roles	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: interact with adults who encourage and support their efforts, accomplishments, ideas and interests interact with adults who use positive verbal and non-verbal language engage in activities that introduce new concepts in the context of familiar ones interact with adults who are dependable and consistent in their expectations engage in supportive conversations about their feelings make choices engage in activities that are self –directed and support discovery use props, puppets and costumes in dramatic role and pretend play

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Standard 2: Social Relationships
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in developing and demonstrating pro-social behaviors.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Demonstrates affection in socially appropriate ways Expresses empathy or caring for others Demonstrates respect for others and their property Plays cooperatively Sustains interactions with peers Maintains an ongoing friendship with at least one other child Uses words and actions to assert self in socially acceptable ways Uses and accepts negotiation, compromise, and discussion to resolve conflicts Accepts guidance and directions from a variety of familiar adults Recognizes and respects appropriate authority Follows basic routines and rules for play and group participation	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: observe teachers and other adults who are respectful and empathetic in their interactions engage in purposeful and spontaneous activities that support the development of empathy, sensitivity and respect experience a learning environment where everyone is included, valued, and accepted express their thoughts, emotions, preferences and ideas solve problems and resolve conflicts independently or with appropriate guidance from familiar adults learn in an environment that is organized to promote age appropriate interaction experience guidance that is non-punitive, consistently provided and designed to promote positive behaviors

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Standard 3: Knowledge of Family and Community
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding their role and identity in the family and community.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Understands and describes the interactive roles and relationships among family members Identifies and describes the roles and relationships of community members Understands similarities and respects differences among people, such as genders, race, special needs, cultures, language, and family structures Identifies themselves as a member of groups within a community Identifies and describes locations and places in their environment	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: engage in conversations and activities related to their families and other families in the community interact with adults who model respectful and accepting attitudes and behaviors use materials such as books, toys, equipment, computer programs, and illustrations that provide them with images of all people engaged in everyday activities Provide frequent opportunities for children to: be exposed to a variety of experiences portraying community members and their roles, including books, props, and people participate in facilitated discussions related to diversity and acceptance use dramatic play and visual arts that are representative of familiar life situations

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Standard 4: Approach to Learning
Learning Criteria: Each child will develop an intrinsic motivation for learning.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Participates in classroom activities Makes independent choices Initiates and extends activities Approaches tasks and activities with flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness Persists in and completes tasks, activities, projects, and experiences Maintains increasing concentration over a reasonable amount of time despite distractions, and interruptions Recognizes and solves problems through active exploration, including trial and error and interactions with peers and adults Acknowledges accomplishments positively	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: participate in child initiated learning activities interact with adults who provide support and encouragement for spontaneous exploration and independent problem solving use varying materials and supplies that are interesting and relative experience a range of choices reflective of their interests observe teachers who model a variety of strategies for problem solving experience open-ended challenges and the encouragement to consider multiple solutions to problems engage in activities that are individualized and reflective of a continuum of learning

THE ARTS
Standard 1: Music and Movement
Learning Criteria: Each child will participate in a variety of music and movement activities.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Participates in music related activities Responds to and identifies particular musical elements such as rhythm and style Demonstrates an understanding of movement as it relates to music Sings with a group and on their own Uses a variety of instruments including non-traditional and natural objects Creates music through a variety of techniques	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · sing, dance, play instruments, and listen to music · hear various types of music · access musical material · respond to music through spontaneous movement Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · experience cultural diversity through music and movement · interact with instruments including child created instruments · express feelings, thoughts and ideas through musical media

THE ARTS
Standard 2: Visual Art
Learning Criteria: Each child will explore and become increasingly proficient in using a variety of art media and materials to create artwork and express ideas.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Creates multi-dimensional artwork Explores color and texture using different mediums Expresses emotion and communicates ideas through creative artwork Shows increasing detail in artwork Creates artwork that reflects an idea, theme, or story	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · experiment with a variety of media such as, clay, natural materials, wood, paper, crayons, chalk, paints, glue, paste, tape, staples, nails, and scissors · express individuality through the use of art materials · relate artistic expression to real life and imagination · see child-created artwork displayed · talk about their art work · use their imaginations to create stories about the art work they create or observe · enjoy the process as well the product of their work Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · observe art examples across time and cultures

THE ARTS
Standard 3: Dramatic Play
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in using imagination and creativity to assume different roles in dramatic play.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Engages in spontaneous dramatic play throughout the day in a variety of centers Tells and re-enacts stories Role- plays and improvises to communicate ideas Expresses ideas, feelings and emotions through dramatic play	Experiences Provide children with daily opportunities to: · spontaneously choose dramatic play options or themes · interact with costume pieces, props, puppets, books, and pictures for dramatic play · re-enact stories · use imagination to create stories · engage in dramatic play through manipulation of figures such as small toy people and animals

