HEAD

START®

BULLETIN

March 2000 Issue No. 67

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ★ Administration for Children and Families ★ Administration on Children,Youth and Families

enhancing head start communication

Helen H.Taylor

Curriculum plays a vital role in achieving

Head Start’s goal of enhancing the

social competence and schoolreadiness of children. The 1998 legislation

reauthorizing the Head Start program,

passed in October 1998 by Congress, places

additional emphasis on this goal and establishes additional outcome standards in this

central area of Head Start program quality.

The key to a quality educational experience continues to be the development of a

quality Head Start curriculum implemented in

keeping with all of the Program Performance

Standards by grantees and delegate agencies

of excellence. This issue of the Bulletin

provides a comprehensive overview of 

curriculum in Head Start, responds to 

commonly asked questions, and identifies

Head Start resources that programs can use

in developing a curriculum to meet the particular needs of children in their communities.

In the Reauthorization, Congress 

mandated that the Program Performance

Standards be expanded to require that 

children: (1) develop print and numeracy

awareness; (2) understand and use an 

increasingly complex and varied vocabulary;

(3) develop and demonstrate an appreciation

of books; and, for non-English-speaking 

children, (4) progress toward acquisition of

the English language. In addition, Congress 

augmented Head Start Performance Measures

to include the following outcomes: “that children know that letters of the alphabet are a

special category of visual graphics that can be

individually named, recognize a word as a unit

of print,identify at least 10 letters of the alphabet,and associate sounds with written words.” 

However, this does not mean that we

drill children on the alphabet or enforce 

rote learning! 

In Head Start,curriculum is implemented

within the context of sound child development principles and what we know about how

children develop and learn. One of our 

highest priorities is—and always has been—

to improve the educational experience of

every child in Head Start, whether enrolled in

center-based, home-based, family child care,

or in a locally designed program option.

No one does early childhood education like Head Start. We will continue to

enhance the quality of services we offer to

children and families and to serve as the

nation’s laboratory for innovations in the

early childhood field. Together, we can

achieve the goals we have set for ourselves,

and the goals set by Congress.

Curriculum in Head Start

By Helen H.Taylor, Associate Commissioner, Head Start Bureau

Inside this Issue...

A Responsive Approach to Curriculum 

Planning for Infants and Toddlers. . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Planning for Linguistic and 

Cultural Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Teaching and Learning Through the Arts . 24–26

Celebrating 35 Years of Head Start
Curriculum

2

Contents

Please Read Me First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The Curriculum:

A Written Plan For Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

A Responsive Approach to Curriculum 

Planning for Infants and Toddlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Defining Curriculum in Head Start

Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Staff and Parent Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Program Performance Standards &

Sound Child Development Principles . . . . . . . . .16

Curriculum and Reauthorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Planning for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity . . . . . .19

A Framework for Discussing Head Start

Accomplishments and Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Individualization:An Essential 

Element of the Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

A Checklist for Early Childhood Curriculum . . . . . .23

Head Start Teachers Recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

“For a Child, Life Is a Creative Adventure” . . . . . . . . .25

Learning Life Skills Through Physical Play . . . . . . . . . . .26

Curriculum Q+A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

A Head Start on Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

HSB Literacy Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

The Head Start Bulletin is

published six times a year by the

Head Start Bureau, Administration

on Children, Youth and Families,

Department of Health and 

Human Services.

Donna E. Shalala

Secretary

Olivia A. Golden

Assistant Secretary

Administration for Children 

and Families

Michael Kharfen

Director

Office of Public Affairs

Patricia Montoya

Commissioner

Administration on Children, 

Youth and Families

Helen H.Taylor

Associate Commissioner

Head Start Bureau

The Bulletin is a service of HSB’s

Training and Technical Assistance

Branch. Its purpose is to enhance

communication among the Head

Start Bureau, Head Start programs,

and interested national, regional,

and state organizations and agencies.

JoAn Knight Herren

Chief, T/TA Branch

Head Start Bureau

Jeffrey Fredericks

Managing Editor

Head Start Bulletin

The Head Start Bulletin is

prepared under Contract No. 105-96-

2010 with PaL-Tech, Inc.

Jean Swift

Senior Writer/Editor

Jennifer McDonald

Writer

Head Start Bulletin

C URRICULUM

Issue No. 67
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 3

Defining Curriculum

Readers rarely read the Head Start

Bulletin the way they read a novel or

short story, from page one to the end.

However,starting at the beginning and reading

through to the end is the most effective way

to read and benefit from this particular issue.

This issue of the Bulletin begins with the

Head Start Program Performance Standards’

definition of curriculum and a context-setting

article by E. Dollie Wolverton, Chief of the

Education Services Branch at the Head 

Start Bureau. An article by Ron Lally 

provides an overview of curriculum for

infants and toddlers.

Next, each element of the Head Start

definition of curriculum is highlighted. The

Head Start Program Performance Standards

define curriculum as a written plan 

that includes:

• Goals for children’s development and 

learning;

• Experiences through which they will 

achieve the goals;

• Roles for staff and parents to help 

children to achieve these goals; and 

• Materials needed to support the 

implementation of a curriculum.

• Curriculum in Head Start is also based

on the Program Performance

Standards and Sound Child

Development Principles.

There is a two-page description of

each of these aspects of the definition, as well

as “real life” examples of how programs

across the country are implementing each

aspect. A partial list of available Head Start

resources is also provided for each element

of the definition.

This first half of the Bulletin (pp. 8–18)

is followed by contributions from Head Start

staff and T/TA providers (pp. 19–29) that can

further develop an understanding of 

curriculum implementation in Head Start,

along with a curriculum checklist and a series

of questions and answers.

In addition,this Bulletin, like other issues,

is rich with suggested resources to expand

learning, thinking, and planning (pp. 32–35).

Few aspects of Head Start matter to

children as much as curriculum. This is true

across all program options and settings—

center–based, home–based, and family child

care, in both Head Start and Early Head

Start. Children remember their Head Start

experiences: how they spend their time; what

they do and accomplish; how successful 

they feel; who notices; and what staff and 

parents do as part of these experiences

called curriculum.

The term “curriculum” might not come

to mind when you hear children making joyful sounds or talking about the good food

they shared with their friends, the bus ride,

the variety of books, the water table, building

with blocks, songs, or even hugs—but that’s

what it is all about for the child.

This issue of the Head Start Bulletin

provides an illustrated definition of curriculum as it is referenced in the Program

Performance Standards.This, in turn, provides

a solid foundation for focusing on curriculum

development, implementation, and evaluation

in your Early Head Start programs. But 

this issue of the Bulletin does not attempt 

to convey all we need to know about curriculum in Head Start, and it is not a substitute for ongoing staff development and

reflective supervision.

The more effectively programs select,

adapt, create, plan, implement, and evaluate

their curriculum, the more children are able

to talk about it and gain from it, and the more

vivid the memories and other positive 

outcomes are likely to be.

Michele Plutro is an Education Specialist in the

Head Start Bureau’s Education Services Branch,

T: 202-205-8912, E: mplutro@acf.dhhs.gov.

Please Read Me First

By Michele Plutro
4 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Defining Curriculum

The Curriculum: A Written Plan for Action

By E. Dollie Wolverton

Curriculum in Early Head Start and Head

Start is a written document that serves as

a road map for implementing a quality

child development and education program.

No two curricula in Head Start and Early

Head Start look exactly the same.There are two

basic approaches programs use to determine the

curriculum.Staff and parents may base a curriculum

on an already-developed model and adapt or

“tailor” it for the group of children being served.

Or staff and parents may develop a local 

curriculum. Either way,the curriculum must be in

keeping with all requirements of the Head Start

Program Performance Standards and based on

sound child development principles.

Performance Standards and Child

Development Principles

The standards first require that when serving

infants, toddlers, or preschoolers, including 

children with disabilities, the curriculum must

include: (1) The goals for children’s development

and learning—what do we want children to

achieve this year?; (2) The experiences through

which they will achieve these goals—what learning

experiences will we offer them?; (3) The roles of

staff and parents in helping children achieve these

goals—what are our individual and shared responsibilities as a team to help children achieve the

goals?; and (4) The materials needed to support

the implementation of the curriculum—what 

furniture, equipment, and supplies are appropriate

for the ages and stages of children’s development? 

Think of these four aspects as the framework for the curriculum. As we continue to

develop or adapt the curriculum, we also have to

keep in mind the child development principles

that guide the ways in which we work with 

children. Such child development principles are

universal, applying to all children regardless of

their gender, race, culture, or country of origin.

They include:

• Patterns of growth and development are

orderly and sequential—all children learn

to walk before learning to run, and all

children babble before they use words.

• Human growth and development proceeds

from simple to complex—children learn

individual words before they learn to 

put words together into sentences, and

children use their hands to eat before 

they use a spoon.

• Learning is influenced by the child’s social

and cultural context—what their culture

values and doesn’t value influences what

and how children learn.

Next, we have to make certain that the

curricula we develop or adapt are consistent

with all of the Program Performance Standards.

We do this because Early Head Start and Head

Start are comprehensive child development 

programs, concerned with all aspects of children’s education and development (including

medical, dental, mental health, and nutritional

development) as well as staff qualifications and

the roles of parents and other adults in program

planning and implementation.

Curriculum Influences

Even though each program across the country

must mold its curriculum to the Program

Performance Standards and to sound child development principles, we all know that all Early

Head Start and Head Start programs do not look

alike. Nor would we want them to. Each community has its own context and characteristics,

strengths and needs.These individual differences

must be taken into account when a local program is “tailoring” or designing the curriculum.

Some factors to consider, for example, are

how location and context influence program

goals, child experiences, roles of staff and parents, and learning materials and environments. Is

the program located on an Indian reservation, in

a migrant camp, or in the middle of a major city?

What do parents and staff feel children need 

to know? Do children need to know water,

hurricane, or earthquake safety? What are the

cultural beliefs and traditions of the families

served? (Articles on pages 9, 11, and 13 of this

Bulletin illustrate how environment and culture

influence the curriculum.) 

To fine tune our teaching approaches and

the learning experiences within the curriculum,

we need to be aware of a number of things about

each infant, toddler, and preschooler. What do 

the children already know? What are they interested in? What are the temperaments, languages,

cultural backgrounds, and learning styles of the

children? All of these elements, and many more,

must be considered when adapting or developing

a curriculum. Like each child, each curriculum is

a unique creation.

Some sources of guidance

for implementing curriculum

in Early Head Start and Head

Start include:

• Guidance to the Program

Performance Standards

• Zero to Three

• WestEd’s Training Program

for Infant and Toddler

Caregivers

• The Guide and Video for

Head Start Education

Coordinators

• The Head Start Home-Based

Training Materials

• The Head Start Family Child

Care Training Materials

• Training Guides for the Head

Start Learning Community

• Head Start’s A Creative

Adventure — Art, Music,

Movement, and Dialogue

• NAEYC’s 1997

Developmentally

Appropriate Practices for

Early Childhood Education

• NAEYC’s Learning to Read

and Write (birth to 8 yrs)

• The National Research

Council’s Starting Out Right

— Preventing Reading

Difficulties in Young

Children (birth to 8 yrs)

• NHSA’s “Position Paper:

Reading and Writing Now!”

• Early Intervention — Early

Special Education

Recommended Practices,

Council for Exceptional

Children, Division of Early

Childhood

• The Council’s "Essentials" for

the college-based CDA

• Journals and early childhood

education magazines

• Research, college courses,

child development texts
Goals for Children’s Development 

and Learning

“Goals” describe what competencies we want children 

to develop. While each child is unique, there are some 

overarching goals for children in Head Start. One such overarching goal is to increase the child’s everyday effectiveness in

dealing with both his or her present environment and later

responsibilities in school and life. Examples of more specific

goals are:

• Develop positive and nurturing relationships 

with adults and peers

• Develop a sense of trust and security

• Identify and solve problems

• Express thoughts and feelings

• Think critically

• Increase self-confidence 

• Respect the feelings and rights of others

• Use creativity and imagination

• Work independently and with others

• Develop literacy, numeracy, reasoning, problemsolving, and decision-making skills that form a

foundation for school readiness

Learning Experiences for Mobile Infants,

Toddlers, and Preschoolers

For every goal identified, developmentally appropriate 

experiences are selected from the program curriculum,

planned, and intentionally presented to children. For example,

one goal for children is to gain increasing competence in the

area of numeracy. Children need active, hands-on experiences to develop age-appropriate mathematical understanding.Teachers take advantage of everyday materials, daily routines, and child interests to foster emergent mathematical

thinking within the curriculum. Staff members create environments and select materials that support mathematical

thinking, and they engage children in meaningful conversations about the work they are doing. Experiences that support learning include:

• Classification: Shells, juice cans, and Legos are great for

sorting and classifying by size, color, shape, or use, and

for making patterns or counting.

