Pre k school curriculum: Pre-K Curriculum for 4-Year Olds
Pre-K Curriculum – Pre-K Pages
A good pre-K or preschool curriculum is an important part of having a high-quality early childhood program. If you’re looking for information about what a child should learn in pre-K, you’re in luck! In this post you’ll find the most common skills and concepts taught in PreK programs.
Although these skills are addressed and introduced, it doesn’t mean pre-K students are expected to master these skills before moving on to the next grade level. All young children learn these concepts and skills at their own individual pace, when they are ready.
Young children learn best through hands-on experiences that incorporate engaging, high-quality picture books, catchy songs and rhymes, and fun games. These types of activities encourage playful learning and allow them to better connect with the expected educational goals.
When you’re writing your lesson plans, it’s important to ensure that you incorporate the concepts and skills your students are required to learn into your lessons. If you need help figuring out which skills to teach when, you can download our free curriculum pacing guide HERE.
Literacy
In a high-quality Pre-K Curriculum, the literacy and language arts outcomes for children in Pre-K (4 years of age) should include the following:
- Enjoys looking at books
- Listens to and answers questions about a story (via read-alouds that utilize high-quality children’s literature)
- Retells familiar stories in their own words from memory (fairy tales and nursery rhymes)
- Answers questions about a story
- Recognizes environmental print
- Understands basic phonological awareness components (alliteration, rhyming, syllables, identifies phonemes)
- Recognizes and identifies uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet
- Understands basic concepts of print (left to right progression, top to bottom, words, pictures, one-to-one correspondence)
- Has strong visual discrimination skills
- Holds a pencil, marker, or crayon correctly (handwriting skills and fine motor skills)
- Recognizes their name and writes first name to the best of their ability
- Draws pictures and tell about their stories and experiences
- Writes marks, letters, or letter like symbols to communicate thoughts and ideas
Math
A good pre-k curriculum has math outcomes for children who are 4 years old that include the following:
- Counts with one-to-one correspondence up to 10
- Identifies more, less, or same
- Orally counts numbers 0-20 in order
- Identifies without counting objects up to 10 (subitizing)
- Recognizes and identifies numbers 0-10
- Identifies more, less, or same
- Recognizes, names, and creates common shapes
- Uses positional words to identify location (over, under, above, on, beside etc. )
- Understands and uses non-standard units of measurement
- Capacity
- Heavy and light
- Night and day (in relation to passage of time)
- Sorts objects that are the same or different
- Basic data collection (graphing, tally marks etc.)
- Can recognize, identify, create, and extend patterns
Pre-K Curriculum: Science
The science outcomes in a Pre-K curriculum designed for children 4 years old should include the following:
- Investigates, describes, and discusses energy (light, heat, and electricity)
- Identifies and use simple science tools (balance scale, hand lens, measuring stick or tape etc.)
- Hot and cold
- Force and motion (magnets, ramps)
- Needs of animals (food, shelter, water, air)
- Needs of a plant (water, soil, air, light)
- Life cycles (seeds, plants, animals, insects, people)
- Seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer)
- Environments and habitats
- Earth (rocks, soil, sand)
- Sky (sun, stars, moon, planets)
- Weather (clouds, wind, rain, snow)
- Understands importance of caring for the environment (recycling and conservation)
- Can observe, explore, predict, collect and analyze data
Pre-K Curriculum: Social Skills
Appropriate social skills for children who are 4 years old include:
- Demonstrates understanding of how to care for classroom materials (clean-up)
- Carries out classroom helper jobs
- Can share space and materials with others (follows a center time routine)
- Can identify and describe their own feelings and emotions
- Has been introduced to and seeks out specific tools or techniques to help regulate emotions (yoga, calming techniques etc. )
- Can interact with classmates appropriately and makes friends independently
- Understands that others have emotions that may be different from their own (empathy)
- Cares for own personal needs (toilets independently, can put coat on, zip, button, blows nose independently etc.)
- Can communicate their own wants and needs verbally
Language and Communication Skills: Speaking and Listening
- Understands and follows two-step and three-step directions
- Uses words to describe people, places, and things
- Understands simple conversational rules
- Child has a speaking vocabulary of 3,000-4,000 words
- Understands non-verbal conversational cues
- Speaks in complete sentences of four or more words
- Understands instructional language (stand up, sit down, line up etc)
If you suspect your child may have a speech or language delay, or any learning difficulties, you should contact your local school district immediately and request a free evaluation for your child. Public school districts in the U.S. are required by law to provide screening and evaluation for children ages 3 and up. The sooner any delays or difficulties are identified, the more quickly your child can begin receiving services. Do not wait until your child starts public school to make this request, it’s always better to do it before your child formally starts school.
If your child is already enrolled in a public school, ask your child’s teacher for guidance in requesting services.
