Review

Scope: Big Day for PreK™ clearly identifies nine learning domains: Social-Emotional Development, Oral Language, Emergent Reading, Emergent Writing, Mathematics, Science and Health, Social Studies, Fine Arts, and Technology and Media. The Teaching Guides provide daily lesson plans, learning goals, and teaching practices to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: Big Day for PreK™ provides sequences of learning experiences that gradually build children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in all Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains. The Teaching Guides offer multiple, related opportunities for children to explore concepts and skills in all domains. Learning experiences include "One-to-One Follow-Ups" and "Modifications" to individualize based on children's development and special needs. There is less flexibility to adapt sequences of learning experiences based on children's interests.

Scope: C4L clearly identifies four core domains of learning: math, science, literacy, and social and emotional learning. The Teacher's Handbook offers an overview of the associated learning goals, lesson types (e.g., Welcome and Read Aloud; Connect), and learning processes (e.g., communicating and representing, using tools strategically) used to support children's development and learning in the identified domains. In addition, the Units provide learning goals, lessons, and teaching practices to support children's learning and development in these domains.

Sequence: The Units provide a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds on children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in the following ELOF domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Literacy, Mathematics, and Scientific Reasoning. The Units provide multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts and skills in the curriculum's core domains. In the Mathematics domain, the curriculum also provides some guidance on how to move through the sequence of learning experiences based on individual children's strengths and needs. For example, Appendix B of the Teacher's Handbook describes how to use the math learning trajectories to individualize the sequence in which math lessons are implemented. However, for Perceptual, Physical, and Motor Development, the curriculum does not provide a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds from less to more complex.
 

Scope: Core Knowledge® clearly identifies five developmental areas: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Literacy Development, Knowledge and Cognitive Development, and Physical Well-Being and Motor Development. The Handbook subdivides the developmental areas into domains/content areas (e.g., under Language and Literacy, one of the domain/content areas is Oral Language) and includes a chapter that lists the Preschool Sequence skills for each domain/content area. Each chapter provides a brief description of what teachers should know, scaffolding suggestions, and some "Teaching Ideas" to support children's development for domain/content areas.

Sequence: A thorough review of the curriculum materials indicates that Core Knowledge® includes competencies and skills for each domain that are listed sequentially (from less to more complex). The curriculum also provides "Sample Year-Long Curriculum Plan," which maps the skills of the Preschool Sequence to each month of the school year. However, it is unclear how the sequence of skills is mapped to suggested learning experiences. Core Knowledge® does not provide a defined set of learning experiences, but rather a limited number of examples and suggested activities (e.g., "Teaching Ideas," "Cross-Curricular Connections") to illustrate how skills in each content area may be supported. These do not build from less to more complex to support children as they move through the developmental progressions, nor do they provide multiple, related opportunities to explore a concept or skill with increasing depth.

Scope: The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool clearly identifies nine areas of development and learning: Social-Emotional, Physical, Language, Cognitive, Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies, and the Arts. Volumes 1–6 provide an overview of young children's development as well as specific teaching practices to support children's development and learning in each of these domains.

Sequence: The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool provides guidance within activities on how to support children as they move through the developmental progressions. The Intentional Teaching Cards describe activities in the domains of Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Social and Emotional, and Physical Development. Each activity includes a "Teaching Sequence" to support children at different levels of the developmental progressions specified in Volume 6: Objectives for Development & Learning: Birth Through Third Grade. This allows teachers to individualize activities to meet the strengths and needs of each child. Additionally, teachers can use the Mighty Minutes, Teaching Guides, and guidance provided in Volumes 1–6 to provide multiple, related learning opportunities for children to explore concepts and skills in most domains. However, the curriculum lacks developmental progressions of children's scientific reasoning and inquiry skills in Volume 6: Objectives for Development & Learning: Birth Through Third Grade. The Teaching Guides provide opportunities for children to develop science knowledge and skills (e.g., making focused observations, conducting investigations) and investigations in each study become more specific over time. Even so, there is no gradual progression of building children's scientific reasoning or inquiry skills within each study or across the studies.

Scope: Curiosity Corner clearly identifies nine developmental domains: Personal/Emotional, Language/Literacy, Interpersonal/Social, Cognitive, Creative, Mathematical, Science, Physical, and Social Studies. Each Theme Guide provides detailed guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the following ELOF domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Literacy, and Mathematics. However, for some aspects of Scientific Reasoning and Perceptual, Physical, and Motor Development, it is unclear how the sequences of learning experiences gradually build children's skills as they move through the developmental progressions. In the Science domain, the curriculum lacks multiple, related opportunities for children to explore concepts and skills. In addition, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs.

