1a. Location of examples of intentionally planned activities that introduce basic and academic vocabulary words and concepts.
- Explicit instructional routines for teaching new vocabulary that include child-friendly definitions.
- Opportunities for children to practice new vocabulary in play-based ways.
Exploring Sound Vocabulary
The children learned that music was made by sound waves vibrating in their ear. To visualize vibrations, the children were asked to bounce balls off the gym wall. Similarly, the children learned that a rhythm is a pattern of beats, or the same sounds over and over again. The children practiced making a rhythm on the outdoor drums. The children wrote the words "vibrate" and "rhythm" separately in their sound journals.
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The Candy Experiment
Each child was asked to choose a lollipop to place it in a plastic baggie. Then they were asked what might happen if they added water to it. After dispensing water into the bags, the Jets were able to see the lollipops dissolve slowly throughout the day. We discussed what the word dissolve means and some children guessed that the lollipop turns into water while others guessed that it got mixed in with the water.
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Parts of a Clock Word Match
During an investigation on machines, preschoolers became interested in the inner-workings of clocks. For this activity, they were familiar with the parts of the clock, but had to use their knowledge of initial-letter sounds to match the word to the clock part. Words included "battery", "frame", "display", "hands", "screws", and "gears", all beginning with a different initial sound consonant.
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All ACCESS science investigations include learning new vocabulary words. Children have experience writing new vocabulary words in a variety of ways for multiple purposes. Many times, children will have collected their vocabulary words in a science journal or investigation list.
1b. Clear scope and sequence of intentionally planned activities that allow children to understand and communicate with increasingly complex language.
Because ACCESS was developed at the University of Dayton's demonstration school, the Bombeck Family Learning Center, we have created a series of videos, presentations and songs that have been used to train teachers and implement the curriculum with fidelity. While most are professionally developed with narration, they were taken at the Bombeck Center and reflect the ongoing practice of ACCESS teachers.
ACCESS Science Songs
The Language of Inquiry
Book Reading with Miss Sherry
Because ACCESS was developed at the University of Dayton's demonstration school, the Bombeck Family Learning Center, we have created a series of videos, presentations and songs that have been used to train teachers and implement the curriculum with fidelity. While most are professionally developed with narration, they were taken at the Bombeck Center and reflect the ongoing practice of ACCESS teachers.
- Intentionally selected songs, nursery rhymes, and fingerplays throughout the daily routine.
ACCESS Science Songs
- Use of effective teacher language (parallel talk, self-talk, recasting, expansion).
- Modeling oral language with intentional sentence structure and intentional use of academic language.
The Language of Inquiry
Book Reading with Miss Sherry
- Promoting classroom discussion and turn-taking conversations.
During an investigation on robots, a teacher facilitates a group discussion as the children observe a robot in action. She asks the children what they notice about the robot and what they think allows the robot to move in different directions.
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While learning about health and safety, a teacher prompts children to guess the meaning of various traffic signs. Children used both context clues and letter-sound association to find the meaning of the sign.
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In ACCESS, science investigations often begin with class observations and discussions on a topic that is relevant and engaging to the children in the class. High quality interactions are key to successful implementation of The ACCESS Curriculum and here, you will see a variety of conversations taking place at different stages with these investigations.
1c. Clear scope and sequence of intentionally planned activities that allow children to develop comprehension of read-aloud text.
- Purposefully selected narrative and informational books for repeated readings (2-4 times). As shown in the gallery of photographs below, ACCESS classrooms use a variety of narrative and information books in a variety of activities. Books are typically introduced during circle time. While teachers introduce new books during circle time, children are able to select additional books to be read which means repeated readings. The books are then placed in the reading center book collection where children can select a book for independent reading, reading during rest time, using books as a reference in other centers. Children are also able to ask teachers to read a book to one child or a small group of children.
- The following video linked here shows a clear scope and sequence of intentionally planned activities. Note that the discussion is intentionally planned and includes activities before, during and after the story is read. Also note the questions used during the interactive storybook reading are both literal and inferential.
1d. Location of examples of evidence of alignment with Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards and a clear scope and sequence
following phonological skill development.
following phonological skill development.
- Continuum for linguistic hierarchy (words, syllables, first sounds, phonemes).
- Continuum for rhyming knowledge (rhyme recognition and rhyme production).
Teachers receive professional development and coaching to develop an understanding of the linguistic hierarchy. Because the environment is literacy rich, teachers have ample opportunity to support children as they identify words, syllables, first sounds and phonemes.
Children are learning about sentence structure here by choosing a word to complete the sentence prompt.
Children have experience writing words, parts of words, phrases, and sentences for a variety of purposes including making greeting cards, creating "menus", and writing class-made storybooks.
ACCESS is committed to high quality children's literature that is selected based on the children's level at recognizing rhymes and also producing rhymes. Teacher selection is valued based on their knowledge of the children. Teachers are also supported by carefully curated quality book list linked here.
1e. Clear sequence for learning letter names and sounds while providing children with intentional opportunities to practice letters in play-based ways.
- Letter recognition
- Letter production
- Letter-sound-keyword
- Letter writing
Learning letter names and sounds through play is woven throughout the day. There are indoor teacher directed experiences as well as the child- directed examples shown below. One common experience includes letter recognition on the labeled shelves assigned to each child. At the beginning of the year the children are listed alphabetically and children find their shelf by recognizing the location of the shelf and the first letter of their name. Two months later, children are expected to find their classmates' shelves. Halfway through the year, the teacher will shuffle the location of the shelves so children need to rely on the first letter of the name without the location clue. Eventually, the teacher will put names that start with the same two or three letters together adding an additional level of challenge.
Children in ACCESS classrooms are given the opportunity to form letters in a variety of both structured and play-based ways. This includes arranging objects to create the letters shapes, writing letters in the sand (and other mediums for sensory play), stamping letters to create words, recording work in journals, and including writing within their own artwork.
1f. Location of examples of intentional opportunities for children to understand print conventions and that print conveys meaning.
The Apple Experiment video link below shows a typical ACCESS teacher using print to document an experiment. The chart represent a continuation of the experiment from earlier showing children that when information is written down it is a way to remember what was said and done before.
The Apple Experiment video link below shows a typical ACCESS teacher using print to document an experiment. The chart represent a continuation of the experiment from earlier showing children that when information is written down it is a way to remember what was said and done before.
1g. Location of examples that allow children the opportunity to communicate for a variety of purposes using writing.
- Scribbles
- Shapes
- Pictures
- Letters
1h. Location of examples of opportunities to experiment with writing tools and materials.
Classrooms include a sign-in procedure during which children write their names. The progression from scribbles to letters is supported by changing the level of scaffolding for children to be successful and also to see the purpose of the print that they produce
Classrooms include a sign-in procedure during which children write their names. The progression from scribbles to letters is supported by changing the level of scaffolding for children to be successful and also to see the purpose of the print that they produce
ACCESS classrooms use print with a purpose throughout the day. Wishing a happy birthday to a teacher or friend, or announcing new classroom pets to the families who enter the classroom, or writing their name on a chart to identify which vote is theirs, children in ACCESS Classrooms are exposed to and use print in a variety of ways to make meaning.
A wide variety of writing tools and materials are used in ACCESS classrooms with ample opportunities to engage in both teacher directed and child directed experiences.