More Teaching Tips
Preschool Curriculum Map for the Whole Year
It can be so overwhelming to plan for the entire year of preschool! That’s why I created this year-long curriculum map for preschool and Pre-K, it includes a Year at a Glance, weekly small group math and literacy plans, book lists and more.
I’ve mapped out the whole year for you, just print and go! There’s even an editable template for you so you can tweak it to meet your needs!
What is a Preschool Curriculum Map?
A preschool curriculum map is a framework you can reference to help guide your instruction in your Pre-K or Preschool classroom.
A curriculum map is also commonly referred to as a pacing guide in the educational world, as well as a scope and sequence.
Benefits of Using a Curriculum Map
There are many benefits of using a curriculum pacing guide or map in your early childhood classroom or program. Using a curriculum map can help you organize and plan your instructional strategies for the entire school year.
Curriculum maps can also help determine when to teach required skills so you can focus on how to best teach those skills to your students.
Teachers who use this resource include both public and private school teachers. Many school districts and early childhood centers throughout the US have implemented this resource in their programs with great success.
Preschool Curriculum Map
If you’ve never used a pacing guide before it helps you get a very clear picture of where you’re going with your instruction. It keeps you on track so you know not only what skills to teach, but also when to teach them and in which order.
Year at a Glance
The year at a glance is just a brief outline of the topics and themes covered throughout the school year.
If you notice that a particular theme isn’t currently linked or underlined that means it is forthcoming.
You’ll want to get on my mailing list so you’ll be the first to know when these new resources have been added.
Theme Sequence
The themes listed in the document are just suggestions, feel free to spend more or less time on them according to the unique needs of your students and program.
Book Lists
Choosing high-quality picture books is so important in the early childhood classroom. We don’t get much time with our students, so we have to make the time we do have together really count by selecting books that build academic vocabulary and background knowledge.
You’ll notice that there is a separate column in your guide that links to specific book lists to help you plan your lessons. When you click on the blue text in each of those spaces, you will go directly to the corresponding book list at Pre-K Pages.
To start using the book lists, simply click on the current book list, and then search your local library’s database to reserve copies of the books you want.
Remember, the books on these lists are just suggestions, feel free to make adjustments and substitutions as necessary.
If a book list isn’t linked, that means it hasn’t been published yet, but will be soon.
Which Grade Level or Age Group?
This curriculum map is specifically designed for teachers of Preschool and Pre-K, or children 4 years of age.
Many of the ideas and resources can be modified to meet the unique needs of students who are struggling, or those who may need more challenging material.
Many Kindergarten teachers also use this curriculum pacing guide as a framework, by adding more skills to support their specific required reading and math standards.
Classroom Centers
You’ll also find ten pages of classroom center pictures and material suggestions to help you set up amazing centers in your own classroom!
Each of these ten pages includes a full-color photo of the center in my classroom, as well as a suggested materials list plus a link to more information at Pre-K Pages.
Printing the Curriculum Map
There are many ways to organize your curriculum map to meet your needs. Perhaps the easiest way is to just print it out (using your Instant Ink– of course), 3-hole punch it, and place it in a 3 ring binder.
You can also print the pages and have them spiral bound at your local copy store if you prefer.
Whatever method you choose, be sure to keep your guide close by each week to help with planning your lessons.
Purchasing the Entire Curriculum
The easiest and most affordable way to purchase all of the Pre-K Pages products featured in the curriculum guide is to join the Teaching Trailblazers.
Teaching Trailblazers gives members 24/7 access to all of the paid printables from Pre-K Pages, plus so much more!
New content is added to Teaching Trailblazers (and Pre-K Pages) each month.
Additional Resources
As if all that wasn’t enough, the Teaching Trailblazer also includes links to all of the other resources at Pre-K Pages to help you:
- Set up amazing classroom centers
- Create fun dramatic play center themes
- Transform your calendar time
- Streamline assessments
- Communicate with parents
- Establish daily routines and procedures
- …and more!
More Teaching Tips
The main educational program for preschool education
The section was created as part of the implementation of the project “Implementation of an exemplary educational program for preschool education in 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation” of the Federal Target Program for the Development of Education for 2016-2020 (state contract No. 08.022.11.0006 dated April 19, 2016 d.)
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Approximate basic educational program of preschool education
The purpose of the Program is to design social situations for the development of the child and the developing object-spatial environment that provide positive socialization, motivation and support for the individuality of children through communication, play, cognitive research activities and other forms of activity.