• Patterning: Stringing beads in a variety of colors,

shapes and sizes, or playing dominoes and matching

the number of dots.

• One-to-one correspondence: Distributing napkins,

plates, and cups—putting one in front of each 

chair at a table.

• Ordering and sequencing:The process of ordering

relationships: more/less; bigger/smaller; big/bigger/biggest;

small/smaller/smallest.

• Providing books to children,such as Anno’s Counting

Book, and reading other stories about number concepts.

Observations and Ongoing Assessment 

Once we’ve identified the goals and presented an array of

learning experiences to support progress toward them, we

assess children’s prior knowledge and then track their

progress in meeting the goals through ongoing assessment,

observation, and recording of the child’s development.

Parents and other adults in the child’s life are encouraged to

share with staff things they know about the child. No one

knows the child better than his or her immediate family.With

such input, parents and staff can plan a curriculum that

reflects the needs and interests of each child in a group,

whether the child is an infant, toddler, or preschooler.All of

the information we gather allows us to individualize learning

experiences (increasing or modifying the degree of challenge)

to make the Early Head Start and Head Start programs 

relevant and meaningful for every child.

The information on each child’s progress towards

achieving the goals is referred to as a “child outcome.” This

outcome tells us how the child is different at the end of the

program than he or she was at the beginning. Sometimes this

is referred to as “value added.” How has the child benefited

from his or her time in Early Head Start or Head Start?

What documentation or “proof” do we have?

Evaluating the Curriculum

Throughout the year, staff and parents take time to 

discuss the ways the curriculum seems to be working for the

children as a group and for individual children. Based on these

discussions of child progress, changes are made to keep the

curriculum responsive and supportive of children as they

grow and learn, as their interests expand, and as their skills

and knowledge change.

In Closing

I hope my comments have helped you to understand why

having a written curriculum—a “roadmap”—is important;

why a curriculum helps to ensure that nothing related to 

children’s development and learning is overlooked; and why,

although the overall curriculum is planned for a given group

of children of a certain age range, we consciously “individualize” the curriculum for each child within the group to support each child’s rate of development as well as individual

interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds,

learning styles, and prior knowledge. The learning environment is, therefore, arranged to accommodate a variety of

children’s strengths and needs, and to stimulate learning

across all domains of development: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.

And Remember... Have Fun

My wish for each of you is to enjoy, nurture, and have fun with

the children and their families, as well as to support them as

they thrive and learn.

National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 5

Defining Curriculum

E. Dollie Wolverton is Chief of the Education Services Branch at the Head

Start Bureau. T: 202-205-8418; F: 202-401-5916;

E: dwolverton@acf.dhhs.gov.
6 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Defining Curriculum

Infants Have Their Own Curriculum:

A Responsive Approach to Curriculum 

Planning for Infants and Toddlers

By J. Ronald Lally

I nfant-toddler programs often look 

like either watered-down versions of

preschool or glorified versions of 

baby-sitting. Unfortunately, most of the 

curriculum approaches and lesson plans that

program managers require don’t necessarily

improve practice.

In infant-toddler programming, what is

usually seen is the implementation of 

curriculum extremes. For example, one common curriculum approach is based on the

belief that very young children need only safe

environments and tender loving care and that

specific attention to learning is inappropriate.

Another even more common approach is

based on the belief that in order for infants

and toddlers to grow and develop cognitively they must be stimulated intellectually by

adult-developed and -directed lessons and

activities, carefully planned ahead of time and

programmed into the child’s day. Both of

these positions are based on a lack of true

understanding of infant-toddler development.

In high-quality infant-toddler programs,

the interests of the child and the belief that

each child has a curriculum are what drive

practice. It is understood that very young

children need to play a significant role in

selecting their learning experiences, materials, and content. Curriculum plans, therefore,

do not focus on games,tasks, or activities, but

on how to best create a social, emotional,

and intellectual climate that supports childinitiated and child-pursued learning and 

the building and sustaining of positive 

relationships among adults and children.

Planning a Responsive

Approach to Curriculum

Development and

Implementation

Responsive curriculum planning focuses on

finding strategies to help infant-toddler

teachers search for, support, and keep alive

children’s internal motivation to learn, and

their spontaneous explorations of people

and things of interest and importance to

them. This should begin with study of the

specific children in care. Detailed records of

each child’s interests and skills are kept to

give guidance to the adults for the roles they

will take in each child’s learning. It should also

be realized from the start that plans should

not be static.Adaptation and change are critical parts of the learning process and should

be anticipated. Once an interaction with a

child or small cluster of children begins, the

teacher has to be ready to adapt his or her

plans and actions to meet the “momentary”

needs and interests of each child.

Appropriately developed plans are

strategies to broaden the caregiver’s understanding of, and deepen their relationship with,

each child and family. Good planning should:

1) reflect activities that orient the caregiver to

the role of facilitator of learning rather than

the role of “director” of learning; 2) assist the

caregiver in reading the cues of each child; and

3) prepare the teacher or home visitor to

communicate effectively with other adults in

the child’s life. Another essential component

of planning is attention to a responsive learning environment and specific attention to how

environments should be changed.The planning

of learning environments is more important to

infant-toddler development than specific

lessons or specific activities.The environment

must be seen as part of the curriculum,

creating interest and encouraging and 

supporting exploration. Research has shown

that much of how infants and toddlers learn

best comes not from specific adult-directed

lessons but from teachers knowing how to

maximize opportunities for each child to use

natural learning inclinations.

Selecting or Developing 

a Curriculum for Infants 

and Toddlers

From all we know about how infants and 

toddlers learn best, we know that they must

have a hand in selecting what they learn.

Therefore, the infant or toddler should be an

active partner in the process of “selecting”

curriculum content.The curriculum should be

dynamic enough to move and flow on a daily

Curriculum plans focus

on how to best create

a social, emotional,

and intellectual 

climate that supports

child-initiated and

child-pursued learning.
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 7

Defining Curriculum

basis with the infant’s developing interests and changing needs.

In this way,the curriculum is responsive and respectful of what

the children bring to and want from these early experiences.

A general point of caution: Do not select a curriculum

or planning format that is simply a prescribed sequence of

adult-initiated and -directed activities that leaves the child out

of the process of selecting what is focused on and pursued.

Both the child and the caregiver should play a role in the

selection process, with the child initiating the activity at times

and the caregiver at other times.

Curriculum planning, implementation, and supportive

materials should anticipate developmental stages and allow for

individual variations in learning styles and temperaments.These

aspects of curriculum must be broad enough in scope to

respond to all developmental domains simultaneously.

Responsive Curriculum

In a responsive curriculum, implementation of subsequent 

planning has to do with caregivers preparing themselves and

the environment so that infants and toddlers can learn—not in

figuring out what to teach children. “Lesson planning” involves

exploring ways to help caregivers get “in tune” with each infanttoddler they serve and learn from the individual child what he

or she needs, thinks, and feels. Even “in-tune” teachers need to

plan and replan how to form a relationship with each infanttoddler to best meet the child’s needs and relate to the child's

unique thoughts and feelings. Very little positive learning will

take place, regardless of what daily plans look like, if the curriculum and planning do not include:

1) Grounding caregivers in the family culture, and in 

the cognitive, social, and emotional experiences in

which infants and toddlers are naturally interested;

2) Developing a safe and interesting place for learning;

3) Establishing small groups for learning and care;

4) Selecting materials appropriate for the individual 

needs and interests of the children served;

5) Optimizing program connections with the child’s 

family; and

6) Establishing management policies that support the 

child’s need for security in care and continuity of 

connection with the caregivers.

J. Ronald Lally, Ed.D., is Director of the Center for Child & Family

Studies at WestEd in San Francisco, California, and the Program for

Infant-Toddler Caregivers.He also directs a subcontract with the Early

Head Start National Resource Center. For more information,contact

the Center at 415-331-5277 or the Program web site at

www.pitc.org.

1) Infancy has three stages. Between

birth and age three, a child goes through

three distinct developmental stages: young

infant, mobile infant, and toddler.The type of

care and experiences given should change

when the child’s stage changes and should

also take into consideration transitions

between stages.

2) Infants learn holistically. Infants do not

experience social, emotional, intellectual, language, and physical learning separately.Adults

are most helpful to the young child when they

interact in ways that reflect an understanding

of the fact that the child is learning from the

whole experience, not just the part of the

experience that the adult gives attention.

3) Relationships are primary for development. The infant is dependent on close,

caring, ongoing relationships for positive

physical, social, emotional, and intellectual

growth. Infants develop best when they are

sure of having trusted caregivers who can

read their cues and respond to their needs.

4) Infants are developing their first

sense of self through contact with 

others. An infant or toddler learns most of

how he or she thinks and feels by imitating

and incorporating the behaviors of those

who care for her or him—how they first see

themselves, how they think they should function, how they expect others to function in

relation to them.

5) Home culture is an important part

of a child’s developing identity. Because

an infant’s sense of self is such a crucial part

of a child’s make-up, early care must ensure

that links with family, home culture,

and home language are a central part of 

program policy.

6) Infants are active, self-motivated

learners. Environments and activities that

keep motivation, experimentation, and

curiosity alive must be constructed to 

facilitate the infant learning process.

7) Infants are not all alike—they are

individuals with unique temperaments. Because of these differences, staff

need to individualize and adapt to each child.

8) Language skills and habits develop

early. The development of language is 

particularly crucial during the infant-toddler

period. Quality care provides many opportunities for infants to engage in meaningful,

experienced-based communication with

their caregivers, and have their communications acknowledged and encouraged.

9) Environments are powerful. Infants

and toddlers are strongly influenced by the

environments and routines they experience

each day. This is particularly true for very

young infants who cannot move themselves

from one environment to another.The physical environment, group size, daily schedules,

plans, and routines must foster the establishment of small intimate groups in which relationships with trusted caregivers can develop.

10) Adults exhibit strong emotions

and opinions when entrusted with the

care of infants. Parents and caregivers of

infants and toddlers often experience

heightened emotions about how to care for

infants and toddlers. Strategies for dealing

with conflicts that may emerge between

parents and staff must be considered by

each program.

Specific Factors to Consider When Developing An Infant-Toddler Curriculum 
Preschooler

Infant

Preschooler

young infant

To learn that people respond when I am in need

mobile infant

To learn that people protect me when I explore my world

toddler

To learn that it’s O.K.to try to do things independently of others

preschooler

To learn that I can work alone or with others and know that

adults are there for me if I need them

Goal: To establish and maintain trusting

relationships as a basis for exploration of 

the world

8 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Goals

Head Start Resources • Head Start Program Performance Standards and Other Regulations

• Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start 

(Training Guide)

• Curriculum in Head Start/Individualizing in Head Start (video and 

user's guide)

• Enhancing Children's Growth and Development (Training Guide)

• For Children, Life is a Creative Adventure (video, adult guide, and 

wallchart)

• Leading the Way: Disabilities Services and the Management Team 

(Training Guide)

• Nurturing Children (Training Guide)
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 9

Seeds of Growth and Development: 

Curriculum Goals for Migrant Children

In families of migrant farm workers 

parents typically work together, often

beginning before sunrise and ending after

sunset. A six- or even seven-day work

week is common. Employment may last

three or four months, or no more than a

day. Once a particular job is completed,

families may move hundreds of miles to

obtain other employment. These conditions characterize some of the significant

factors in the lives of the children of

migrant farm workers.

The Migrant Programs Branch

funds 25 grantees and 41 delegate agencies across 33 states. Annually, Migrant

Head Start (MHS) programs serve more

than 30,000 children from birth through

compulsory school age as their parents

provide agricultural products for the U.S.

and the world.

Meeting Your Program Needs

Commercially available curricula offer little

that is directly applicable to the migrant

population. To develop relevant goals,

MHS programs must draw upon their

knowledge of the migrant lifestyle, the

individual needs of children, and family

strengths—including parents’ life goals

and goals for their children.

Developing goals that focus on

these areas is consistent with the learning

strategy termed “elaboration” by Chamot

and O’Malley. Simply put, elaboration

allows children to communicate — frequently and in-depth — on topics that are

personally meaningful. It is through such

communication that children expand their

linguistic and many other capabilities.

In Weld County, Colorado, agricultural fields extend as far as the eye can

see. At the Jefferson MHS center, the

fields extend into the classrooms as well.

Stalks of corn grow in the entry foyer.A

basket of local crops brought in by a 

parent, including onions, cucumbers, corn,

and chilies, waits in the Science Area for

several different activities to take place.

At California’s Chico Center, parents visit the classroom to talk about

their work and to create and maintain an

on-site vegetable garden. At the Live 

Oaks Center,staff members take pictures

of parents working in the fields.The photos are enlarged and copied to use in the

classrooms so children may reflect and

comment on the value of their parents’

work. At the Woodlawn MHS Center,

local crops such as tomatoes, corn, and

squash are the basis of many curriculum

goals, ranging from an investigation of

seeds to experiments with planting.

