Constructing Curriculum for the Primary Grades

Plot

There is a growing consensus among educators that a major reason why traditional curriculum approaches have failed is that they are not based on knowledge of what is age-appropriate or individually appropriate for young children. This book provides practitioners with a practical framework for making curriculum effective and responsive for children in the primary grades. Part 1 presents the six teaching strategies for constructing and implementing such a curriculum: (1) knowing the children by understanding their developmental and individual characteristics as well as their cultural context; (2) building a classroom community that is able to address children's social, emotional, and cognitive development; (3) structuring the classroom and involving children in it; (4) guiding children's learning by encouraging their participation; (5) assessing children's learning; and (6) building a partnership with a significant adult in the child's home life. Part 2 of the book shows how the five subject areas of curriculum content--language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, social studies, and the arts and technology--can be taught within a developmentally appropriate framework. Lists of resources and references appear throughout the book.