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Standard 1: Fine Motor
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in performing fine motor tasks with strength and control.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Manipulates small objects with precision Uses opposing hand movements. Uses utensils and writing tools Begins to demonstrate self help skills such as buttoning and zipping Manipulates cutting and fastening tools Increases in accuracy of eye-hand coordination	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · interact with small manipulatives · manipulate and use tools such as pencils, markers, crayons, chalk, garden implements, and hammers · construct with a variety of materials · practice self help skills with adequate time allowed · work with materials that encourage snapping, lacing, buttoning, and zipping · participate in finger-plays and songs using hand movements

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Standard 2: Gross Motor
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in performing gross motor tasks with proficiency, balance and control.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Demonstrates increased control in walking, running, hopping, and jumping Moves with emergent balance on lines, balance beams, curbs, riding equipment and play structures Ascends and descends stairs working toward the use of alternating feet Throws, catches objects, and bounces balls	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · move to music or rhymes · practice running, walking, and other mobility activities · play actively outdoors (weather permitting) Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · climb stairs and on structures · play with balls · use riding equipment

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Standard 3: Health Practices
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in recognizing and adopting good health practices.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Identifies and makes healthy food choices Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness Exhibits increased physical growth, strength, stamina, endurance and flexibility Expresses health needs Incorporates good health habits into the routine of their day by following common hygiene practices: washing hands, brushing teeth, covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, using and disposing of tissues and napkins appropriately Uses the toilet independently Demonstrates an understanding of the need for different apparel in different climate and weather conditions	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · participate in active games, movement opportunities and outdoor time · observe adults making healthy lifestyle choices · practice good health habits such as hand-washing, dental care, nose- blowing, sanitizing surfaces, and personal hygiene · access toileting facilities on demand or or when toilet-need cues are present Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · make appropriate nutritional choices · discuss weather and appropriate apparel · discuss common hygiene practices through songs, stories, rhymes, and games

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Standard 4: Safety Practices
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in identifying, avoiding and responding to common dangers in their environment.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Participates in safety games, songs, and stories Recognizes symbols indicating danger like Mr. Yuk Follows safety procedures during drills Describes and follows classroom and neighborhood safety rules and practices Responds appropriately to common signals for danger	Experiences Provides frequent opportunities for children to: · sing songs, hear stories and rhymes, and play games that promote safety · hear about and meet community workers (firefighters, police, nurses, social workers) · engage in learning experiences related to safety issues · generate and follow classroom and community safety rules · participate in safety drills

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 1: Listening and Speaking
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in using expressive and receptive language for a variety of purposes.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Communicates needs and wants through a variety of verbal and symbolic forms Uses increasingly complex and varied vocabulary/sentences in speaking Comprehends and expands on oral language Non-English-speaking child progresses in speaking and understanding English	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · interact with peers and adults through spoken and/or signed conversations · discuss cognitively challenging content · hear rich and grammatically correct language from adults · hear quality literature read that introduces the children to a varied vocabulary · recite and create poetry, finger-plays, and songs · relate personal experiences · progressively move from simple to more complex use of language · use listening centers and props such as tape recorders, telephones and microphones · participate in activities where verbal response is not always required · listen without expectations of language responses Children who are non-English speaking will also have daily opportunities to: · engage in play with English-speaking peers · share some of their language and culture with English-speaking peers

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding and using conventions of reading.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Holds books upright Identifies the front and back of a book Points to the beginning and end of a story Turns the pages of a book correctly Realizes that print proceeds from left to right Understands the purpose and function of print	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · read and be read to · explore the properties of books · interact with adults who model the appropriate conventions of reading · engage in conversations about words and print · use a variety of printed materials appropriately

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding and using concepts of print.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Uses objects in a symbolic way Knows that letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named Recognizes and names letters such as those in his/her name, names of some family and friends and those seen in environmental print Recognizes words as units of print that are separated by spaces	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · see their names in print · use environmental print · have access to alphabet books, alphabet blocks, magnetic letters, and other print related manipulatives · talk about letters that have personal meaning · see and use their names in daily routines and play · point to letters and words · participate in story time Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · dictate and “re-read” stories

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in hearing and discriminating the sounds of language (phonological awareness).
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Listens to and identifies sounds that are in the environment Claps in response to separate syllables in spoken words Recognizes rhyming sounds in spoken words Recognizes when several words begin with the same sound – alliteration Decides which of several words begin with a specific sound	Experiences Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · identify classroom sounds · practice syllable clapping with their names and words that have personal meaning · hear and recite nursery rhymes, poems, jingles, and chants · sing · make up nonsense words and silly names · talk about words and names that begin with the same sound · talk about sounds that have personal meaning to them

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in the development of word recognition.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Recognizes that letters can be grouped together to form words Understand that words have meaning Knows that spoken words can be written and read Read words such as their names, names of some family and friends, and familiar environmental print	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · participate in a print-rich environment · recognize and use their printed names in meaningful ways · see words of familiar songs, rhymes, and finger plays · use print functionally Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · recognize words in the classroom and community environment · create original environmental and functional print · dictate and reread stories