Children especially enjoy grinding corn

into meal, mixing the dough, and then

tasting and talking about the product of

their efforts.

At the Woodburn center in

Oregon, individualized, daily transitions

are both a goal of the curriculum and a

method to meet the needs of children.

Individualized transitions can be observed

as children finish eating breakfast. Those

who finish early move on to individual,

paired, or small group activities. Children

brush paint at easels or finger paint at

tables, act out a family routine in the

drama area,read or be read to, work with

puzzles, or help teachers with clean-up

tasks. Children who want to spend more

time at breakfast are allowed to move at

their own pace.

Although these activities occur

simultaneously,the classroom environment

is purposeful and orderly. The teachers’

approach permits children to make

choices about how and where they spend

their time. This combination provides

children with enough freedom so the

environment is relaxed, and enough

structure so they can make appropriate

decisions for themselves.

These examples highlight two key

principles for informing classroom practice.

First, curriculum goals should incorporate familiar objects and patterns of

events, including patterns of communication. Second, classroom materials and

social interactions (both teacher-child

and child-child) should be arranged to

invite comments and questions.

Elaboration for migrant children (who

change physical, cultural, and linguistic

environments frequently) supports

social-emotional development, as well as 

cognitive and language goals.

All the goals described above make

deliberate use of migrant children’s 

background knowledge and present 

conditions of migratory life in a positive

light. Background knowledge is a context

for curriculum goals. When it underlies

the curriculum, children can demonstrate

their highest levels of cognitive and 

communicative abilities. When learning 

experiences are meaningful, integrated,

and child-centered, the curriculum 

goals, like development itself, belong to

the child.

Bob Stechuk is a Quality Development

Associate for the Migrant Head Start Quality

Improvement Center,T: 202-884-8726.

The Goals for Children’s Development and Learning

By Bob Stechuk
Preschooler

Infant

Preschooler

young infant

Having a trusted adult read short stories on a regular basis

mobile infant

Having favorite stories reread and recognizing familiar 

characters

toddler

Engaging in finger plays when actions illustrate objects, such

as three fingers representing three monkeys jumping on a bed

preschooler

Drawing or painting pictures and asking the parent or

teacher to write what the child says the picture is about

10 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Head Start Resources • Head Start Program Performance Standards and Other Regulations

• Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start 

(Training Guide) 

• Curriculum in Head Start/Individualizing in Head Start (video and 

user’s guide)

• Effective Transition Practices: Facilitating Continuity (Training Guide)

• Emerging Literacy: Linking Social Competence to Learning (Training 

Guide)

• For Children, Life is a Creative Adventure (video, adult 

guide, wallchart)

• Nurturing Children (Training Guide)

• Responding to Children Under Stress 

• Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviors: Relationships are Key 

(Training Guide)

• Translating the IEP Into Everyday Practice

Goal: To support the development of children’s

language and literacy

Experiences
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 11

Understanding Culture Through Experiences

By Brenda Krupa

One of our primary goals at the Fairbanks

Native Association (FNA) Head Start in

Fairbanks, Alaska, is to help our children

develop an understanding of our native

culture and its influence on our lives and

values. One experience that helps our

children learn more about who they are

and where they come from is our trip to

Steven’s Village fish camp.

The camp is on the Yukon River,

about 20 miles downstream from the 

village. About 80 people live in Steven's

Village, and their livelihood is fish farming.

This group is a sharp contrast to those of

us who live and work in Fairbanks with a

population of 80,000.

At the end of the last school year, 39

FNA Head Start students, parents, and

staff got on buses and traveled to the fish

camp to experience the difference

between living in the city and living off the

land and water. For many children,this was

the first time they had witnessed the calm

power of the Yukon River, but to most of

our parents this sight was as familiar as

the skin they walk in. They grew up in 

villages around Alaska, fishing and hunting

to survive. In fact, some of our parents

return with their families to spend each

summer at their ancestral fish camps.

The weeks before we left for

Steven’s Village were filled with rich experiences of our native culture. We made

miniature birch bark canoes to show our

children what their ancestors and families

have done for centuries. Also, we helped

the children understand that they must

respect the power of the Yukon River,

exposing them to boat and water safety.

The Yukon River is the largest river in

North America, and its lulling quiet can be

deceptive, masking its force and danger.

Our overnight trip to the fish camp

gave the children a deeper understanding

of the real workings of a fish camp. The

highlight of the trip was the children 

seeing a real-life fish wheel. A fish wheel

resembles the back end of an old steamboat; it spins in the water with large

scoops that catch fish and funnel them

down to the fishermen.When the children

fished for themselves and went hunting

for roots,they also got a sense of what life

is like when people depend on the river

and the land for survival.

We camped on the river and, when

night fell, we lit a campfire. Our parents,

staff, and children gathered around the

fire and told stories.We cooked over the

fire, and more importantly, we danced and

sang together. We sang our traditional

songs, parents danced with their children,

and we showed our children how we

danced together in our villages.

It is difficult to articulate the feeling

of togetherness that we experienced on

this trip. It was an evening to get in touch

with our traditional values and allow our

children to develop a clearer understanding

of themselves and their ancestors.We feel

a sense that we are one, connected by our

culture and beliefs, and this brings with it an

immense sense of pride.We are extremely

lucky to have such a strong cultural heritage and such a deep sense of belonging to

a greater family—our cultural family.

We could not have had a successful

trip to the fish camp without the involvement of parents.The trip allowed them to

share their culture and identity with their

children through genuine experiences. But

it was not only parents who brought their

knowledge with them—grandparents

were also involved. One of our grandmothers acted as our protective guide

during the night. Since we camped very

close to the Yukon River, we had someone

on watch at all times to make sure that

none of our little ones wandered too

close to the water.That night,Grandma sat

up on a hill all through the night to keep

watch. Many other parents offered to

relieve her, but she wanted to stay and

watch the children—all her children—to

make sure they were safe.

We chose to visit Steven's Village

fish camp because it offered us materials

and opportunities that aren't available in

our Head Start center, and it provided an

invaluable learning experience for our

children. Our classroom goals and teachings became transformed into meaningful

cultural experiences that helped our 

children develop pride in their traditions

and tribal way of life.

Brenda Krupa is Director of the FNA Head

Start,T: 907-456-4989, F: 907-456-5311.

The Experiences Through Which Children

Will Achieve These Goals

Dakota of FNA Head Start roasts marshmallows

during his trip to Steven’s Village fish camp.
Preschooler

Infant

Preschooler

young infant

Place a rattle in the baby’s hand

mobile infant

Put brightly colored objects around the play area to 

encourage mobile infants to develop the ability to crawl 

or walk to them

toddler

Offer words of encouragement as toddlers try new things,

such as jumping, feeding, drawing, or painting

preschooler

Encourage participation in activities such as an obstacle

course that requires running, jumping, and crawling by

ensuring that they are attractive to the children as well as safe

Goal: To support the development of 

children’s motor skills

12 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Head Start Resources • Head Start Program Performance Standards and Other Regulations

• Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start 

(Training Guide)

• Building Supportive Communities (Training Guide)

• Engaging Parents (Training Guide)

• Fun and Learning for Parents and Children

• Head Start Handbook of the Parent Involvement 

Vision and Strategies

• Home Visitor Handbook

• Linking Our Voices

• Nurturing the Promise

• Our Stories Keep Us Connected

• Partners in Decision Making (Training Guide)

• Translating the IEP Into Everyday Practice

Staff and Parent Roles
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 13

Curricula for Indian Head Start Programs

By James E. Kennedy

Seminars hosted by the American Indian

Programs Branch often discuss curriculum

in Indian Head Start programs. Participants

identify several key components of 

curriculum for Indian programs, including

the importance of community involvement

and cultural relevance. The need for a

holistic approach—one showing the

interconnectedness of the world—is also

emphasized. To provide these key elements, staff and parents must be involved

in choosing or developing the curriculum,

and the agency must provide ongoing

training on the implementation of the

curriculum.

Curriculum Development

A culture-based curriculum requires the

support and involvement of parents. Some

parents may serve directly on the curriculum development team, but support from

all parents is critical. Head Start staff must

involve parents in the curriculum 

development process and provide training

on various elements of the curriculum.

Developing a curriculum for Indian

Head Start presents many challenges,

because the issues of cultural relevance

are central and quite complex. Each 

curriculum is individualized to support

the philosophy, history, culture, and 

language of the tribal setting in which the

children are served. In addition to being

adapted to the local program setting,

there are certain common processes and

components that every quality curriculum

should have.

Development of Indian curriculum

must involve a team of individuals from the

community that assists staff throughout

the process.These individuals offer a range

of knowledge and experience and become

the ongoing advocates for the program.

Ideally, the team includes Head Start staff,

parents, representatives from the schools

and other agencies, tribal elders, and

experts in native language, history, and 

culture. The role of the team is to set 

program goals (or review existing ones)

and propose specific experiences that 

support the cultural heritage. As the curriculum is implemented, the team reviews

its effectiveness and provides suggestions

for any needed adjustments.

In some programs, the curriculum is

supported by a theme-based approach to

ensure inclusion of important cultural

components and to show how the world

and skills are interrelated. By beginning

with common themes, children are able to

initiate activities based on their own 

experiences.They help generate ideas for

discussion and exploration.This approach

is consistent with the learning styles that

Indian children develop before entering

the Head Start setting, as well as with the

participatory learning style and philosophy

of Native Americans.

The success of a culture-based 

curriculum will be determined, in part, by

the extent to which its goals and expectations are shared at home and within 

the community.

James E. Kennedy served as Director of

Program Development at Walter R. McDonald 

& Associates, Inc.

Essential Components

There are some essential elements related

to culture and heritage that are to be

included in Indian curriculum:

• Native language

• A bilingual approach that includes 

English language skills

• A bicultural approach that includes 

the culture of society outside 

the reservation

• Symbols,stories, art, and music from 

the tribe’s culture and heritage

• An understanding of past and 

current tribal structure and roles

It is essential that non-reservation programs enrolling American Indian children

also be sensitive to and inclusive of these

essential elements.

What Staff and Parents Do to Help Children

Achieve These Goals

Rabbit Dance at Five Sandoval Indian

Pueblos Head Start in Albuquerque, NM
Preschooler

Infant

Preschooler

young infant

Short books of cardboard or fabric

mobile infant

A few familiar pictures placed at children's eye level 

at various places around the room

toddler

Puzzles of varying complexity that include familiar 

storybook characters

preschooler

A variety of accessible culturally-appropriate books featuring

familiar characters in new situations

Goal: To support the development of children’s

language and literacy

14 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Materials

Head Start Resources • Head Start Program Performance Standards and other Regulations

• Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start 

(Training Guide)

• Guide for Education Coordinators in Head Start

• Head Start Facilities Manual

• Including Children with Significant Disabilities (Training Guide)

• Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 15

A Little Can Go a Long Way

By Jane Davidson

My class of four-year-olds had been playing

airplane for a few weeks with a row of

cardboard boxes. To add richness to the

play, I took the children to a local flying

school to see some real airplanes.The most

exciting part of the trip was when the

owner let the children climb inside one of

the planes.They were awed by the buttons

and dials that filled the dashboard, spreading across the whole front of the plane.

On the way home we talked about

what the inside of the plane was like.

Brianna wanted to know,“Why did it have

so many clocks?” She assumed all the

dials were clocks. After the children left

for the day, I turned the bulletin board in

the block corner into an enormous dashboard. Circular “dials” were glued onto

the dashboard, and small sticky dots

where scattered here and there as buttons. A moveable steering wheel was

attached in the middle of the dashboard.

Cockpits and Cardboard

At circle time the next day, we discussed

what types of dials and buttons pilots

might need. Peri said, “You need a start

button.” She decided it should be green,

so I wrote “start” over the green button.

The children told me to write “stop” over

the red button. We labeled a dial for

speed, another for gas, and one to tell the

temperature of the clouds.

As soon as playtime started, Nick,

Cole, and Jolonda began labeling the

other dials. Nick used the blocks to build

the body of the plane. “Oh no! It’s 

crashing,” called Cole, who began making

loud noises and running around the area.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “The

engine is broke,” he told me.“Do you need

tools to fix it?” I asked.Cole liked this idea,

so we got some plastic tools out of the

closet, only to discover that the engine

wasn’t broken—it was missing! We looked

in the closet for something we could use

to build an engine so the plane wouldn’t

crash. We found a box of straight and

curved plastic tubes that fit together to

make long curving pipes. Cole and Jolonda

became engine assemblers, while Nick

piloted the plane so it would not crash

before the engine was done.

The plane flew smoothly until Cole

discovered that the engine was on fire.“Do

you have a fire extinguisher?” I asked. Cole

picked up a cylindrical block,pointed it at the

engine and made water sounds.“I got it just

in time,” he declared with relief.

