Curricula
JumpStart’s Family Literacy Curriculum
This cross-cultural, activity based curriculum helps learners of all ages expand their general knowledge, develop basic literacy skills, and deepen appreciation for their own and others’ cultural traditions. The JumpStart Family Literacy Curriculum was created by a team of child development, adult literacy, and curriculum design experts. The curriculum contains appealing hands-on materials for exploring ten high-interest concepts and topics: Food, dreams, myths, special days, family traditions, time, traditional stories, and others.
Steps to Success: An Instructional Design for Early Literacy Mentor-Coaches in Head Start and Early Head Start
This curriculum is a technology-based professional development package that supports effective mentoring for teachers and home visitors working with children from birth to age five and their families. Currently our model is being used nationwide and has been redesigned to support Early Reading First literacy coaches, Early Childhood specialists, and Adult Literacy specialists.
The training package focuses on four key content areas:
- Unit 1: Building Relationships to Promote Child Literacy Outcomes
- Unit 2: Observation of Staff and Analysis
- Unit 3: Reflective Practices (for mentor-coaches and protégés)
- Unit 4: Using Child Assessment Information to Guide Instruction
The Steps to Success package includes:
- Facilitator Guide – A comprehensive resource that accompanies each unit. The guide gives instructions for preparing the sessions, outlines the content to be discussed and includes activities for participants. The facilitator guide is presented in four separately bound units.
- Mentor-Coach Manual – Devoted to age appropriate educational practices and mentor coaching skills.
- Tutored Video Instruction (TVI) – Videos enrich in-person instruction by providing commentary and video to illustrate best practices in mentor-coaching as well as age appropriate interactions. TVIs are live to tape anchor-hosted instruction coupled with footage of live classroom activities interspersed with classroom facilitator-led instruction. The TVIs feature 12 nationally recognized experts in mentor-coaching and early childhood education, and 10 Head Start programs across the country.
- Professional Development Plan – Progressive tool for acquiring, strengthening, and refining mentor coaching skills.
- Decision Maker Guide – Helps decision makers create strong mentor-coaching systems.
- Protégé Journal – Stimulates reflective practices, records ideas and questions, takes meeting and conference notes, as well as reviews instructional practices and child outcomes.
- STEP-Line – Toll-free telephone access to a trained mentor-coaching expert.
- STEP-Net – Online resource for materials and a discussion group with mentor-coaches nationwide.
- STEP-Notes – Newsletter for mentor coaching in Head Start and Early Head Start
Steps to Success was created by Early Childhood Associates, Inc. through funding from the Head Start Bureau. It is available online at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/resources/ECLKC_bookstore
Multicultural Classroom Activities for K-3 Teachers
This curriculum includes dozens of activities that use diversity to teach interdisciplinary concepts and skills. Activities included in this guide -- such as The Family History Museum, Time Capsule, Build a Sandwich, and The Water Cycle -- focus on family memories and give teachers strategies to approach diversity in their classrooms. The activities in this guide encourage curiosity, creativity, and imagination and help students develop social and languages skills, leading to rapid progress in acquiring literacy in reading, mathematics, and the arts and sciences.
“ECA’s multicultural activities were an excellent way for me to meet my curriculum goals and promote cultural awareness, literacy, extensive use of oral language, measuring, patterning, problem solving, etc.
2nd Grade Teacher
Revere, MA
A Guide to Teaching in Culturally Diverse and Bilingual Classrooms
This guide provides teachers and teaching assistants in grades K-3 with critical skills necessary to effectively lead and instruct in bilingual classrooms. This curriculum encourages interaction between children who are English learners and their English-speaking classmates, facilitates second language learning in the K-3 grade levels, teaches the value of diversity in primary grade classrooms, and provides observation guidelines for observing bilingual and LEP children.
“ECA’s guide to working in diverse classrooms opened my eyes to cultural issues and second language learning.”
Kindergarten Teacher
Watertown, MA
Talking with Children: The Role of the Teaching Assistant in the Classrooms with Bilingual or Limited English Proficient Children
This curriculum instructs teaching assistants in working with LEP or bilingual children in K-3 classrooms and provides critical information on effective teaching practices. This guide gives practical guidance on how to work with teachers and children in diverse classrooms, introduces teaching assistants to educational fundamentals such as developmentally appropriate practices, cooperative learning, and theme study, as well uses a child-centered approach that respects and supports children of all cultures.
“This guide for T.A.’s contains important information about different cultures and supports a developmental approach.”
3rd Grade Teacher
New Bedford, MA
