Within this month’s resource packet you will find 4 attachments and 8 web based resources.
Attachments include:
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Information about a Nurturing Parent Program
Information about UNC's Early Childhood Education programs
Registration for the Spring CAEYC conference
March Crosswalks Care Package which includes updates, 3 Content resources and 3
Instructional resources
Web based resources include:
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Report on Early Literacy
Report on Prek RtI
Parent training modules for promoting social emotional skills
Review of screening instruments for assessing social emotional development
Information about a webinar on promoting positive outcomes for children with disabilities
Results Matter video series
Online videos illustrating DAP
Information about PreK-3rd education
1. Report on Early Literacy Identifies Key Skills and Approaches
The National Early Literacy Panel recently released a report identifying critical early literacy
skills that predict later literacy outcomes, and the programs and interventions that are most
effective at helping children developing them. (The report also includes a guide for practitioners
to translate the research into action.) Based on a review of existing research, the panel found
six early literacy skills that are critical for young children to develop during the first five years of
their lives:
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Knowledge of letters and their sounds;
Ability to detect and manipulate sounds and syllables within a word (phonological
awareness);
Ability to name letters and digits;
Ability to name objects and colors;
Ability to write letters or one’s own name; and
Ability to remember spoken information for a short period of time.
The panel also found a second tier of skills that had more moderate association with later
reading and writing ability, such as oral language and understanding the conventions of print
and stories. Of the five types of interventions examined in the existing research, “code-focused
interventions” – those designed to increase children’s proficiency in identifying and manipulating
letters, sounds, and syllables – had the strongest relationship with the six critical early literacy
skills. The other interventions, which included shared reading programs, parent/home programs
and pre-k programs, had stronger relationships with the second-tier early literacy skills.
This report (at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/NELP/NELPreport.html) suggests that a more intentional
focus on alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness in early education programs may
improve later literacy outcomes.
2. New Report on Pre-K Response to Intervention
Source: National Center for Learning Disabilities
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has released a new report entitled
Roadmap to Pre-K RTI: Applying Response to Intervention in Preschool Settings (2009), by
Mary Ruth Coleman, Tracey West, and Froma Roth. The report provides information on key
components of Response to Intervention (RTI) frameworks in preschool settings, how they
relate to RTI in K-12 settings, examples of early models in the field (CO, DC, FL, IL, KS and
MD), and resources for implementation and policy recommendations. It is available online at
http://www.rtinetwork.org/images/stories/learn/roadmaptoprekrti.pdf
3. Parent Training Modules on How to Promote Children’s Social and Emotional Skills
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has created
Parent Training Modules which provide information for families on promoting children’s social
and emotional skills, understanding their problem behaviors, and using positive approaches to
help them learn appropriate behaviors. The modules are available online at
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/parent.html
4. Review of Screening Instruments for Social Emotional Concerns
A new document from the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for
Young Children (TACSEI), entitled Emotional Concerns: Considerations in the Selection of
Instruments (2009), by Jasolyn Henderson and Phillip Strain, provides a brief overview of the
use of screening instruments to help identify children and families who would benefit from early
and targeted intervention strategies. It is meant to help administrators and teachers choose
appropriate instruments for implementing a screening program. Available at
http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/documents/roadmap_1.pdf
5. Webinar on Promoting Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities
Source: Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Early Childhood - March 12, 2009
The Division for Early Childhood at the Council for Exceptional Children will be hosting a
webinar on May 7, 2009, 3 p.m. EST, focused on DEC's position paper on Promoting Positive
Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum, Assessment and
Program Evaluation. The presenters, Dr. Beth Rous and Dr. Marilou Hyson, will discuss the
position paper and its implications for young children.
For complete information and to register for the webinar go to http://www.decsped.org/index.aspx/About_DEC/Whats_New?id=27. If you have questions about the paper for
the presenters, please include them with your registration. The position paper is available online
at http://www.decsped.org/index.aspx/About_DEC/PositionConcept_Papers/Promoting_Positive_Outcomes
6. Results Matter Video Series on Early Childhood Assessment
Source: Colorado Department of Education - Retrieved March 18, 2009
The Colorado Department of Education’s Results Matter Program has developed a series of
videos that help providers better understand ways to use observation, documentation, and
assessment to inform practice. Two styles of videos are provided: 1) practitioners discussing
and illustrating their exemplary practices; 2) clips for practicing observation, documentation and
assessment skills, showing children participating in typical routines and activities. You can
watch the videos online or download the free clips for use in educational and professional
development activities. Additional clips are will be added periodically. The clips are available at
http://www.cde.state.co.us/resultsmatter/RMVideoSeries.htm and include the following:
Focus on Early Care and Education
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Connecting Learning Opportunities
Linking Documentation and Curriculum
Sharing Documentation with Families
Sharing Video Documentation with Families
The Essential Role of Observation and Documentation
Using Documentation to Become a Better Teacher
Focus on Early Intervention
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Using Video for Self-Reflection
Using Video to Share with Family Members
7. Online Video Illustrates Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children - Retrieved March 3, 2009
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has developed a 53minute online video that illustrates developmentally appropriate practices in action. The video
demonstrates teachers and children interacting in a classroom and provides input from experts
on the practices being observed. It is available at http://www.naeyc.org/dap/resources.asp
8. New Series: Issues in PreK-3rd Education
Source: FPG Child Development Institute, FirstSchool - March 12, 2009
FirstSchool, a PreK–3rd Grade initiative of the FPG Child Development Institute at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, promotes public school efforts to become more
responsive to the needs of an increasingly younger, more diverse population and aims to unite
the best of early childhood, elementary and special education. FirstSchool recently released the
first four issues in a new series, Issues in PreK-3rd Education. They are available at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~firstschool/index.cfm