The Learning Ladder A Reading and Writing Curriculum for Early Care and Education Teachers, Children and Families

Creating Curriculum

There are many decisions we make when we begin to plan curriculum in an early childhood classroom. As we make these choices we need to think about how we can support children as they learn.

Each choice usually involves the following:

• Physical space
  It is best when our classrooms encourage children to explore the room and use materials independently.
• Materials
  The materials we use in our classrooms are the tools of the curriculum. It is best when the materials placed in each of the learning centers give children the opportunity to explore their world through play.
• Daily schedule
  Our daily schedule and routine will also cause us to make certain choices about our curriculum. We want to make sure that our day is a balance of quiet times (like library or music listening) and noisy times (playing on the playground); activities that are teacher-directed (an art activity with a small group of children) and are child initiated (a child playing alone at the water table); large group activities (lunch time) and small group activities (reading to several children in the library area).

Finished the reading? Go to the activities for Part 3.

Home | Module 6 | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5