Emphasize Vertical and Horizontal PK-2nd Grade Alignment
RATIONALE
The early years (birth-8) is a period of rapid growth when children acquire knowledge and skills within four developmental domains: cognitive, language, social-emotional, and physical. As children grow and learn, they progress along a continuum within each domain. While children’s development tends to follow a predictable pattern, the rate of growth varies widely among children and even within the same child. For example, a child might have significantly more advanced cognitive and social-emotional skills while having less advanced language and physical skills. This means that within any early childhood classroom, especially a Pre-K or K classroom, the students are at a wide range of developmental levels. In order to effectively support all students, teachers must know the full developmental scale within each domain. A coherent, developmentally appropriate curriculum for Pre-K-2 is essential to ensuring children are systematically supported in all domains as they move from one grade to the next.
"Leaders can intentionally cultivate horizontal and vertical networks across subjects within a grade and across grade-level instructors to ensure that teachers are going into the fall term with the best possible understanding of student learning."
The Learning Policy Institute
Learn about best practices for preparing for school in the time of COVID-19 in this report.
CONCRETE STRATEGIES
DISTRICT-LEVEL
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. PK-2nd Curriculum and Assessments
Purchase and use a developmentally appropriate, evidence-based curriculum, including professional development and coaching components, across all grade levels (PK-2).
2. Targeted PK-2nd Professional Development
Provide teachers professional development so that they are aware of the full range of skill development in grades PK-2nd across domains of development including social-emotional, cognitive, mathematical thinking, and literacy.
3. Emphasis on Experiential Learning for Grades PK-2nd
Emphasize developmentally appropriate instruction of children ages 3 to 8 years old including learning through doing.
Provide professional development to help teachers individualize instruction to address developmental gaps.
CAMPUS-LEVEL
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Space and Time Provided for Vertical Alignment
Once the district uses funds to purchase an aligned PK-2nd curriculum, set aside time for teachers from each grade level to meet and discuss what they will teach and how.
Create continuity of strategies and content with increasing rigor by ensuring teachers at each grade level increase the complexity and challenge of the topic area.
Consider restructuring grade level meetings into vertical planning periods during which teachers can meet with the teachers of the grades above and below theirs in order to align on content expectations and developmental continuums.
2. Space and Time Provided for Horizontal Alignment
Focus on horizontal alignment to give educators the opportunity to plan together, share ideas and improve continuity and consistency of instruction to all children in each grade. This will also give educators who are stronger in certain subjects the opportunity to improve instructional practices of all teachers.
3. Critical focus area for Vertical Alignment: Emergent Bilingual Learners
While vertical alignment is important for all children, it is especially critical to ensuring our Emergent Bilingual learners continue to grow their literacy skills including reading, writing, speaking and listening. Support ELL teachers to meet at least weekly to plan instruction with both ELL and subject area teachers.
RESOURCES
Review TEA’s Vertical Alignments to understand the progression of knowledge and skills across the early childhood continuum. This document displays a visual representation of the alignment of standards in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
For information on possible instructional materials for purchase see TEA’s List of Approved Instructional Materials as well as the List of Instructional Materials Adopted by the State Board of Education
Review the relevant early childhood standards in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (for vertical alignment see by Chapter; for horizontal alignment see by Grade)