Moon Rocks and Muffin Tins

Over time, the plane evolved into a rocket

that could find aliens in space. Four sets of

steering wheels and dials were constructed.A picture of the planets was posted in

the cockpit corner to help children

decide on a destination. Cardboard stars,

small nerf balls (planets), and a beach ball

globe of the world were hung from the

ceiling.Telescopes were made from paper

towel rolls.

House furniture was used to

enclose another small area. A crawlthrough tunnel connected the two areas.

One corner held a small table with a scale

for weighing moon rocks, and a muffin tin

for sorting them. Equipment to walk in

space was placed near the exit. Liter soda

bottles became air tanks by attaching two

elastic, backpack-like straps. Small plastic

baskets with pipe cleaner handles were

handy to collect moon rocks, and in each

basket was a pair of tongs or a melon

baller for picking up the rocks.Additional

colored rocks were scattered on the

floor just outside the rocket.

The children loved the new space

play area. Cole pointed at the poster and

shouted, “Let’s go to Mars!” Wilson put

on an air tank, picked up a basket, and

began his space walk. He found it took a

lot of effort to pick up the rocks with the

tongs. But, he informed me,“You can’t use

your hands, cause the rocks on Mars are

too hot.”

Amy weighed and sorted all the

rocks that Wilson found. She’s not much

of a pretender and hadn’t been involved in

the rocket play—but she loves organizing

things. Sorting the rocks offered her a

perfect entrance to pretend play. To my

surprise, the pipelines, which were a 

central part of the block area play, were

totally ignored in the new rocket. The

tongs, rocks, air tank, and planet poster

were now the center of attention.

As I look back over the month I am

amazed at how a few props — cardboard

boxes, plates, paper, cardboard, rocks,

tongs, a planet poster, and empty soda

bottles—along with a small amount of

guidance from a teacher and input from

children, can lead to a month of rich,

imaginative play.

Jane Davidson, Master Teacher at the

University of Delaware Laboratory Preschool, is

a contributor to Head Start’s A Creative

Adventure. She may be reached at T: 302-

831-1278, E: jdavidso@udel.edu.

The Materials Needed to Support the

Implementation of the Curriculum

Children at the Kootenai Valley Head

Start build an art sculpture out of “trash”
The Curriculum Must Be Consistent with the Head Start Program

Performance Standards and Based on Sound Child Development Principles

16 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Staff at our program recently sat down

and thought about how to use curriculum

in planning emerging literacy experiences.

As the discussion began, Pam Murchek,

our Hartford teacher, shared the 

following story:

I make poster board name cards for

each child with their first name on the front

and their last name on the back. The cards

are used in helping children keep attendance

and assigning classroom jobs; they also act as

templates for name puzzles. I keep all the

cards in a basket by the job chart so children

may “read” them whenever they wish.

One day, Steve and Cody, both fouryear-olds, sat on the rug playing with the

stack of classroom name cards. I sat down

with the two boys, and we took each name

card and matched it to the name spots on

the circle-time rug. Steve realized the card he

was holding matched the name where he

sat. Cody then took the name tag he was

holding over to his spot. He called us over

and showed us how it matched his name on

the rug. The difference between the two

names became obvious to both.

Use of name tags is consistent with

the Head Start definition of 

curriculum by having GOALS (recognizing

and matching letters and words);

EXPERIENCES (using your name card, go

around the room and find your cubby,

coat hook, placemat, etc.); and MATERIALS

(each child's name printed onto cards,

which are then placed on the circle rug,

and on a cubby, coat hook, nametag,

placemat, and job chart tag); and this 

curriculum is based upon SOUND CHILD

DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES (matching 

letters and words is challenging but

achievable for Steve and Cody and 

therefore appropriate for their age). Pam’s

ROLE as the teacher is obvious. PARENTS

also have a ROLE as they help write the

name tags, place tags around the room, or

play a name-matching game. They can

extend the learning by playing similar

games at home.

Curriculum in Action

Pam also talked about her center’s garden

and how it works its way naturally into

the curriculum throughout the year.

In lesson plans, Pam and parents write

activities and goals and explore various

materials to use with the children that

involve the gardening experience. Pam

also uses a variety of professional

resources on curriculum, nature, and 

gardening with young children.

Goals, experiences, and activities at

the beginning of the year often involve

grouping or counting small sets of vegetables, matching “real” vegetables to their 

pictures, cooking vegetables in a variety 

of ways, and tasting them.Adults read stories and informational books aloud daily. By

the end of the year, children are matching

vegetable name cards to pictures of the

vegetables that have the words written

underneath them. Some also copy the

words onto their own papers to add to a

classroom garden book. Others draw and

label a garden layout that they might use at

home. Graphs contain lists of favorite vegetables and the best way to “make ‘em taste

good.” Children read favorite garden books

to themselves and to friends and adults.

Parents play a big role in helping the

children have positive experiences in

exploring vegetables and trying new

foods. Many parents enjoy taking fresh

vegetables and herbs home with them,

which helps us to promote healthy food

choices at school and home.

The wonderful thing about the 

garden is that all the materials are multisensory, useable indoors or outdoors, and

easily translated into representational

writings and drawings as individual 

children demonstrate those tasks.

Emergent literacy is not left out of this

curriculum—it is an integral part of 

learning about and exploring the garden.

Curriculum in the Classroom

As we continued our discussion, we 

confirmed that emerging literacy is a

strong part of our current curriculum.We

weave writing, reading, and numeracy

skills into the classroom on a daily basis.

As children sign in for attendance, count

the number of children present, tell 

stories from pictures in a book, calculate

the number of napkins needed at 

the snack table, or read the many 

labels throughout the classroom, they

practice a variety of literacy- and numeracy-based skills.Tasting vegetables, writing

choices on a graph, and counting the

resulting quantities link sensory experiences to symbolic and abstract written

records. Even gross motor activities, such

as a child jumping into hoops while 

others count the number of jumps, help

children learn.

Cindy Bewick is Education Services

Manager, Pamela Murchek is CenterBased Family Educator, and Mary

Salman is Education Services Assistant

Manager at Tri-County Head Start in

Paw Paw, Michigan, T: 800-792-0366.

Standards, Curriculum, and Emergent Literacy By Cindy Bewick, Pamela Murchek, & Mary Salman 
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 17

Curriculum

• Have you discussed the 1998 Head

Start Reauthorization Act with your

colleagues?

• Are the new Education Program

Performance Standards and

Performance Measures circulating

faster than the latest best seller?

• Do you wonder what the new

legislation means for your curriculum?

• Do you think you must immediately

hire a consultant, buy new materials,

change your activities, and develop new

teaching strategies?

These questions and many others are

on the minds of Head Start education

staff throughout the country. TriCounty Head Start in Paw Paw,

Michigan, is no exception. We have

explored how we make professional

decisions about curriculum, and we’ve

identified possible pitfalls. We've also

taken a close look at our curriculum to

see if it is compatible with the new

mandates from Congress, and we realize there are two relatively simple steps

in this process.

Step 1: Have a working knowledge about

child development principles.

When adults are knowledgeable about

early childhood development,they present appropriate curriculum. In addition, each child’s learning style and cultural context must be addressed by

presenting appropriately challenging

experiences that allow for positive 

achievement and engage children in

multidisciplinary activities. Both are

necessary to make curriculum meaningful for children as well as adults.

Step 2: Understand curriculum as defined

by the Program Performance Standards.

Before you can recognize curriculum,

you must have a clear understanding

and working knowledge of the definition.

It’s not enough to list the different 

aspects.You must be able to apply the

definition and evaluate whether something IS or is NOT Head Start curriculum.The rewards for this understanding

are increased program quality, and the 

ability to act as an informed professional

and to share accurate information with

families and community partners.

In Paw Paw, we wrote self-instructional

units for staff on how to achieve these

two steps. Throughout each unit, Wow,

GERMS! serves as a reminder for each

part of the definition.Here’s how it works:

Wow = WRITTEN plan

GERMS = GOALS and objectives 

for children’s development and learning

EXPERIENCES or activities 

to meet the goals

ROLES of staff and 

parents

MATERIALS, space,

and equipment necessary

for optimal development 

and learning

SOUND child development principles and the 

Head Start Program 

Performance Standards

Wow! These GERMS are AMAZING

because they help staff remember the

curriculum definition and apply the 

definition.We suggest they think about

how quality curriculum is contagious—

the better it is, the greater it spreads,

and the more children learn—and that

they picture children learning and being

challenged because of these good

germs. We ask that they see 

families with big smiles saying, “Wow,

GERMS are great for curriculum!” 

Cautions in Implementing 

a Curriculum for Your 

Head Start Program

We have identified two things to watch

out for in developing curriculum: folks

marketing curriculum that does not meet

the Head Start Program Performance

Standards (and GERMS reminds us of

what we must have), and pressure 

from others.

Remember that child development

principles form the foundation for

everything we do in Head Start. Be an

educated consumer. Carefully review

curriculum and related materials

BEFORE you purchase them, and make

sure they have GERMS and fit your 

program goals.

Caution #1: Some publishers are more

concerned about selling their product

than offering quality curricula based on

sound child development principles.

Beware of statements such as:

• This will make it easy to meet 

the Performance Standards and

Performance Measures.

• Head Start children will develop

print and numeracy awareness 

with these activities.

• These are the 10 letters all Head

Start children must know! 

Caution #2: How many times have

you heard other people say:

• Research shows that direct

instruction is the only effective

teaching strategy.

• A little skill and drill never 

hurt anyone.

• Doing written work will make it

easier for them in kindergarten.

The results of teaching children primarily

through “drill” comes nowhere near our

goals for quality curriculum in Head

Start. We don’t expect a child to walk

before (s)he crawls, so why would we

expect a child to read and write before

(s)he can hold a pencil, make controlled

marks, or recognize his/her name? 

Your curriculum must be based on

sound child development principles and

Curriculum and Reauthorization

By Cindy Bewick, Pamela Murchek, & Mary Salman 
Curriculum

18 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

The Process of Developing a Head Start Curriculum

Background Information

• Program’s philosophy

• Head Start Program

Performance Standards 

• Community assessment

and other information

regarding the community’s

cultural heritage, and physical and safety issues

• Information on the children’s ages and assessments 

Materials to Review

• Published curricula

• Activity books/ activities

• Specific interests and

needs identified by:

• staff/parents

• cultural heritage

• physical necessity

• IEP/IFSP

Process—involves staff and parents

• Examine background and program information.

• Develop desired program outcomes.

• Evaluate published curricula in light of information

from previous examination.

• Identify additional ideas from community resources.

• Work with staff and parents.

• Identify and review published curriculum if 

appropriate to use as a base from which to 

develop the Head Start curriculum.

• If a published curriculum is not selected, identify specific goals around which to structure the Head Start

curriculum. These goals drive decisions on environment,schedules, activities, experiences, and materials

to implement goals. Review goals to ensure that the

curriculum follows good child development practices

and encompasses the Head Start Program

Performance Standards.

• Identify additional goals to supplement those included in the published curriculum, if a published one 

is selected.

Outcome

A Head Start curriculum that

includes:

• Goals for all children;

• Experiences for children;

• Activities for parents and

teachers to foster children’s development;

• Materials to be used; and

• A curriculum that is 

consistent with the 

Head Start Program

Performance Standards

and based on sound child

development principles.

All published curriculam need modification to suffice as a Head

Start curriculum. Necessary modifications may include: (1) individualizing the curricular practices to meet the needs of every Head

Start child, including those with disabilities; (2) expanding the scope

of the curriculum to address all aspects of Head Start programming;

and (3) assuring that the curriculum reflects the families served and

the local community.

Modifying or developing a curriculum is a process that programs must go through—one that involves staff and parents and

community partners. At least four phases are usually involved: (1)

gathering background information; (2) gathering materials and

potential resources; (3) the process of developing and implementing

the curriculum; and (4) evaluating the outcomes.These phases are

outlined in the chart below.

be individualized to meet the specific

needs of each child in your program.As

you plan your curriculum, ask yourself

the following:

• Are the goals suited for children’s

individual development?

• Do I rely on the various learning

domains and disciplines?

• Do my experiences, teaching

strategies, and materials allow an

appropriate degree of challenge?

• Am I knowledgeable about the

developmental sequences for

reading, writing, and numeracy?

• How are parents involved in

developing curriculum? Are their

roles evident?

• How do I use children’s, parents’,

and my own ideas to develop plans

based upon ongoing observation and

assessment,rather than falling back 

on “old plans”? 

• What evidence do I have that

individual children have increased

their knowledge and skills?