Scope: Learn Every Day™ clearly identifies nine developmental domains: Arts and Creativity, Cognitive Skills, Communication, Literacy, Mathematics, Personal Health and Development, Science Constructs, Social and Emotional Skills, and Social Studies. The Volumes provide planned learning activities to support children's development in these domains. However, some domains (e.g., Arts and Creativity, Social and Emotional Skills) are only partially addressed, as there are few learning experiences that foster related concepts and skills.

Sequence: Foundations for Learning advises teachers to introduce the units in order, stating that the units get more challenging and complex. The concepts in Volume 1 are more directly related to children's lives and their immediate environment (e.g., Me, My Family, My Five Senses). The topics in Volume 2 become more abstract and focus on how the world works in relation to social studies and life and earth sciences (e.g., Friends Around the World, Ocean, Rocks, and Minerals). Within some units, skills in lessons appear to build upon each other (e.g., counting comes before graphing, sets and classifying come before comparing). However, with regard to specific skills and concepts in the developmental domains (e.g., Print and Alphabet Knowledge, Counting, Sorting), the sequences of learning experiences in the curriculum are not based on children's developmental progressions.

Scope: Galileo® Pre-K clearly identifies nine developmental domains: Approaches to Learning, Nature and Science, Creative Arts, Physical Development and Health, Language Development, Social and Emotional Development, Literacy Development, Social Studies, and Logic and Reasoning. The G3 Activities provide planned learning activities to support children's development in these domains. G3 Lesson Plans include theme-based activity plans to address a variety of skills across the domains.

Sequence: For each of the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains, Galileo® Pre-K provides a sequence of learning experiences that gradually builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions. The online system allows teachers to select and implement learning experiences in a sequence based on each child's developmental level. Teachers can choose activities designed around specific goals based on children's existing knowledge and skills within each domain. Teachers can also use weekly model lesson plans (G3 Lesson Plans) to progressively build children's skills and concepts over time. The curriculum includes a variety of learning experiences (e.g., G3 Activities, Storyteller G3 Activities, and interest centers) in each domain, providing children with ample opportunities to progressively build a skill in a particular area. Interest centers offer sequences of learning experiences that take children's interests into consideration.

Scope: The HighScope Preschool Curriculum clearly identifies eight content areas: Approaches to Learning; Social and Emotional; Mathematics; Science and Technology; Language, Literacy, and Communication; Social Studies; Creative Arts; and Physical Development and Health. In each of the content areas, the curriculum provides a domain-specific book that identifies children's developmental progressions and ways to scaffold children's development and learning.

Sequence: The curriculum provides guidance on how to support children as they move through the developmental progressions in each of the ELOF preschool domains. The Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs) and learning experiences offer supports for children at earlier, middle, and later stages of development. Teachers can use these resources to provide multiple, related learning opportunities that progressively build children's knowledge and skills. The scaffolding strategies and learning experiences can be flexibly implemented to meet individual children's interests and developmental levels.

Scope: The DLM Early Childhood Express® clearly identifies nine learning domains: Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy: Reading and Writing, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Physical Development, and Technology. The Teacher's Editions for each thematic unit provide weekly and daily lesson plans that identify learning goals and describe activities to support children's development and learning in these domains.

Sequence: In some developmental domains, the DLM Early Childhood Express® provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions. For example, in the domains of Mathematics, Social and Emotional Development, and Emergent Literacy: Reading and Writing, the activities described in the Teacher's Editions progressively build children's skills and concepts over time. However, some aspects of Approaches to Learning, Language and Communication, Science, and Physical Development lack a variety of learning experiences that build on each other over time and reflect children's developmental progressions.

Scope: Frog Street Pre-K clearly identifies 10 developmental domains: Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy Reading, Emergent Literacy Writing, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Physical Development, and Technology Applications. Each Teacher Guide provides detailed guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: Frog Street Pre-K provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in the following domains: Approaches to Learning; Social and Emotional Development; Literacy; and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development. However, in some aspects of Language and Communication, Mathematics Development, and Scientific Reasoning, the curriculum occasionally introduces advanced skills or concepts early in the sequence before building foundational knowledge and skills. It also lacks a variety of experiences that provide children with ample opportunities to progressively build a skill in a particular area.

Scope: Frog Street Threes clearly identifies five developmental domains: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language, Cognition, and Physical Development. Each Teaching Guide provides detailed guidance for daily learning activities and practice centers to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: The curriculum offers a sequence of learning experiences to support children's developmental progressions in the following domains: Approaches to Learning, Language and Communication, and Scientific Reasoning. Some aspects of the following domains do not follow children's developmental progressions or lack multiple related opportunities for children to explore skills and concepts over time: Social and Emotional Development, Literacy, Mathematics, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development. For example, "Numeration" is not introduced until Mathematics themes 8 and 9, after "One-to-One Correspondence" is addressed in themes 5 and 6. In a one week period, children are introduced to counting, learning numerals, and understanding cardinality. They reflect skills children would develop over a longer period of time and could be supported much earlier in the program year. In the Literacy domain, the curriculum includes daily activities for children to practice phonological awareness in a whole group context. This is too heavy an emphasis for 3-year-old children. For example, Teaching Guides 1–3 invite children to practice sentence and syllable segmentation by tapping their knees for each word or syllable, which the ELOF shows as a skill for children ages 48–60 months.

