Assignment Task:
Choose 2 Classmates who does not have the same last name as you and respond to their discussion post.
- Answer the questions on their form as if you were a parent. Provide feedback to your peer on their questions. Do you think the questions will provide useful information for the teacher?
What could they do differently? What did they do well? You may want to revisit your own post throughout the week to see how your peers responded.
- Listen, read the uploaded transcript, or watch the video. Provide feedback to your peers about their presentation by addressing the following requirements:
Did it adhere to Early Childhood Assessment: 9 Keys to Effective Practice? And NAEYC's Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement?
If so, provide two to three statements of evidence, and if not provide two to three suggestions on how they can adhere to Knestrick (2013)" and "NAEYC (n.d.-a)" or alternatively "NAEYC's position statement on advancing equity (NAEYC, n.d.-a).
DISCUSSION 1 (Veronica):
Hello everyone, my name is Veronica Ellison, making my selection preschool and linguistics.
Script: Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ellison; thank you very much for contacting me regarding Veronica's linguistic skills. You had mentioned such concerns as challenges following more than one direction at a time, having a limited vocabulary, not being able to understand her words, and misuse of pronouns. Some four-year-old linguistic milestones are:
"Sentence Length: A 4-year-old should be speaking in sentences that are, on average, about 4 words long. Some should be sentences and some should be a bit longer than 4 words as well.
Grammatical Markers: Grammatical markers are the little words and word endings that help make our sentences complete and convey nuances of meaning. A 4-year-old should be using most grammatical markers correctly, although they may still have trouble with some of the later developing grammatical markers such as the "to be" verb (like "I'm", "we're", and "she is") and irregular 3rd person singular forms. (Source: Paul & Alforde, 1993.)
Vocabulary: A 4-year-old should know a lot of words by now and they should be learning new words all of the time. This is a time of great vocabulary growth for children. Repeated exposure to new words can help grow a child's vocabulary skills at this age.
Following Directions: A 4-year-old should be able to follow basic 2-step directions and should be beginning to follow some 3-step directions, especially if they are familiar or part of their normal routine. A 4-year-old may still require repetitions or reminders to stay on task." (Clark, 2023)
One of the tools we use to help support our students is assessments. "Assessment is the process of gathering information about children from several forms of evidence, then organizing and interpreting that information" (McAfee, Leong, & Bodrova, 2004, p. 3)." (Wortham & Hardin, 2020, p. 2) By looking at all the evidence collectively, we can meet each child where they are individually and create a support plan tailored to meet their needs. I have compiled a list of five questions for you to answer that will help me better understand how we can support Veronica's linguistic skills.
Purpose of form: The teacher inquiries about a student's linguistic skills and challenges at home.
1. Please describe a typical conversation between you and your child. Do they use complete sentences or mostly one-word answers?
2. Have you noticed any challenges with your child following a multi-step instruction?
3. Does your child use verbal communication consistently throughout the day?
4. Have you noticed your child using new words recently? If so, what were the new words, and when did/how often do they use them, and did they use them correctly?
5. Are there any specific situations in which you notice your child struggling more to communicate verbally?
Upon returning this questionnaire, I will combine your answers with my observations from the classroom, and we will meet again to discuss our action plan for providing Veronica with the best possible classroom experience.
References:
Clark, C. (2023, March 9). 4 year old speech checklist: Speech and language milestones. Speech And Language Kids.
Wortham, S. C., & Hardin, B. J. (2020). Assessment in early childhood education (8th ed.). Pearson.
DISCUSSION 2 (Sharayna):
Choose 2 Classmates who does not have the same last name as you and respond to their discussion post.
- Answer the questions on their form as if you were a parent. Provide feedback to your peer on their questions. Do you think the questions will provide useful information for the teacher?
What could they do differently? What did they do well? You may want to revisit your own post throughout the week to see how your peers responded.
- Listen, read the uploaded transcript, or watch the video. Provide feedback to your peers about their presentation by addressing the following requirements:
Did it adhere to Early Childhood Assessment: 9 Keys to Effective Practice? And NAEYC's Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement?
If so, provide two to three statements of evidence, and if not provide two to three suggestions on how they can adhere to Knestrick (2013)" and "NAEYC (n.d.-a)" or alternatively "NAEYC's position statement on advancing equity (NAEYC, n.d.-a).
DISCUSSION 2 (Sharayna) Discussion must be a Minimum of 500 Words)
1. Expresses anger with nonaggressive words rather than with physical action: At home, when Joe JR is upset practice breathing techniques to help him self-regulate; now that he is older, JR will calm himself down.
2. What makes your child feel better when happy, sad, or angry: Happy-Praise hug, smile, having joy
When he sees other children sad or me or his mother, it makes him feel sad.
Angry- When he hurts himself, he wants someone to check on him.
3. What do you see as your child's greatest strengths or skills: Communicating his needs and wants to others.
Expressing his feelings and naming them
Building friendships, sharing, and thinking of himself and others.
4. How does your child respond to change:
If you give JR reminders, change isn't hard for him. I often sit with him and talk through what will happen next. He needs to know what is coming after.
5. Remains calm when small requests are denied (e.g., cannot have a snack):
JR is responsive to the word not right now, and he knows how to wait his turn.
JR listens very well.
(Preschool- Emotional)
State the age group and domain: Preschool 3-5 (Emotion)
Share your assessment philosophy: assessments are necessary to support children and not point out what they are doing well. Assessments should be used as a guide to the end goal of the learning objective.
Ms. Brown: Hello. Thank you for meeting with me today. Joe JR has been doing well in the classroom. He is starting to write his name, name more colors, and understand more letters in the alphabet.
Parent: that is so good to hear when he comes home, I notice he is spelling his name out loud, and he often pretends to be the teacher
Ms. Brown: Oh yes, that is so wonderful. Yes, his classroom job has been the teacher's helper, so it is great to know that he has been taking his learning home. I also want to share two assessments: ASQ-3 (Ages and stages)
Screening, which is ASQ-3 screens and assesses the developmental performance of children in the areas of communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and personal-social skills. The second assessment I completed was the DECA, which evaluates within-child protective factors central to social and emotional health and resilience. I understand that was a lot of information. Do you have any questions?
Parent: No
Ms. Brown: when I scored Joe Jr, he was in the gray area so we can ask for early intervention support. Thank you for filling out the questions at home; that really will support us in understanding and supporting what works well for Joe JR when he becomes upset with us or other students in the classroom.
Parent: Let me know what else I can do to support him. I am open to having the support of an early interventionist.
Ms. Brown: Perfect. I will send an email out today and invite you to the email.
Parent: Thank you.
Expected developmental stage:
Children at this age should be starting to be more aware of the feelings of others-aware of how the body can hurt.
Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential. Social and Emotional Development for Preschool (3-5 Years). 2024.
Five Ways Parents Can Support Children's Social and Emotional
Development. National Head Start Association. 2024.
1. Know your child's social and emotional needs.
2. Once you know, you can grow!
3. Parents can remember the basics.
4. Take time to listen.
5. Parents can find safe ways to get together.