Abstract:
ABSTRACT
LITERACY CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR PRESCHOOL TEACHERS
WHO HAVE GIFTED CHILDREN IN A REGULAR CLASSROOM
by
© Yoko Yoshikawa 2009
Master of Arts in Education
Curriculum and Instruction Option
California State University, Chico
Spring 2009
The goal for all educators and other related professionals is providing appropriate
education for all students suited to their needs. Several types of educational
programs have been designed to meet the various needs of students in elementary
grades or older. One such program is called GATE (Gifted and Talented Education).
Yet, preschools have no parallel program; all levels of children are placed together in
one classroom.
All children have the right to be educated. In order to maintain highly motivated
students, schools must strive to provide a quality environment and appropriate
materials for them. This is true not only for the United States, but in schools throughout
the world. Thus, this guidebook is useful in any language.
ix
Since the author has learned and taught both in the United States and Japan,
this guidebook is designed for use in both languages, English and Japanese. The educational
goals for preschoolers in both countries are the same, thus, all activities are well
suited for both countries.
This project was created to provide curriculum plans for preschool teachers,
preschoolers, and their parents. Some preschool teachers are struggling with advanced
students because, although there are many publications about teaching remedial students
in the mainstream, little is written about teaching advanced students.
The purpose of this project is to offer preschool teachers and other related
professionals ideas for teaching gifted education within the regular classroom. The activities
in this guidebook are planned to flow from a gentle warm up, to peak excitement, to a
cooling off period. Also, some assessment ideas are included in the guidebook. There are
a good many activity forms to use as well.
All activity plans are ready-to-go style and have been developed from existing
lesson plans and the author’s prior experience. There is room to further develop or customize
these plans to fit your students and your classroom. You can look at your students
and develop your own. At the end of the project, there are some suggestions for
teachers and the activity providers. These are clearly listed and useful for any situation.
