A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum

Here is specific, practical help for planning, designing, and implementing effective early childhood curriculum, ages three through eight. In it, readers see clearly how children learn; what children can learn; and the specific concepts, ideas, and strategies that are developmentally appropriate for young children. Reader friendly and filled with examples, anecdotes, and practical, hands-on strategies, activities, and lesson plans,A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum looks at how to teach, while providing a solid foundation for the theoretical basis of the concepts being applied. Teachers see clearly what can be taught to young children, why it is important, and how it can be accomplished. The emphasis is on the importance of a child-centered curriculum that encompasses the whole child—physical, social, emotional, creative, and cognitive—and the focus is on the developmental needs of the children in the classroom, the cognitive areas of the curriculum, and effective methods of curriculum implementation. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded videos and assessments.

Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText*
The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is:

• Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience.
• Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPadR and AndroidR tablet.*
• Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book.

* The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads.

*The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later.

Claudia Eliason is the co-author of this textbook, now in its 10th edition. She has also authored several peer-reviewed journal articles. She taught 1st grade and then was an Assistant Professor at Utah State University for seven years. After earning her doctorate degree she taught for 16 years at Weber State University in Teacher Education where she was, for five years, the director of the Master of Education program. She retired in 2012 and enjoys time with her husband, six children, and 15 grandchildren.

Loa Jenkins taught at Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) for 3 years, then Utah State University for 4 years. This fall, 2014, she is retiring from the public school system after teaching early childhood special education for 16 years. She is the co-author of this textbook, Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum, now in its 10th edition. She and her husband have four children and eight grandchildren.