Curriculum
Triumph uses several curricula that align with our philosophy of learning. We believe that young children have a natural desire to learn and it is our job to plan experiences to build on each child’s natural interests and abilities. We must strive to make learning relevant and exciting to children by creating an environment where they communicate their ideas, pose questions, share their experiences, solve problems, and make discoveries. As such, our program balance of teacher-directed small and large group experiences, with ample time for children to make choices.
The Creative Curriculum
Creative Curriculum focuses on the environment as a critical teaching tool. It addresses every aspect of classroom environment, including how to support and extend student’s play during choice time, and how to create a literacy and math-rich classroom. Creative Curriculum is aligned with the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria and widely used within Head Start.
Opening the World of Learning (Pre-K)
OWL is a comprehensive early literacy program. Organized into six themes that utilize favorite classic children’s books, songs, and poems, OWL builds knowledge in all areas of early literacy: listening and speaking; alphabetic knowledge; concepts about print; phonological awareness; comprehension; and early writing. OWL is research-based and meets National Association on the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM ) standards.
We supplement our units of study with additional math activities found in Math Their Way. MTW is an activity-centered, child-centered math program that supports students in developing an understanding of and insight into the patterns of mathematics.
Read, Play & Learn
RP&L is a play-based curriculum designed to promote growth across all of the areas of development. Preschool teachers implement themes based on favorite children’s books and center around themes such as sharing emotions, making friends, understanding other cultures, and just having fun. RP&L provides resources for creating a literacy-rich environment, and includes modifications for children of varying ability levels.
Approach to Socio-Emotional Development
At Triumph we use a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in students. PBS is a school-wide model that focuses on prevention and proactive strategies for teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors. Rather than having different sets of rules in each classroom / with each teacher, all of our classrooms – including our front office staff - use the same language and set of expectations for students. This creates the consistency we know is critical for students.
Our priority is that all children, regardless of their individual needs, feel physically and emotionally safe at school. Our 3 school-wide ‘Triumph Agreements’ are:
- I honor people
- I honor property
- I keep myself in control
As we seek to proactively teach critical social skills we utilize the research-based Second Step violence prevention curriculum. Second Step teaches essential social skills, such as problem solving, emotion management, impulse control, and empathy through engaging hands-on, activity-based lessons.
For more information on our Positive Behavior Support model, click here
Instructional strategies
Morning Work Time
Students begin their day with an hour long morning work block in the many classroom interest areas. Students choose among: writing, blocks, reading, art, sand & water, science, music, and more. They begin by writing a plan for what they will choose to do. After executing their plan in the different interest areas, they write, draw and discuss what they worked on.
Large Group Time
Dozens of learning objectives are taught each time the class comes together for a whole group meeting. In addition to a daily read-aloud, the meeting includes movement activities, a written morning message, songs, poems and counting activities.
Small Groups
Each day students meet in a teacher-led small group. Small group lessons focus on a specific math or literacy objective, and align with the theme of study. For example, students might write a recipe for and make their own apple juice, or re-read and dramatize a favorite story.
Assessment
Triumph utilizes a variety of screenings and assessments to assess student’s growth and development over time. The primary assessment we use is Desired Results Developmental Profile – Revised (DRDP-) R. DRDP-R is an observation-based, authentic assessment system that looks at student growth and development over time. In pre-k we also use Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS),
an individually administered assessment on letter name and letter sound recognition. |
