Samantha King

Standard 5: Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum

Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs use their knowledge of academic
disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote positive development
and learning for each and every young child. Candidates understand the importance of
developmental domains and academic disciplines in early childhood curriculum. They know the
essential concepts, inquiry tools, and structure of context areas, including academic subjects, and
can identify resources to deepen their understanding. Candidates use their own knowledge and
other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curriculum that
promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every young child.
5a. Understanding content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines: language and
literacy; the arts music, creative movement, dance, drama, visual arts; mathematics; science,
physical activity, physical education, health and safety; and social studies.
5b. Knowing and using the central concepts, inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or
academic disciplines.
5c. Using own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design,
implement, and evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child.
Knowledge and Competence:
My understanding of using content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum is that it is the job
of the educator to implement meaningful and appropriate curriculum to meet the needs of all the
children. The educator should create an environment with plenty of centers that will help the
children grow in their learning and development. The environment and curriculum must
constantly be evaluated of its effectiveness and how well it is meeting the needs of the children.
Educators should know when and how to use inquiry tools, as well as using central concepts
found in the TN-ELDS.
Application:
I will apply what I know by designing, implementing, and evaluating an appropriate but
challenging environment and curriculum. I will take what I have learned about each child, and
create experiences that will help them develop and learn more. I will also follow the early
learning standards, as well as other appropriate resources, to better myself and the environment
around me. I will also provide the classroom with many different centers that will build their
learning and provide experiences for play.
Growth Over Time:
I have changed my understanding of using content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum
recently because I did not know that I could create my own curriculum for my future children. I
was under the impression that every teacher was given a curriculum and they were to follow it to
a tee. I am happy to know that as a intentional educator, it is accepted and even encouraged to
create your own curriculum to meet the needs of each child. This means I need to know each
 Samantha King

child, know where they need to be, and create both and environment and a curriculum that will
help them meet those needs.
Future Goals:
I hope to grow and improve in this standard by knowing the early learning standards better. I
want to make sure that every activity, lesson, and center can be traced back to a standard. This
will mean that everything I implement as a caregiver and teacher will be intentional: in hopes to
benefit the children.