"Blends holistic authentic assessment with purposeful, specific assessment experiences that are also child and classroom friendly." —Vicki Hawley, Early Literacy Training Project Coordinator Center for Early Education and Development University of Minnesota "Explains the research base, the reason for the assessment process, and current trends in assessment practices for early childhood education, and offers easy-to-use assessment tools that address the whole child." —L. Kathryn Sharp, Early Childhood Instructor University of Memphis Use familiar classroom activities as an assessment tool! Effective teaching requires skill in implementing challenging and inviting curricular activities. It also involves evaluating children's learning in order to extend their development through the school year. Being able to implement and evaluate at the same time is a tall order but is at the heart of good teaching. Written for PreK–3 educators, Bridging blends curriculum planning, implementation, and assessment into one seamless process, providing a practical, performance-based approach to early childhood assessment. Encouraging teachers to assess both what (content) and how (process) children learn, the authors have developed 15 activities across five curricular areas—language arts and literacy, visual arts, mathematics, science, and performing arts—with guidelines for implementing, interpreting, and "bridging" observations of children to classroom teaching practices. The book provides ways to: Identify children's current status in content area learning and development Determine which children are ready to learn in upcoming weeks and months Make informed instructional adaptations to meet developmental needs, and more! With a built-in facilitator guide for designing and leading preservice and inservice professional development, this resource offers an instructional framework for everyone committed to aligning sound early childhood curriculum with national learning standards.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures Foreword by Samuel J. Meisels Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Section I. A Guide for Teachers 1. Introduction to the Process of Bridging Assessment and Teaching Bridging in Classrooms Overview of Bridging Distinctive Features of Bridging Bridiging for Preservice and Inservice Teachers Overview of the Bridging Handbook 2. Assessing the Content of Children′s Learning Diversity and Individual Differences Diverse Curricular Areas Promoting Underlying Concept Development Key Concepts and Skills Performance Rubrics Learning Profiles Actual and Potential Development 3. Assessing the Process of Children′s Learning Approaches to Learning Defining Approaches to Learning Rubrics to Measure Working Approaches Sources of Variability in Working Approaches Working Approaches in the Bridging Process 4. Activity as the Unit of Analysis in Bridging Assessment Unit of Analysis in Child Assessment Activity as the Unit of Analysis in Bridging Assessment Conceptual Framework of Bridging Bridging Activities as Basic Activities Bridging Activities and Play 5. Task Parameters in Bridging Assessment Task Parameters in Bridging Assessment Task Goals Key Concepts and Skills Materials Social Arrangements Structure of Tasks Summary 6. Teacher Roles in Bridging Assessment Overview of Teacher Roles Decision Maker Participant Observer Interpreter Translator Integrating Roles and Teacher Development Bridges to Effective Teaching Section II. Implementation of Assessment Activities 7. Implementing Bridging Implementing Bridging in the Classroom Context Becoming Familiar With Activity Protocols Planning the Assessment Conducting Bridging Activities Interpreting the Assessment Results Linking Assessment to Teaching Activities: Language Arts and Literacy What We Know What Bridging Provides Why These Three Activities Standards and Language Arts and Literacy Bridging Activities Reading a Book-Child′s Choice and Teacher′s Choice Dictating a Story Acting Out a Story Activities: Visual Arts What We Know What Bridging Provides Why These Three Activities Standards and Visual Arts Bridging Activities Experimenting With Crayon Techniques Drawing a Self-Portrait Making Pattern Block Pictures Activities: Mathematics What We Know What Bridging Provides Why These Three Activities Standards and Mathematics Bridging Activities Creating Pattern Block Pinwheels Solving Pattern Block Puzzles Exploring Number Concepts (Counting, Subtracting, Estimating, and "Fair Share"-Simple Division) Activities: Sciences What We Know What Bridging Provides Why These Three Activities Standards and Science Bridging Activities Exploring Shadows and Light Assembling a Nature Display Building a Model Car Activities: Performing Arts What We Know What Bridging Provides Why These Three Activities Standards and Performing Arts Bridging Activities Moving to Music Playing an Instrument Singing a Song References and Recommended Readings Facilitator′s Guide to Bridging and Teacher Development Inservice Professional Development Professional Studies for Preservice Teacher Candidates Building a Community of Learners Index