Creating developmentally appropriate classroom

Developmentally Appropriate Practice Buzzwords or best practice

By Jocelyn Smrekar and Andrea Hansen

Teachers and parents are sometimes fooled into thinking that children must learn to read by age 5 , usually in kindergarten . Consider this example : Jamie has trouble reading in kindergarten . Her teacher says it 's because she only played in preschool . In first grade , Jamie is called learning disabled because she still doesn 't read . By third grade though , Jamie is reading fluidly with her peers . Have teachers cured Jamie of a disability ? No ! Jamie 's reading development followed its

own course and leveled into a lifelong skill and what teachers call "working at grade level

Children develop at different rates in separate areas : physical emotional , cognitive or intellectual , language , and social . Differences including abilities and disabilities , affect the way and speed with which children develop skills . Genetic traits , temperaments , learning style , environment , cultural and racial expectations , and experiences influence learning . Some children learn to say words at 8 months , others not until they 're almost 2 or older . Many children learn to walk at 9 months , while others wait until they are 15 to 18 months . Charts of developmental milestones - walking , talking , running , or stacking three blocks , for example - are based on averages . Parents and teachers frequently worry when a child doesn 't have a skill at the targeted time Most often , skills develop according to children 's interests and temperaments - that is , a child 's basic approach to people and events Foundation for Further Learning

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP ) is a term coined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children . It describes teaching techniques that identify and foster the developmental needs of children , both individually and in groups (Bredekamp , 1987 . DAP is a set of guidelines suggesting curriculum content and practice serving children birth through age 8 . Simply stated , these guidelines encourage early childhood programs to provide an educational environment that responds to the needs and interests of children . In that environment trained teachers use observation to plan for the class and the individuals in it . In DAP classrooms , children 's play is the primary vehicle for learning . This article will focus on DAP in school settings prekindergarten through third grade

DAP deals with all the levels and stages children grow through , building a strong foundation for future learning . Children remember , classify repeat , and modify their experiences as they learn about the world and the people in it . For example , Zach , age 6 , is eager to put together a puzzle with 100 pieces . He has experience with puzzles - first with five-piece wooden puzzles in a frame , then with cardboard floor puzzles and finally with boxed 60-piece puzzles . He knows that the picture on the outside of the box will be a guide as he separates the straight-edged pieces from the curved ones . He locates the four corners looks for matching colors , and after 45 minutes of concentrated effort completes the puzzle . He has used his past experiences to build new ones that include...