Conclusions

Our team reached several conclusions

when discussing the Program

Performance Standards,the Performance

Measures, and the 1998 Reauthorization

Act. Most importantly, we understand

that much of the new legislation

reflects our current curriculum. We

will not immediately hire a new consultant, completely change our activities,

throw out current quality teaching

strategies, or use any other reactive

response. We WILL assure that all children have the opportunity to engage in

intellectually challenging experiences

based upon the Program Performance

Standards' definition of curriculum (think

Wow,GERMS).We will also demonstrate

how children learn as a result of their

Head Start participation. As long as we

continue to implement a quality curriculum as defined by the Head Start

Program Performance Standards, we

achieve quality outcomes for children.

Cindy Bewick is Education Services

Manager, Pamela Murchek is Center-Based

Family Educator, and Mary Salman is

Education Services Assistant Manager at

Tri-County Head Start in Paw Paw,

Michigan,T: 800-792-0366.
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 19

Curriculum

Planning For Linguistic and Cultural Diversity—

We Must Continue to Respond By Michele Plutro

Head Start has always embraced 

the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of its enrollment

and the communities in which it operates.Head Start programs have responded to diversity as an opportunity for children and families to learn about different 

cultures and customs. Instead of reducing opportunities for bilingualism among

children, Head Start has built upon the

skills and culture that each child and 

family brings to the program.

Multicultural Principles

in Head Start

To formalize Head Start’s commitment

to diversity in enrollment, program

design, and services, Head Start 

developed Multicultural Principles for

Head Start Programs and distributed it in

1992. In 1996, these principles were

expanded and incorporated into the

revised Program Performance

Standards, which became effective on

January 1, 1998.

Four elements of Head Start's

overall philosophy are particularly relevant to the task of developing and

implementing multilingual and multicultural programing: building trusting 

relationships, being sensitive to cultural

preferences of families, building bridges

between cultures for both children and

adults, and acknowledging that staff and

parents are in a true partnership.

The Administration on Children,

Youth and Families has completed a

“Descriptive Study of Head Start

Bilingual and Multicultural Program

Services.” This study revealed that,

across the country, families enrolled in

Head Start programs speak more than

150 languages and dialects. For more

than 160,000 of Head Start children

(nearly 20 percent), the language 

spoken in the home is not English.

Though Spanish is the most common,

Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese are 

also spoken by a significant number of

Head Start children and families.

Resources

There are a number of publications and

web sites that can help Head Start 

programs expand and refine services 

to bilingual children and families and to

speakers of languages other than English

(see p. 35).As an example, the NAEYC

web site includes “Responding to

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity —

Recommendations for Effective Early

Childhood Education.” NAEYC’s position statement reads, “For young children,the language of the home is the language they have used since birth,the language they use to make and establish

meaningful communicative relationships,

and the language they use in constructing their knowledge.... The home language is tied to children’s culture, and culture and language communicate traditions, values, and attitudes.” 

One final example from NAEYC

summarizes the importance of encouraging linguistic and cultural diversity in

all early childhood programs: “For the

optimal development and learning of all

children, educators must accept the

legitimacy of children’s home language,

respect (hold in high regard) and value

(esteem and appreciate) the home 

culture, and promote and encourage

the active involvement and support of

all families, including extended and 

nontraditional family units.”

Related literature suggests a 

number of guidelines for curriculum planning that respond to diversity, including:

• Becoming conscious of personal

biases and working to overcome

them.

• Learning the most important childrearing values held by each family.

• Supporting children’s speech 

patterns and emergent language.

• Structuring some child experiences

and activities around materials 

contributed by parents.

• Reflecting parents’ occupations 

and talents in classrooms, on home

visits, in community celebrations,

and in other program activities.

• Avoiding a “holiday syndrome” 

or holiday-driven approach to

curriculum.

• Developing some activities in which

groups of children can focus on

“alikeness” as well as difference.

As programs continue to grow and

change in keeping with both the Program

Performance Standards and community

and family design, there are always new

sources of useful information.

Michele Plutro is an Education Specialist at

the Head Start Bureau. For more information, contact her at T: 202-205-8912 or by

e-mail at mplutro@acf.dhhs.gov. For more

information on the Head Start Bilingual and

Multicultural Study, contact Henry Doan at 

T: 202-260-2667 or hdoan@acf.dhhs.gov.

Web Site Resources

Ask ERIC

www.askeric.org

The Center for Study of Biracial Children

www.csbc.cncfamily.com

The National Academy of Sciences

www.nap.edu

The National Association for

the Education of Young Children

www.naeyc.org

The White House Initiative on Educational

Excellence for Hispanic Americans

www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/Hispanic

Yahoo’s Education web page

http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/ 

Additional multicultural resources 

are listed on page 35.
20 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

HEAD START PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND OTHER REGULATIONS 

“The foundation of a quality, comprehensive, child development program.”

• A philosophy shared by the program

and the parents, and a planned,

organized, and consistently 

implemented curriculum, support 

child development and education in 

Early Head Start and Head Start.

• The curriculum is a written plan

that addresses the goals for children’s

development and learning and

includes the children’s experiences,

roles of staff and parents, and 

materials needed to support the

implementation of the curriculum.

• The curriculum is consistent with

the Head Start Program Performance

Standards and is based on sound

child development principles about

how children grow and learn.

• The Head Start Program

Performance Standards require that

qualified staff, in partnership with

parents, select and adapt or develop

a curriculum. Staff members also

implement and individualize the curriculum to support each child’s

learning and developmental

progress.

• Staff receive consistent and ongoing 

training on the philosophy and 

appropriate implementation of the 

curriculum.

• Grantees establish 

procedures for the ongoing 

monitoring of their own 

operations, as well as those 

of their delegate agencies,

to ensure effective 

implementation of all 

Federal regulations.

• At least once a year, Early 

Head Start and Head Start 

agencies conduct a selfassessment to check how 

they are doing in meeting 

their goals and objectives,

and in implementing the 

Head Start Program 

Performance Standards 

and other regulations.

• The process involves the 

policy group, governing 

body, parents, staff, and 

the community.

• The results of the selfassessment process influence

the agency’s program 

planning—the continuous

improvement process.

A FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSING HEAD START CHILD,

45 CFR Parts 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304 and Guidance, 1305, 1306, and 1308 and Guidance

• The Head Start Program Performance

Standards include the physical, emotional,

social, cognitive, and language areas of 

children’s development and learning.

• Curriculum is the critical mechanism for 

achieving Head Start’s goal of enhancing the 

social competence and school readiness of 

children.The 1998 reauthorization of the Head 

Start Act by Congress emphasizes this goal and 

mandates several new measures of Head Start 

quality and performance.

• Each child receives screening for developmental, sensory, and behavioral concerns 

upon entry to the program.

• Through ongoing child observation and 

assessment, staff and parents follow children’s 

progress from arrival at Early Head Start or 

Head Start to the time they leave.This 

information is used to individualize the 

curriculum for children and to determine what 

the outcomes are...what children accomplish 

over a period of time as a result of meaningful,

cumulative experiences.

• The Program Performance Standards identify

specific areas where families, because of their

enrollment in Early Head Start or Head Start,

are to be involved through the family partnership agreement process in their children’s

development and learning; in increasing their

own literacy; and in the governance process.

This chart provides an overview of key Head Start policies and systems for defining, tracking, and

improving program quality and outcomes.This framework will form the basis for additional Head Start

Bureau initiatives to implement provisions from reauthorization, including the integration of additional

CURRICULUM PROGRAM 

SELF-ASSESSMENT

AND ONGOING

MONITORING

“What are the experiences that

support children’s learning and

development and lead to 

positive child outcomes?” “How are we doing?”

AREAS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT 

FOR CHILDREN • FAMILIES •

PROGRAMS • COMMUNITIES 

“How are our children progressing 

and what are the changes in families,

programs, and communities?”
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 21

Curriculum

FEDERAL ON-SITE

SYSTEMS MONITORING

F.A.C.E.S.

FAMILY AND CHILD

EXPERIENCES SURVEY

• After the first full year of 

operation, grantees are 

monitored every three years.

• A review of whether effective 

management systems are 

supporting the implementation of a comprehensive child 

development program leading 

to positive child outcomes.

• A partnership between 

Federal and grantee staff to 

monitor the progress of Early 

Head Start and Head Start 

grantees in implementing the 

Head Start Program 

Performance Standards.

• A team of Federal staff and 

experts conducts an on-site 

review of grantee management systems and program 

quality through a combination 

of focus groups and individual 

interviews; observations;

discussions with parents, staff,

and policy group members;

and written program documents.

“What is the level

of compliance with

Head Start regulations?”

FAMILY, AND PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OUTCOMES

SYSTEMS AND OUTCOME MEASURES FOR HEAD START NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

HEAD START PROGRAM

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Head Start's Program Performance

Measures were developed in 1997 as a

comprehensive statement of outcomes

to guide Federal accountability and 

program improvement efforts.

• Based on an extensive consultation and 

consensus-building process with Head 

Start leaders and experts, the F.A.C.E.S.

Performance Measures include a 

conceptual framework of 5 overarching 

objectives, a set of measures, and a 

related set of performance indicators.

• Five objectives of Head Start are 

as follows:

Objective1: Enhance children’s

growth and development

Objective 2: Strengthen families 

as the primary nurturers of 

their children

Objective 3: Provide children 

with educational, health, and 

nutritional services

Objective 4: Link children and 

their families to needed community

services

Objective 5: Ensure well-managed

programs that involve parents in

decision-making

• Head Start Program Performance

Measures form the framework for

reporting to Congress on the requirements of the Government Performance

and Results Act and Head Start

research efforts.

• F.A.C.E.S. is a national research study 

of a representative sample of 40 Head

Start programs to examine the quality

and effects of Head Start on 3,200

preschool children and families.

• F.A.C.E.S. examines the relationship 

between program quality and child and 

family outcomes grounded in the Head 

Start Program Performance Standards.

• Research includes direct assessment of 

children in Head Start, kindergarten, and 

first grade as well as teacher, other staff,

and parent interviews and observation 

of classroom quality.

• Initial F.A.C.E.S. findings show that classroom quality is good—children are 

gaining important cognitive and social

skills, program quality is linked to child

outcomes, and families are involved 

and highly satisfied with Head Start.

• F.A.C.E.S. findings suggest that parental

reading to children is key to their

vocabulary knowledge, and is an area

where Head Start programs could 

do more to encourage regular parentchild reading.

• F.A.C.E.S. does not report outcomes

by individual children or individual 

programs.

• F.A.C.E.S. does not monitor grantees 

for compliance with the Program

Performance Standards.

• The F.A.C.E.S. assessment system is not 

designed for direct implementation by 

local grantees.

Program Performance Standards and Performance Measures, and the incorporation of the Performance

Measures into local program self-assessment and program monitoring.

“What are some key 

outcomes and indicators of 

Head Start program quality 

and effectiveness?”

“Congress wants to know:

How is the Head Start program

doing nationally?”
22 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

The Program Performance Standards require that

learning experiences in Head Start be individualized. It

is possible to design experiences to be appropriate for

a child at various ages and stages of development, and with

changing interests and needs. An activity can be done in a

variety of ways that respond to the interests and learning

styles of the child.

Sharing stories between adults and young children is 

an excellent example of how an experience can be 

individualized. The following vignettes examine how story

sharing provides opportunities for many kinds of 

experiences: the emotional closeness of sitting on the lap of

a trusted adult and hearing a familiar voice; the security of

hearing familiar words from a favorite book; the fun of anticipating and recognizing an upcoming word in a story; the

sense of pride that comes from being able to chime in with

the next word when the reader pauses; the excitement of

recognizing letters or words on the page.

Each of the following vignettes proposes a goal for the

activity—in this case, story sharing—and illustrates how 

the activity can be adapted to meet the developmental needs

of a child.They describe the experience of a young girl, Cathy,

in two Early Head Start programs, a Head Start program,

and as she moves from one home to another and to a 

homeless shelter.

Six Months Old

Goal: To help Cathy adjust to a new situation

It’s Cathy’s first day at her local Early Head Start program and

she’s very scared.Things smell and sound different here. She

can see other children playing, but all she does is cry. Her

teacher understands and picks her up, holds her close, and

whispers in her ear. When Cathy starts to calm down, her

teacher reaches for a board book with pictures of other

babies. These pictures interest Cathy—she reaches for the

pages and looks at whatever pictures she chooses.

One Year Old

Goal: To make the sharing of stories a fun activity

Discovering that legs can take her anywhere she wants to go,

Cathy is so busy. She explores with pull and push toys and

loves to kick. Her teacher makes story time special by 

picking out books about other children who are busy running

and playing. The teacher reads these stories when Cathy is

ready to sit and relax a while in her lap.

Eighteen Months Old

Goal: To introduce the idea that books are handled

in particular ways (e.g. books have a front cover)

Each morning, Cathy comes to Early Head Start excited to

play with all the toys, and especially the dolls. She is often

seen “reading” to her “babies.” Her teacher notices that the

books are often held upside down and the pages are turned

in both directions. Without correcting Cathy, her teacher

uses this opportunity to help Cathy identify the front of the

book. Cathy is later seen “teaching” her baby about the front

of books.