Scope: World of Wonders identifies six content areas: Social-Emotional Development, Literacy (including Alphabet Time and Book Time), Science and Social Studies, Math, and Music and Movement. The units include daily lessons and learning activities to support children's development in these domains. 

Sequence: The curriculum materials provide a developmental sequence of learning experiences in most ELOF domains, including Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Mathematics Development, and Scientific Reasoning. However, for some aspects of Perceptual, Physical, and Motor Development, it is unclear how the sequences of learning experiences gradually build children's knowledge and skills as children move through the developmental progressions. In addition, the learning goals and objectives within the Scientific Reasoning and Literacy domains do not consistently follow a developmentally appropriate sequence.

Scope: OWL clearly identifies 10 developmental domains: Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy: Reading, Emergent Literacy: Writing, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Technology, and Physical Development. Each Teacher Guide provides detailed guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains. The Social Emotional Handbook provides additional activities for social and emotional development.

Sequence: OWL provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in the domains of Language and Communication, Literacy, Mathematics, and Scientific Reasoning. In addition, the curriculum consistently provides suggestions (e.g., "Make It Easier!" and "Make It Harder!") on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs. However, for some aspects of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development, it is unclear how the sequences of learning experiences gradually build children's skills as they move through the developmental progressions. In these domains, the curriculum lacks a variety of experiences necessary to provide children with ample opportunities to progressively build a skill in a particular area.

Scope: Pre K for ME explicitly addresses literacy, math, and science as essential areas for children's development and learning. The units provide lesson plans, learning goals, and teaching practices to support children's development in these domains. However, some components of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development are more implicitly addressed and embedded within learning experiences. 

Sequence: In some developmental domains, Pre K for ME provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively build children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions. For example, in the domains of Literacy, Mathematics, and Science, the activities within the units progressively build on children's skills and concepts over time. However, some aspects of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development lack a variety of learning experiences that gradually support children as they move through the developmental progressions. In addition, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs.
 

Scope: InvestiGator PreK 2018 clearly identifies 10 developmental domains: Language Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Creative Arts, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Physical and Mental Health, Social Studies, and Technology. Each Teacher Guide provides detailed guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in each of the seven ELOF domains. The Teacher Guides provide multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts and skills in each domain. However, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs.

Scope: Just for Threes 2018 clearly identifies 10 developmental domains: Language Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Creative Arts, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Physical and Mental Health, Social Studies, and Technology. The Just for Threes 2018 Teacher Guide provides guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains. Detailed guidance for some activities is found in the Let's Investigate Teacher Guide, Social and Emotional Development Kit, and Outdoor and Creative Play Cards.

Sequence: In some developmental domains, Just for Threes 2018 provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions. For example, in the domains of Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, and Literacy, the Let's Investigate and Just for Threes 2018 Teacher Guides describe a variety of learning experiences that build children's conceptual knowledge and skills over time. However, learning experiences in the domains of Mathematics, Scientific Reasoning, and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development do not appear to build on each other from less to more complex over time nor reflect children's developmental progressions. For example, in the domain of Mathematics Development, there is a clear progression in some skills but not others. In addition, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs.

Scope: The curriculum clearly identifies seven learning domains: Literacy; Writing; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; Emotional, Social, and Underlying Cognitive/Executive Function Development; and Physical Development. The Tools of the Mind^® Training: Pre-K Manual, 7^th Edition (Training Manual) provides sets of activities organized according to the curriculum's main time blocks in the schedule (e.g., Free Time, Opening, Make-Believe Play). The "Standards Alignment Chart" lists specific activities and goals within each domain and articulates how the curriculum's activities map to the seven domains.

Sequence: Tools of the Mind^® provides sequences of learning experiences organized in four levels of "Training Sessions," with content becoming more complex and challenging over time. The sequences of learning activities support children as they move through the developmental progressions in each of the ELOF preschool domains. They offer ample opportunities for children to explore concepts and skills. "Summary of Changes" describes how each set of activities becomes more complex over time. In addition, each activity includes a chart showing the developmental progression (from 3 to 5 years) of key skills addressed in the activity, scaffolding suggestions to individualize based on children's development and special needs ("Zooming in on the ZPD"), and ideas for increasing challenge ("Up the Challenge").