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will develop an appreciation of literature.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Listens attentively to literature Dramatizes, illustrates, and retells stories Participates in reading-related activities Looks through books independently Asks to have books read to them	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · hear stories, poems, or nonfiction · participate in conversations and activities before, during, and after reading · select books from a well-stocked library · interact with adults who model an enjoyment of reading and literature Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · use props and materials for story dramatization · make art representations of stories and see individual art displayed · follow simple pictorial recipes

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 2: Reading
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in developing story comprehension skills.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Identifies characters in a story Understands there is a sequence of events in a story Engages in questioning, reflecting, and relating a story to personal experiences	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · discuss characters in stories read to them · make predictions about stories · role-play characters · listen to stories for meaning Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · retell stories using a beginning, middle, and end · create/dictate their own stories · explore a particular interest through printed materials · relate parts of stories to events that occur in their own lives

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 3: Writing
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Uses scribble writing, random letter strings, and invented/developmental spelling in meaningful context Demonstrates an understanding that writing relays a message that can be read	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · have play-related writing materials in learning centers · participate in a print-rich environment that includes a display of their writing efforts at eye level · respond to environmental print messages · use print functionally and meaningfully such as in notes, letters, and telephone numbers Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · re-read their dictated text · see their dictated text written by an adult

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Standard 3: Writing
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in using conventions of writing.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Uses a variety of tools for writing Recognizes the conventional writing patterns used in English	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: · hold and use writing materials appropriately · practice left to right progression through a variety of activities Provide frequent opportunities for children to: · respond to cues for left to right, top to bottom progression · participate in shared writing experiences

MATHEMATICS
Standard 1: Numbers and Operations
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding quantity and numbers.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Counts in sequence to ten and beyond Uses comparative words such as more, less, fewer, equal to Uses one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects Matches quantity with number symbols Identifies parts in relationship to the whole including fractional components	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: count, sort, compare and match objects view books that promote counting and numbers sing, rhyme and do finger-plays related to numbers Provide frequent opportunities for children to: participate in food experiences that include counting and measuring engage in activities that connect numerals with corresponding objects

MATHEMATICS
Standard 2: Patterns and Relationships
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding the concepts of patterns and relationships.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Sorts objects according to common characteristics Arranges objects in a series on the basis of one or more attributes such as color, size or shape Recognizes, duplicates and creates simple patterns	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: sort and match a variety of objects with similar characteristics participate in rhythm activities recognize patterns in the environment. Provide frequent opportunities for children to: chart and graph read books about patterns and relationships

MATHEMATICS
Standard 3: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding concepts of geometry and spatial relationships.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Understands directionality, order, and positions of themselves and objects in their environment Understands words such as up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, and behind Recognizes, describes, compares and names common shapes Determines whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape Begins to understand time intervals and uses language associated with time	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: relate activities to times of the day and order of daily events Provide frequent opportunities for children to: participate in games and activities using directionality place themselves and objects in relationship to various spaces: moving under, over, in, out, up, and down interact with a variety of naturally occurring and constructed shapes

MATHEMATICS
Standard 4: Measurement
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in understanding the basic concepts of measurement.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Uses standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects Estimates the size of objects in comparison to a common unit of measurement Uses the vocabulary of measurement such as: more/less, short/tall, long/short, big/little, and light/heavy	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: experiment with a variety of standard and non-standard measuring tools participate in cooking and measuring activities compare objects based on measurement standards graph and chart using developmentally appropriate methods that can be produced and interpreted by the children

SCIENCE
Standard 1: Science as Inquiry
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in gaining a foundational knowledge of scientific inquiry.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Explores cause and effect Observes and discusses similarities and differences among objects and materials Problem solves through observation and active exploration of the environment Participates in simple investigations Describes and discusses predictions, explanations and generalizations Uses senses and a variety of tools to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships Collects, describes and records information through a variety of means	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: collect, sort, organize and group natural objects explore various environments local to the community as well as introducing new ideas about other environments Provide frequent opportunities for children to: make simple predictions use a variety of tools to experiment with cause and effect chart, graph, and illustrate in developmentally appropriate methods that can be produced and interpreted by the children

SCIENCE
Standard 2: Scientific Knowledge
Learning Criteria: Each child will progress in gaining an understanding of the world in which they live.
GUIDANCE
Performance Indicators Observes and describes the immediate and familiar world Recognizes that materials can exist in several physical states Demonstrates expanding knowledge of and respect for the environment	Experiences Provide daily opportunities for children to: experiment discover Provide frequent opportunities for children to: read books about scientific concepts participate in cooking activities examine living and non living items use various senses for exploration experiment with scientific tools