Two Years Old

Goal:To foster familiarity between Cathy 

and a new teacher

Cathy’s family has moved from a small rural community 

to the city, and Cathy is now in a different Early Head Start

program. The new program means a different teacher, a 

bigger building, and many more people around. Since the

change occurred in the middle of the year, the other children

and teachers have already formed close relationships. The

special one-on-one time Cathy and her teacher spend 

reading provides Cathy with a familiar sense of security.

Three Years Old

Goal:To recognize that books are handled in particular ways (e.g., books have a front and back, a top

and bottom, and they are read from left to right)

Cathy has demonstrated that her favorite activities include

books. Cathy’s teacher, Miss Vanessa, lets Cathy find the front

covers of books. Cathy is also beginning to understand that

books have beginnings and endings. Miss Vanessa encourages

her to turn the pages,reinforcing the idea that books go from

the front to the back and left to right. In this way, Cathy

shows her teacher that she can “read.”

Individualization: An Essential

Element of the Curriculum

By Willa Choper Siegel
Curriculum

National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 23

Four Years Old

Goal:To understand the connection 

between spoken and written language

Cathy’s family has just moved into a homeless shelter. She

isn’t sleeping or eating very well, and her teachers have

noticed that she is taking less initiative. She isn’t talking very

much and is more hesitant to play with other children. Miss

Vanessa makes a special effort to stay close to Cathy.When

the class takes field trips, Cathy holds on to Miss Vanessa’s

hand at all times. Miss Vanessa takes advantage of this by 

talking with her about what they see on their trips. When

they return, Cathy draws pictures of the trip and shares them

with Miss Vanessa. As they talk, the teacher writes Cathy’s

story at the bottom of each picture. Cathy helps write letters

and some words of her own.Miss Vanessa staples the pictures

together and reads the “story” back to Cathy, who smiles as

she hears her words repeated. Cathy asks to take her “book”

home to the shelter to “read” to her mother and some of the

other children.

Five Years Old

Goal: To facilitate transition

Cathy and some of her classmates will be entering 

kindergarten in the fall, and her Head Start teachers have

been working with the kindergarten teachers and families to

finalize transition plans.They have arranged to have some of

the same books in both classrooms, so the children will see

something familiar when they enter their new class. Cathy’s

Head Start teachers read and discuss books about children

going to school.The Head Start children and parents visit the

new school and kindergarten classes several times. When

they return from each trip, Cathy and the other children 

discuss their upcoming adventure and some decide to

“write” a book about the new “big school.” They draw 

pictures and the teacher helps write their words.

A Checklist for Early

Childhood Curriculum

Does the curriculum . . . ❏ Promote interactive learning and encourage the

child’s construction of knowledge?

❏ Help children achieve social, emotional, linguistic,

physical, and cognitive goals?

❏ Encourage development of positive feelings and 

dispositions toward learning while leading to 

acquisition of knowledge and skills?

❏ Have expectations that are realistic and attainable 

at this time?

❏ Include children with disabilities in the curriculum? 

❏ Build and elaborate on children’s current knowledge

and abilities?

❏ Lead to conceptual understanding by helping 

children construct their own understanding in 

meaningful contexts?

❏ Facilitate concept learning and skills development 

in an integrated and natural way?

❏ Challenge children with disabilities to attain goals

beyond those specified in the IEP/IFSP?

❏ Permit flexibility for children and teachers?

❏ Encourage active learning and frequently allow 

children to make meaningful choices?

❏ Foster children’s exploration and inquiry, rather 

than focusing on “right” answers or “right” ways to 

complete a task?

❏ Promote the development of higher order abilities,

such as thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and 

decision making?

❏ Promote and encourage social interaction among 

children and adults?

❏ Respect children’s psychological needs for activity,

sensory stimulation, fresh air, rest, and nourishment?

❏ Promote feelings of safety, security, and belonging?

❏ Provide experiences that promote feelings of success,

competence, and enjoyment of learning?

❏ Promote positive relationships with families?

Is it . . . ❏ Based on sound child development principles of 

how children grow and learn and grounded in the

Head Start Program Performance Standards?

❏ Meaningful for these children? Is it relevant to the

children’s lives? Can it be made more relevant by 

linking it to personal experiences the children have

had or can have easily?

❏ Sensitive to and respectful of cultural and linguistic

diversity? Does the curriculum expect, allow, and

appreciate individual differences?

Adapted from NAEYC
Curriculum

24 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Head Start Teachers Recognized for Excellence

in Teaching Through the Arts

The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning

Through the Arts honored eight teachers from

Virginia,Washington, D.C., and Maryland who

excelled in developing creative and outstanding

lessons using music, movement, and drama.

The honorees were nominated by Wolf

Trap artists participating in a seven-week 

residency. During the residency, the teacher

and the artist worked together to develop

lessons and activities that integrated the 

performing arts into the curriculum. Each

teacher then developed her own lessons

using the techniques and skills gained from

working with the Wolf Trap artist. These 

creative lessons are used to teach young children academic skills such as math and reading,

as well as life and social skills, through 

multicultural and multisensory activities.

Founded in 1981 with a grant from the

Head Start Bureau, the Northern Virginiabased Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning

Through the Arts is a program of the Wolf

Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.The

Institute places professional performing artists

in classroom residencies working with children

three to five years old, their teachers, and 

parents through the disciplines of music,

movement, and drama. The program is now

being presented on a national basis and can be

found in nearly 1,000 classrooms in cities

across the country, including Atlanta,Memphis,

Los Angeles, New York,Tucson, and Nashville.

For more information about the Wolf Trap

Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts,

contact Miriam Flaherty at T: 703-255-1933 or

consult the Wolf Trap Foundation web site at

www.wolf-trap.org/institute.

Wolf Trap Institute honorees

from left to right:

Latitia Jarvis (VA)

Begum Ahmed (VA)

Miriam Camacho (VA) 

Brenda Thomas (MD) 

Michele Isemann (MD)

Katherine Warner (DC)

Olubusola Ayangbesan (DC)

Carmen Benitez (DC)

Young Children and the Arts:

Making Creative Connections

This publication, put

out by the Goals

2000 Arts Education Partnership,

makes the case for

the role of arts

education in early

education. The

Partnership’s

Task Force on

Childr en's

Learning and the Arts:

Birth to Age Eight prepared this

report, which begins to identify guiding

principles and activities, programs,research,

and resources that exemplify them.

To order a copy of the report, e-mail a request

to aep@ccsso.org, or mail your request to Arts

Education Partnership, Council of Chief State

School Officers, One Massachusetts Avenue,

NW, Suite 700,Washington, DC 20001-1431.

Head Start and PTA: Partnering in the Arts

E. Dollie Wolverton, Chief of the Head Start Bureau’s Education Services

Branch, presented a session on Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative

Connections at the Annual National PTA Convention. Dollie emphasized the

importance of integrating the arts into children's earliest experiences and

provided sample activities, examples of developmentally appropriate practices, and new research findings on how children develop and learn.

Information about the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is available on the

Web at www.pta.org, or contact their national headquarters at T: 1-800-307-4782,

E: info@pta.org.

TEACHING AND LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 25

Curriculum

I

n a recent speech, First Lady Hillary

Rodham Clinton stated, “Supporting arts

education is not only the right thing to do,

but it is the smart thing for our nation and for

both the public and private sector to do.” Mrs.

Clinton also gave recognition to Head Start’s

contributions: “We also have new [Program

Performance] Standards for our 2,000 Head

Start centers that recognize how we can best

get our children ready for schools by developing

their creative self expression through activities

in art, music, movement, and dialogue.”

The First Lady’s remarks are supported

by research findings showing that creative

experiences, implemented in developmentaland age-appropriate ways, have a positive 

influence on a child’s learning. The arts are 

an excellent avenue for supporting emerging

literacy and numeracy, nurturing the growth of

the imagination, and increasing self-confidence.

To support creative learning, the Head

Start Bureau — in consultation with a variety

of local programs, organizations, parents, and

early childhood experts — has developed

multimedia materials to help adults incorporate art, music, movement, and dialogue in

the education of young children, beginning in

infancy.The package, entitled For Children, Life

Is a Creative Adventure, is distributed widely to

Head Start, Early Head Start, Even Start,Title

1, and child care programs. It can be used as

the basis to train teachers, home visitors,

child care providers, parents, and volunteers.

There are three parts to the Creative

Adventure resource package:

• A Video that illustrates some of the

ways adults can help children engage in a

wide variety of art, music, movement, and

dialogue experiences, both individually

and in small groups.

• A Guide for Parents and

Professionals that describes and

illustrates the activities presented in 

the video. It includes discussion topics

and questions that will help viewers 

get the maximum benefit from the 

video, along with additional activities 

not presented in the video.The guide

also provides a variety of suggestions 

for working with infants, toddlers, and

preschoolers to support growth and

learning through creative expression.

• A Wall Chart that communicates

some of the ways adults can encourage

creative expression through a variety of

art, music, movement, and dialogue

activities based on the continuum of 

child growth and development.

To order A Creative Adventure materials, fax

your request to the Head Start Publications

Management Center at 703-683-5769. For general information on A Creative Adventure, contact

E.Dollie Wolverton, Chief of the Education Services

Branch, Head Start Bureau, T: 202-205-8418;

E: dwolverton@acf.dhhs.gov.

“For a Child, Life Is a Creative Adventure”

By E. Dollie Wolverton

TEACHING AND LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS
When the Alexandria Head Start program in

Alexandria,Virginia, wanted to enrich and expand

its curriculum in the area of motor development

and focused play, it turned to a local resource and 

established a powerful collaborative partnership.The Joy of

Sports Foundation, also located in Alexandria, is a nonprofit

organization concerned with helping children grow and

develop through structured play. Its Star Program has been

praised for its focus on children’s developmental needs and

was recognized by the President’s Council on Physical

Fitness and Sports as a model program.

Developed by Andrew Oser, founder of the Joy of

Sports Foundation, the Star Program addresses five goals 

for children's development: self-esteem, concentration,

imagination, relaxation, and cooperation. Originally created

for children in kindergarten through second grade, the Star

Program had to be adapted for younger children. For 

example, the “Circle Catch” game calling for children to

stand a few feet apart and throw a small ball to each other

was modified to have the preschool children stand much

closer together and gently toss a larger ball.Younger threeyear-olds might simply pass the ball around to one another.

Program Performance Standards

In developing Star Power for Preschoolers, Oser relied heavily

on the wisdom and experience of Angie Godfrey,Director of

the Alexandria Head Start program.What Godfrey and Oser

came to realize was that the Star Program works very well

with the Program Performance Standards. Standard 1304.21

(a)(4)(i-ii) states:

Grantee and delegate agencies must provide for the development of each child's cognitive and language skills by:

(i) Supporting each child's learning, using various strategies including experimentation, inquiry, observation, play,

and exploration;

(ii) Ensuring opportunities for creative self-expression

through activities such as art, music, movement,

and dialogue.

Godfrey felt that the Star Program supports her Head Start

curriculum goals. In addition, the materials needed for 

the Star Power experiences can be very simple and are

accessible to Head Start programs.

Physical play is crucial to positive child development.

“Virtually all constructive learning throughout childhood takes

place through play, beginning almost from the moment of

birth,” writes Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of the book The

Magical Child, in his forward to Star Power for Preschoolers. “It is

nature's way of building our fundamental knowledge of world

and self, and the relationship between the two.”

Play is a powerful vehicle for helping young children

develop life skills—it is how children learn about themselves

and explore the world in which they live.The time children

spend in unstructured, free play provides them with essential

growth opportunities. However, free play can be complemented by structured play, designed to offer learning experiences that may not be readily available through free play.

For more information,contact Angie Godfrey at T: 703-549-8685,

F: 703-549-2097, or Andrew Oser at T: 703-768-4077,

E: joysports@patriot.net.

26 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

Learning Life Skills Through Physical Play

This “star position” is an important

part of the Star Power program.
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 27

Curriculum

Q. How will the aspects of curriculum be 

reviewed as part of on-site monitoring 

with I-99+ and later with PRISM?

A. The I-99+ Review process is quite comprehensive in guiding team members through the review. (For

full details refer to a complete copy of the 

I-99+ package.) The I-99+ Review creates a picture 

of the relationship between program systems and 

program services.The various phases of each 

review contribute to the overall understanding of

any grantee or delegate agency's curriculum.

Information reviewed by the team is related to:

1) understanding the context; 2) collecting data on

implementation; 3) integrating the findings; and 

4) building team consensus and making recommendations concerning compliance.These phases precede the reporting of final results.

Each of the 17 core questions that are part of the 

I-99+ Review contributes to the understanding and 

discussion of curriculum development and implementation. Each question enhances a team’s understanding

of the curriculum process, information from focus

groups, and classroom and home observations.