Read the entire program…
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Methodological materials and documents
Methodological recommendations on the implementation of the powers of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on financial support for the provision of state and municipal services in the field of preschool education
Letter of the Ministry of Education and Science No. 08-249 dated February 28, 2014 “Comments to the Federal State Educational Standard of Preschool Education”
work with an exemplary basic educational program for preschool education and the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education
Recommendations for the use of tools in conducting a public and professional assessment of the quality of preschool education
A package of documents for use in conducting a public and professional assessment of the quality of preschool education
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development of the main educational program of a preschool organization
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Organizational and analytical support
and the formation of a register of exemplary basic educational programs, which are designed to create a methodological basis for the full implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard in the system of preschool education
Regulatory materials and documents developed on the basis of an analysis of the needs of educational organizations
A series of webinars on the implementation of an exemplary educational program for preschool education in 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation
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Consulting and methodological support
General issues development of the BEP DO
Correctional and inclusive education
On the preparation of preschool children for schooling
On equipment and information resources for the implementation of PEP and PEP
On the network interaction of a preschool educational organization with the surrounding society
On methods for assessing the quality of work of preschool educational organizations operating in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard
Individual consultation on the content of PEP
Pedagogics
and psychology of preschool education
1 course 2 course
General description of the educational program
Competence matrix
Calendar study schedule and curriculum
Work program of education
Calendar plan of educational work
State final certification program
Passports and competency building programs
UK-1
UK-2
UK-3
UK-4
UK-5
UK-6
UK-7
UK-8
OPK-1
OPK-2
OPK-3
OPK-4
OPK-5
GPC-6
OPK-7
OPK-8
PC-1
PC-2
Programs of disciplines (modules) and practices
No. | Name of discipline (module) |
Abstract |
Program of discipline (module) |
Appraisal Fund |
---|---|---|---|---|
Basic disciplines | ||||
1. | STEM technologies in preschool education | |||
2. | Anatomy and developmental physiology | |||
3. | Life safety | |||
4. | Introduction to professional activity | |||
5. | Child Practical Psychology | |||
6. | Diagnosis of educational achievements of a preschooler | |||
7. | Diagnosis of mental development of a child | |||
8. | Preschool Pedagogy | |||
9. | Foreign concepts of mental development of the child | |||
10. | Inclusion in the system of preschool education | |||
11. | Foreign language | |||
12. | Information technologies in additional education | |||
13. | Information technology in professional activities | |||
14. | History | |||
15. | History of Pedagogy and Education | |||
16. | Culturology | |||
17. | Mathematical development of preschoolers | |||
18. | Methodology and methods of psychological and pedagogical activity | |||
19. | Monitoring of the educational process in a preschool educational organization | |||
20. | Museum Pedagogy | |||
21. | Regulatory framework for professional activity | |||
22. | Educational programs of preschool education | |||
23. | General psychology | |||
24. | Organization of preschool education | |||
25. | Organization of work with gifted children | |||
26. | Fundamentals of Medical Knowledge | |||
27. | Fundamentals of Teaching Excellence | |||
28. | Partnership with parents of children of early and preschool age | |||
29. | Educator in the global world space | |||
30. | Pedagogy of home education | |||
31. | Pedagogy and psychology of the game of a modern preschooler | |||
32. | Educational psychology | |||
33. | Cognitive and research activities of preschool children | |||
34. | Prenatal Pedagogy | |||
35. | Designing the main educational program of kindergarten | |||
36. | Designing additional education programs in kindergarten | |||
37. | Designing psychological and pedagogical support for a child in kindergarten | |||
38. | Designing a developing object-spatial environment | |||
39. | Project activities in a preschool educational organization | |||
40. | Professional ethics in psychological and pedagogical activity | |||
41. | Psychological foundations of self-knowledge of personality | |||
42. | Psychology of young children | |||
43. | Psychology of preschool age | |||
44. | Developmental Psychology | |||
45. | Psychology of Modern Childhood | |||
46. | Psychological and pedagogical support for the family of kindergarten students | |||
47. | Speech development in preschool age | |||
48. | Russian language and culture of speech | |||
49. | Self-organization of educational and professional activities | |||
50. | Social Psychology | |||
51. | Social and communicative development of preschoolers | |||
52. | Education Theory | |||
53. | Learning Theory | |||
54. | Technologies for organizing leisure activities in preschool education | |||
55. | Physical culture and sports | |||
56. | Physical education and health technologies in preschool education | |||
57. | Philosophy | |||
58. | Formation of the image of the world of preschoolers | |||
59. | Formation of the image of “I” of preschoolers | |||
60. | Artistic and speech practices of preschoolers | |||
61. | Artistic and aesthetic development of preschoolers | |||
62. | Digitalization in preschool education | |||
63. | Ecological education of preschool children | |||
64. | Economics of education | |||
65. | Experimentation in preschool age | |||
66. | Elective disciplines in physical culture and sports | |||
67. | Ethnography of childhood | |||
Practices | ||||
1. | Adaptation practice | |||
2. | Research practice | |||
3. | Summer teaching practice | |||
4. | Research work | |||
5. | Introductory practice | |||
6. | Pedagogical practice (in groups of young children) | |||
7. | Pedagogical practice (in preschool educational organizations) | |||
8. | Pedagogical practice (in institutions of additional education) | |||
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