When learning goals and skills are practiced year-round, which units should they be included in?

Once teachers are clear about what information will be included in their written curriculum, then they move to the next question: How do I organize this information into units of study? From there, how do I approach learning goals that are designed to be addressed within that unit versus learning goals that are practiced year-long?

This question can be tricky to conceptualize when you organizing a unit calendar. There is curriculum writing on paper and unit planning in theory and then there is the reality of the classroom. These are not mutually exclusive and both can exist at the same time, after we peel back a few layers and make sure we are using common vocabulary to describe the situation.

Learning goals are written to ensure teachers have a clear understanding of what children should be learning, doing, and exploring within a given time frame. Many of these learning goals or standards make sense grouped together either based on a theme or focus in the classroom or time of year because they are developmental in nature and make sense to focus on during the first half of the year, for example.

One useful exercise is to think about these learning goals into those two groups. One group might be more academic or explorative in nature and more easily fall into thematic groups that can be introduced at different times of the year. For example, using your senses can be fun to explore fall sounds and smells, but the spring time also provides natural opportunities for talking about ways we make observations about the world around us.

The second group might be learning goals that children explore and practice everyday in their early childhood classrooms. Social and emotional skills are one example of this type of goal. Children are not expected to reach proficiency in these skills. The goals outline behaviors and pro-social expectations that teachers and families can use to help children establish the foundation for positive social skills. Teachers are talking about these skills, giving feedback on them, reading stories, and singing songs to emphasize them. Children practice alongside teachers and independently try them out in different social settings. Consider that we also practice hygiene skills, problem-solving, and fine/gross motor skills daily

Questions to consider when thinking about these two groups:

• Do we want to include all social-emotional learning goals in all units? Depending on the number of learning goals and the program structure, these maps might become overwhelming and eventually useless to teachers because of the large number of learning goals in a unit.

• Does selecting learning goals matched to the time of year provide a useful guide to teachers?

• Do schools want to create separate social emotional units in their written curriculum? Depending on the organization of the program, this might make sense to teachers.

• If your school has other documentation that outlines these continuous learning goals (social-emotional, hygiene, large motor development), does it makes sense to point families in that direction and only select a few to include in your written curriculum?

These questions are for teachers and leaders to ask themselves about program structure and communicating a school’s values and beliefs for this age group.

Let's expand on our last option. What if a unit map becomes one of a few different pieces of information from a school? We could separate information into different documents and formats that best supports its intended audience and purpose.

For example, all of the information below is important. The question is, Where is the most practical and useful place to develop, share, and update it? Most schools have several methods of sharing information, such as a website, marketing materials, orientation handbook, policy manual, guiding principles, or a collection of developmentally appropriate practices. Most schools already have the elements in an early childhood program in place. These might include:

• a statement or philosophy or supported learning through play

• an approach to building opportunities and environments for children that support social and emotional skills development

• expectations and structures that authentically encourage children's good hygiene and self-care habits

• evidence of learning goals in the daily schedule and physical setup of classrooms and outdoor spaces

Early childhood classrooms are places of integrating learning and exploration of materials, relationships, and experiences. It is possible to think about capturing and sharing information in a variety of ways, including a curriculum map for specific milestones and skills.

Take a step back and keep the bigger picture in mind before committing to a specific format for documenting curriculum. With all your useful information, you have more options for organizing and sharing them than you might have first realized!