Record reviews, interviews, and team discussions also

contribute information for a better understanding.

Some core questions are designed to lead the 

discussion in the area of curriculum. Implementation 

of services through the systems for Child

Development and Health makes major contributions

toward understanding prevention and early intervention, individualization, disabilities services, and the 

overall curriculum.

The Program Performance Standards establish the

relationship of curriculum to each of these areas:

program governance; planning; communication;

record keeping and reporting; ongoing monitoring;

program self assessment; human resources; fiscal

management; prevention and early intervention;

health care tracking and follow-up; individualization;

disabilities services; the curriculum process; family

partnership building; parent involvement; community

partnerships; eligibility, recruitment, selection, and

attendance; and facilities, materials, and equipment.

A comprehensive review of the I-99+ offers a great

deal of detail regarding this question; a few specific

examples are included here. As part of each review,

teams will examine:

A. Program Planning—The written plans for 

implementing quality services for children and 

families.This includes references to the curriculum.

Additionally, the Performance Standards require 

the curriculum to be written and to include 

specific elements.

B. Communication—In classrooms and in homes,

what is the extent and quality of communication

among children, parents, staff, and management?

C. Human Resources—What is the system for

training and development, including orientation 

of staff, consultants, and volunteers? What is the

approach for people to acquire and increase 

knowledge and skills needed to fulfill job responsibilities? (This includes educating staff and parents 

and being able to skillfully plan for and implement

the curriculum.)

D.Prevention and Early Intervention—

This includes developmental screening ongoing 

observations, and assessments of children.

Using these four examples, staff and parents 

are encouraged to become more familiar with 

the total I-99+ and to extend the list through 

ongoing discussions.

Q. How does Head Start support the nation’s

first educational goal that “All children in

America will start school ready to learn”?

A. One of the basic goals of the Head Start program is to promote the social competence of children in

their everyday lives and in dealing with both the 

present environment and later, in school.

Readiness is a broad term that encompasses many

aspects; only some of them are addressed here.

Readiness includes children receiving necessary nutrition and health care for healthy minds and bodies.

Head Start provides comprehensive child development services which include early childhood 

education, medical, dental, mental health, nutrition,

parent involvement, and effective community 

partnerships so that children are better prepared 

for school because of their experiences and the 

community’s support.

Curriculum Q+A
28 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

The Head Start Program Performance Standards

require developmentally and culturally appropriate 

curricula and daily experiences for children, including 

a print-rich environment, daily exposure to books and

stories, and support for emergent and family literacy,

to promote the use of language(s).

Readiness areas include language and literacy skills,

such as following directions, participating in conversations, making up and retelling stories,showing interest

in reading activities, and demonstrating knowledge

about books through reading pictures, following print

on a page, and pointing to familiar words.

There is also a dimension of “readiness” which 

recognizes that parents are a child’s first teacher.

Head Start sponsors, arranges, or offers many

opportunities for parents to enhance their own 

skills in reading, writing, and speaking to more fully

support their children’s development. Head Start

programs focus on emergent literacy for children,

adult literacy to help parents achieve personal goals,

and family literacy to promote parent-child interaction around books and reading. Ideas for extending

children’s learning may be shared during home visits

and parent meetings; through newsletters, lending

libraries, videotapes, and trainers and consultants;

and through participation in parent-child programs

at public libraries and community-based museums.

Q. How can child assessment information 

be used?

A. Information obtained through an individual childassessment and from ongoing assessment of child

progress is used in significant ways related to 

individual children and overall program services 

and practices.

At the point of entry into the Head Start program,

each child is screened to determine skills,strengths,

interests, and needs in the areas of cognitive, social,

emotional, and physical development, as well as health

and sensory screening.

As the year progresses, both staff and parents participate in ongoing assessment and observations of

each child’s progress across developmental domains

to individualize and refine program planning, curriculum implementation, and goal setting and attainment.

At the conclusion of a child’s Head Start experience,

assessment provides a comprehensive look at a child’s

progress over time and informs effective transition to

another program, including entry into kindergarten

and elementary school.

Child assessment data can also be used by the 

program in looking at the overall effectiveness of 

its curriculum and child development approach, its

training and parent education, and as part of the

information that helps determine if all children are

making progress and achieving goals and outcomes

in Head Start.This information becomes part of the

program’s self-assessment and is then used as a basis

for planning for new groups of children.

Q.Can “time out” be used in Head Start as a

means to affect behavior that is interrupting the implementation of the curriculum?

A. This is not a simple question to answer, since thereare various interpretations of “time out” and multiple ways to implement it.The use of time out is not

inherently positive or negative; it depends on how

and how often the procedure is used.

The Head Start Program Performance Standards and

Guidance are clear about the manner in which adults

are to respond to child behaviors.These behaviors 

are addressed in the Education and Early Childhood

Development section, as well as in the Human

Resources Management section of the Standards.

The revised Head Start Program Performance

Standards prohibit the use of punitive discipline and

encourage the use of positive developmental guidance and discipline. So each program’s definition of

“time out” will determine whether and how it can

be used in preschool Head Start classrooms.

Time out procedures should be planned and 

implemented with the guidance of a program’s 

mental health professional in coordination with the

child’s family.
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 29

Curriculum

Q. What is the relationship

between a curriculum and

activity books?

A. by Diane Trister Dodge,President,Teaching Strategies

It is a common misconception that

activity books can take the place of a

curriculum.They are very different,

and each serves a unique function.

A curriculum is a comprehensive

framework for planning and implementing a program that is responsive

to the children and families it serves.

It gives teachers the “what, why, and

how” to apply the components of

developmentally appropriate practice.

The Head Start Program Performance

Standards clearly define what a 

curriculum model must include.

Curriculum provides a framework

for determining what kinds of experiences will be authentic, engaging,

appropriate, and effective in achieving

goals.This framework may change

depending on the ages of the children

being served. For example, The Creative

Curriculum for Infants & Toddlers emphasizes relationships.This is because 

children under three are developing

trust and autonomy, which they

acquire in the context of relationships.

The Creative Curriculum for programs

serving preschool children focuses on

the environment because three- to

five-year-olds are at the stage of initiative.They learn best when they have

choices about materials and activities.

Activity books, in contrast, are a

collection of ideas and suggestions of

activities. By their nature, activities are

usually short term—e.g., an art project,

a collection walk, a recipe for cooking.

Activities may or may not be developmentally appropriate.The only way to

determine if an activity is appropriate 

is to assess its value in relation to the

curriculum and the child or children.

For example, one activity book

describes how to make spiders out of

paper plates and construction paper,

and gives a pattern to follow.Teachers

using a curriculum model based on

developmentally appropriate practices

would reject this activity. It asks children to follow a pattern. Its primary

purpose is to have children follow

directions,rather than learn about

insects through authentic and meaningful experiences.

In choosing activities to supplement

the curriculum, teachers must ask themselves questions such as:

• Does it address the goals and

objectives of our curriculum?

• What should staff and parents

do to help children achieve

these goals?

• Is the activity relevant to what

we are doing, and will it be

meaningful to children?

A good activity book can be a helpful

resource to teachers who may need

ideas to inspire them. Just as you carefully select a curriculum that meets the

criteria in the Program Performance

Standards and promotes learning experiences that are appropriate to the

general age and developmental stage(s)

of the individual children, you should

select your activity books with care

and consideration.Activity books cannot take the place of a comprehensive

curriculum model.

Q.Culture and celebrations:

who should decide?

A. by Carol Brunson Day,Executive Director,The Council

for Early Childhood Professional

Recognition

As we continue to learn about the

most appropriate ways to approach

multicultural education in early childhood, new issues arise. Experts say we

should spend less time thinking about

holidays, food, and dress (the surface

features or isolated activities of culture) and more time thinking about 

values, interaction patterns, and childrearing practices (the deep structural

features of culture). I agree and have

said,“Let’s worry less about teaching

cultures to children, and more about

teaching children in a culturally consistent context.” Our program practices

should be attitudinally and behaviorally

consistent with the cultural communities of the children and families.

Reaching further into the depths

of culture has caused some teachers,

parents, and curriculum developers to

question whether holidays should be

celebrated in Early Head Start and

Head Start. Some think that too many

celebrations unfairly consume the early

childhood curriculum. Others think

that if we celebrate holidays we are

being trivial and superficial in dealing

with culture in the program. Still others

think that celebrating every group’s

holidays will unfairly impose unfamiliar

cultural values on some.

None of these views is meant to be

disrespectful or trivial or to subjugate

the beliefs of any group to those of any

other group. But if holiday celebrations

are totally removed from children’s

school experiences for the wrong reasons, all of these errors are committed.

“To celebrate or not to celebrate”

is not the issue. Rather, the issue is how

to decide what to celebrate.The dialogue

about what constitutes a curriculum

that is culturally consistent for children

(and is anti-bias and teaches children to

value cultural differences and similarities)

should be ongoing among parents and

staff as part of sound decision making

and curriculum planning.

When discussing the issue with

parents,staff should bring information

about the principles for providing 

culturally appropriate environments for

children. Parents should bring the 

cultural material from their socialization

and socializing experiences — the 

attitudes, beliefs, and practices they

enjoy and at which they are good.

Program practices regarding culture

should be the result of an interactive

process among parents and staff where

the final decisions are negotiated.The

goal is always to develop a program

that, in a dynamic way, best meets the

needs of the children.

Everything we know about culture

suggests that holiday celebrations 

contain deep-seated, value-based 

elements.They are the rites and rituals

through which the distinctive historical

contributions of groups are captured

and maintained. Older children can be

taught such information directly. For

the little ones, it’s more fun and generates feelings of security to be in a place

where their family and community life

is valued.

INVITED RESPONSES TO TWO KEY QUESTIONS
30 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

A Head Start on Science

By Jean Simpson and William C. Ritz

Many years ago, Biologist Rachel

Carson offered this advice in her

book Silent Spring: “If a child is 

to keep alive his or her inborn sense of 

wonder...,” he or she needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it,

“rediscovering with that child the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”

The “A Head Start on Science” project at

California State University, Long Beach, has

adopted Carson’s “sense of wonder” for 

children, while simultaneously rekindling that

same spirit in the adults who are their 

parents and teachers.

“A Head Start on Science” hopes to

increase Head Start staff members’ ability 

to create settings that encourage children to

discover and explore the world around

them.The overall goal is to link colleges and

universities with Head Start programs to

facilitate and encourage a lifelong interest in

science. “A Head Start on Science” training

and materials are appropriate for Head Start

teachers, assistants, home visitors, children

and their families.

Children gain a “sense of wonder” by

examining and exploring the world around

them. “A Head Start on Science” does not

spoon-feed scientific information to children.

Rather, children are encouraged to expand

their perceptions of the world by learning

ways to observe day-to-day phenomena,such

as how to compare the smells of various

foods, how to classify leaves collected on a

walk, and how to communicate what they

have observed and learned.

“A Head Start on Science” takes the

view that children learn science by going

through the same type of processes as a 

scientist. No longer will a child observing 

a snail see only a slow-moving object in the

grass. Instead, the child will notice the sticky

trail the snail leaves, compare the snail to

other slow-moving objects, observe what the

snail eats, and begin to ask questions and

comment on the snail’s environment.

Observing, communicating, comparing, and

organizing or classifying are all developmentally appropriate processes for children at a

very young age.

An adult training and science curriculum is being developed for “A Head Start on

Science,” including a teaching guide and a

manual for those planning to carry out similar

science training activities. Overall guidance

for the program is provided by an advisory

board comprised of experts from Head

Start, science education, and early childhood

education. There has also been an intensive

follow-up program involving on-site visitations and continual interaction to assess the

effectiveness of “A Head Start on Science” in

encouraging that vital sense of wonder in the

staff, children, and families involved.

Jean Simpson is an Education Specialist in 

The Head Start Bureau’s Education Branch,

T: 202-205-8421, E: jsimpson@acf.dhhs.gov.

For more information,contact Dr.William C. Ritz,

Chair, Department of Science Education at

California State University, Long Beach

T: 562-985-4801; F 562-985-7164;

E:sci4kids@csulb.edu; or visit the department’s

web site at www.csulb.edu/~sci4kids/.

Grants Available from Honda

The American Honda Foundation invites Head Start programs to submit applications for grant awards ranging from $10,000

to $50,000. Honda is especially interested in the following areas: science, math, environment, and technology. Applications

are accepted quarterly, on the first of February, May,August, and November.To receive an application,send a self-addressed

label to The American Honda Foundation, P.O. Box 2205,Torrance, CA 90509-2205.

Observing,

communicating,

comparing, and

organizing are all

developmentally

appropriate

processes for 

children at a very

young age.
Curriculum

National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 31

HSB Literacy Initiatives

By Trellis Waxler

School readiness has always been a central focus 

of Head Start, and an important aspect of school

readiness is helping children to be ready to read. In

recent years, the Head Start Bureau has launched literacy initiatives that emphasize the importance of establishing a foundation for reading for children and their families.

The Head Start Family Literacy Project

The Head Start Bureau has entered into a five-year cooperative agreement with the National Center for Family Literacy

(NCFL) to help Head Start grantees provide comprehensive

family literacy services. NCFL will provide workshops, training, and individualized technical assistance to grantees. NCFL

is also working to develop a Promising Practices Network

that will document family literacy services Head Start programs provide around the country, as well as a system to

increase collaboration and networking with potential partners invested in family literacy services. For more information, contact Sharly Emberton or Bonnie Lash Freeman at

502-584-1133.

The Center for the Book

Beginning in 1989, Head Start and The Center for the Book

joined forces to demonstrate how libraries that serve young

children can plan and work with Head Start staff to enhance

learning and parent involvement in children's literacy and language development.An Act of Congress in 1977 established

The Center for the Book to stimulate public interest in

books. Since that time, the Center has become a nationwide

force, establishing over 30 centers across the country.

In working with Head Start and its literacy initiatives,

the Center for the Book held several symposiums across the

country with Head Start grantees and their library partners.

A Video and User's Guide for promoting family literacy was

also developed under this partnership. The video is divided

into four segments that can be viewed as individual units or

in total.

• Segment One describes the partnership between 

Head Start and the Center for the Book.

• Segment Two demonstrates the wide variety of library 

program formats and techniques that can help make 

books a joyful discovery, including storytelling, reading 

aloud, puppets of various types, dramatic play, and 

related video and audio tapes.

• Segment Three provides criteria for deciding what 

makes a good book.

• Segment Four focuses on adult involvement with 

libraries. Included is an overview of how the presence 

of library materials and staff in children’s lives 

supports their educational and emotional experiences,

reinforces parent involvement, and links library 

resources to all Head Start services.

Call 202–707–5221 for more information.

Emergent Literacy Grantees

The emergent literacy initiative, begun in 1995, provided

funds to the University of Idaho,Western Illinois University,

and Children's Literacy Initiative to work with Head Start

programs. Initiatives undertaken by these three grantees are

as follows:

The University of Idaho— The University's Center on

Developmental Disabilities developed resources and training

materials, held workshops, and developed videos on emergent

literacy and creating a print-rich environment for children 

and families. For more information, contact Carol Nelson 

at 208-885-3500.

Western Illinois University— The University’s College of

Education and Human Services focused on the Emergent

Literacy Instructional Program and Support Services (ELIPSS)

Project, an emergent literacy training program for Head Start

staff.The package includes ten modules with videos to guide

participants through the training. For more information,

contact Patricia Hutinger at 309-298-1634.

Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI)— CLI provided training in Head Start centers and hosted several major institutes

training Head Start staff to create literacy-based environments,

set up classroom libraries, and read to children, explaining the

importance of each step. CLI also distributed books under the

initiative and developed a literacy kit, which includes a checklist and a training video, Teaching Parents to Work with Children.

This video, which features Al Roker, won an award from the

International Television and Video Association. For more information, contact Linda Katz at 215-541-4676.

Trellis Waxler is an Education Specialist in the Head Start 

Bureau’s Education Services Branch,T: 202-205-8422,

E: twaxler@acf.dhhs.gov.
32 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

Starting Out Right

Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting

Children's Reading Success is a popularized version of the National Reading Council’s

Preventing Reading Difficulties. This new book

includes:

• Checklists of specific accomplishments

to be expected at different ages from

preschool through third grade 

• 55 activities to do with children 

• List of recommended children’s books 

• Guide to computer software, CD-ROMs,

and Internet web site resources.

To order Starting Out Right contact NAEYC at

www.naeyc.org or call their sales department

directly at 800-424-2460 x. 604 or 202-232-

8777. The cost of the book is $12.00 plus shipping

and handling.

Reading and Writing Now!

The National Head Start Association’s position paper, Reading and Writing Now!: Promoting

Language and Literacy in Head Start, makes 

the following recommendations for teachers

and parents:

1. Expand children’s oral language usage

2. Read several stories every day to children

3. Teach children rhymes and songs

4. Support reading and writing development through children’s play

5. Point at the words occasionally when

you read to children

6. Encourage children to experiment with

writing everyday

7. Provide children a special area where they

can experiment with print and books

8. Be a literacy advocate; model reading

and writing everyday

9. Encourage children to notice print and

how words are read and spelled

10. Encourage a special time each day for

enjoying books and writing

Included with these recommendations is an

explanation of why these practices are

important for children’s learning and a

description of how to go about implementing

them effectively.

To order a copy of Reading and Writing Now!,

contact NHSA at 1-800-687-5044.The cost of the

publication is $1.00 plus shipping and handling.

Learning to Read and

Write: Developmentally

Appropriate Practices for

Young Children 

To ensure that all children learn to read and

write by the end of third grade, early childhood educators need to know more and 

do more to promote literacy in effective,

developmentally appropriate ways. The

International Reading Association/National

Association for the Education of Young

Children joint position statement on developmentally appropriate ways of teaching children to read and write comes to life here

with photographs, concrete guidelines, and

exciting ideas for the classroom.

This resource is available from NAEYC’s Web site at

www.naeyc.org for $10.00.

Reading

and 

Writing

RESOURCES
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 33

Curriculum

Much More Than the ABCs

Much More Than the ABCs, by Judith

Schickedanz, is an update of her influential

book, More Than the ABCs. It emphasizes a

multifaceted approach to helping children

learn to read. Parents, teachers, and caregivers learn how to help children develop

their skills without smothering their enjoyment in the process.

Published by NAEYC, Much More Than

the ABCs walks the reader through literacy

development from birth through preschool

and gives useful and important information

on setting up an organized environment rich

in resources that support emergent literacy.

The book also provides concrete suggestions

for supporting children’s literacy, such as

reading aloud with children from infancy

through preschool and teaching the alphabet

in meaningful ways.

Schickedanz reinforces the idea that

one should never underestimate a child's

capabilities. “Even though most children will

not read and write conventionally until the

early grades,” writes Schickedanz,“many have

considerable knowledge about literacy and

are well on their way to becoming conventional readers and writers by the time they

encounter formal instruction.”

To order a copy of Much More Than the ABCs,

contact NAEYC at www.naeyc.org or call their sales

department directly at 800-424-2460 x604 or

202-232-8777.The cost of the book is $7.00 plus

shipping and handling.

On the Road to Reading:A

Guide for Community Partners Working to Promote Children’s Reading

This is a guide published by the Department

of Education and the Department of Health

and Human Services. It is directed at community projects that support the American

Reads Challenge goal. The basic information

provided will help community partners begin

their literacy efforts. Issues addressed include

“How Most Children Learn to Read,” “How

Tutors Can Support Young Readers,”

“Involving Families in Tutoring Programs,” and

“Building Community Partnerships.”

For more information, contact the Department of

Education at 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Cultural Competence

Self-Assessment Instrument

This popular field-tested management tool

put out by the Child Welfare League of

America will help child service organizations

identify, improve, and enhance cultural competence in staff relations and client service

delivery. With a practical, easy-to-use

approach, it addresses the major issues of

delivering culturally competent service.

The publication costs $25.95 plus shipping and

handling. Contact the Child Welfare League’s website at www.cwla.org for an online order form, or

call 800-407-6273 for more information.

RESOURCES
34 Curriculum in Head Start ▼ National Head Start Bulletin

Curriculum

Developmentally Appropriate

Practice in Early Childhood

Programs—Revised Edition

S. Bredekamp and C.Copple, Eds.

Expanding from the core ideas of the influential

1987 edition, this volume spells out more fully the

principles underlying developmentally appropriate

practice and guidelines for classroom decisionmaking.The book offers an overview of each period of

development and extensive examples of practices

appropriate and inappropriate for those engaged in

the care and education of infants and toddlers, 3-

through 5-year-olds, or primary-grade children.

This resource is available from NAEYC for $9.00;to order

contact their website at www.naeyc.org.

Caring for Infants and Toddlers in

Groups: Developmentally

Appropriate Practice

This ZERO TO THREE publication for early 

childhood professionals outlines the stages of

development children go through in their first

three years of life, identifies components of quality

infant-toddler care, and places infant-toddler care

in context. Real-life illustrations are used throughout the book, which also describes appropriate

and inappropriate practices.

The cost of this publication is $17.00 plus shipping and

handling. To order, contact ZERO TO THREE at 1-800-

899-4301.

Tools for Teaching Developmentally

Appropriate Practice:

The Leading Edge in Early

Childhood Education

This new videotape training series is an ideal 

tool for staff development. Produced in short,

stand-alone programs ranging in length from 5 

to 20 minutes, the videos use powerful images

and clear, concise language to communicate the

key concepts of NAEYC’s Developmentally

Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs—

Revised Edition.This series features more than three

hours of videotape produced for NAEYC by 

RISE (Resources and Instruction for Staff

Excellence, Cincinnati, Ohio) in conjunction with

NAEYC’s national videoconference/seminar, THE

LEADING EDGE.

This resource is available from NAEYC for $200;to order

contact their web site at www.naeyc.org.

RESOURCES

Attention Education Coordinators

The National Head Start 

Child Development Institute 

on Early Education is being planned for 

December 4–8, 2000

Washington, DC

More information coming soon!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
National Head Start Bulletin ▼ Curriculum in Head Start 35

Curriculum

RESOURCES

Start Early, Finish Strong:

How to Help Every Child

Become a Reader

This Department of Education resource

on children and reading includes easyto-understand research, resources, and

recommendations for policy makers

and others, including families, child caregivers, educators, businesses, and universities. It includes contact information

for projects and programs and an

appendix that summarizes virtually all

the state laws enacted since 1996 related to young children and reading.

To order, call 877-4ED-PUBS or download

copies from www.ed.gov/pubs/startearly

The Head Start Publications

Management Center (HSPMC)

has a wide variety of publications and resources available.

For a current catalogue, or to

place an order, contact the

HSPMC by fax at 703-683-

5769 or by e-mail at puborder@hskids-tmsc.org

Multicultural Resources (also see article on p. 19)

Available from ERIC (www.ericeece.org):

• Asian-American Children:What Teachers Should Know,

a digest by Jianhua Feng

• Multiculturalism in Early Childhood Programs, a book by 

C.Treppte,V. Fu, and A.J. Stremmel. (Full text is available on 

ERIC's web page)

Available from the National Council on LaRaza (NCLR):

• Testimony on Smart Start:The Community Collaborative for Early 

Childhood Development Act of 1988

• Hispanic Educational Trends and Needs

• Hispanic Education: A Statistical Portrait (1990)

(For more information, contact NCLR's web site at www.nclr.org or

call 301-604-7983)

Available from NAEYC:

• “What Early Childhood Educators Need to Know:

Developing Effective Programs for Linguistically and 

Culturally Diverse Children and Families.” This article by 

Patton Tabors appears in the November 1998 issue of 

NAEYC's journal, Young Children.

Multicultural Principles for Head

Start Programs describes ten 

principles related to individualized

services for children and families

that can help grantees and delegate

agencies ensure that every child,

family, and staff member feels

respected and valued. To order,

fax your request to HSPMC at

703-683-5769 or send e-mail to

puborder@hskids-tmsc.org.

This publication is available in 

both English and Spanish.
Put us on your mailing list!

We’d love to keep in touch with what’s happening in your programs and communities.

Head Start Bulletin • 330 C Street, S.W. • Washington, DC 20447

U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services

ACF/ACYF/HSB

Washington, DC 20201

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for private use $300

The CLAS Resource Library offers a quick and easy way to

learn more about working with children and families from

culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It’s a valuable

resource for new ideas and activities covering a wide range

of topics, including:

• Dealing with challenging behaviors

• Enhancing young children’s social skills

• Enriching caregiver-child interactions 

• Supporting first and second language acquisition.

The CLAS collection includes materials in many formats, such as books, kits, videotapes, audiotapes, CDs,

and multimedia. Some materials are translated into

other languages. Some materials are available in full text

and can be downloaded directly from the Web site. For

other materials, ordering information is available.

Coming in 2000

Second Language Acquisition (Janet Quiñones-Eatman)

Emerging Literacy (Georgia Garcia and Crissa Almughrabi)

IFSPs and IEPs (Tess Bennett, Chun Zhang, and Laura Hojnar) 

Promising Intervention Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically

Diverse Young Children with Special Needs (Rebeca Valdivia)

For more information or to submit materials, contact: CLAS Early

Childhood Research Institute, University of Illinois, 61 Children’s

Research Center, 51 Gerty Drive,Champaign, IL 61820,T: 800-583-

4135 (V/TTY), F: 217-244-7732, E:clas@uiuc.edu.

C • L • A • S

Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services

Early Childhood Research Institute

http://clas.uiuc.edu