C4L • Frequently Asked Questions (C4L)

Some sets of lessons build upon a concept within a single day.  A concept may be introduced in read aloud, revisited in Connect and focused on in a Small Group lesson.  It is recommended that for some lessons, the order of the components be kept intact. 

The Fast Focus lessons can be moved around in the daily schedule as needed or used as transitions (p. 30 Teacher’s Handbook).  Connect lessons are usually 10-20 minutes and preview learning for small group. Fast Focus lessons are 5-10 minutes and more flexibly incorporated into the daily schedule.

We understand we have many 2.5 hour programs and 4-day programs.  It is recommended that teachers try to incorporate all components sequentially in order for all four domains to be addressed daily. Many concepts build across days or weeks, so skipping an activity may hinder a future lesson. Often, Day 5 of Small Group and Fast Focus lessons are review days. Consider ways to include the Day 5 Read-Aloud and Connect somewhere else in the week if you need to skip Day 5.

Supplemental Resources for Connect4Learning^® (C4L), located on Canvas, provides essential information for skills and concepts that need to be reinforced.

The Online Portal provides digital access to lessons, center recommendations, formative assessments, and computer-based learning activities.  Parents have access to games that students can use at home.  Games are introduced into the portal gradually as the year progresses.

The Online Portal is included in the C4L kit as a consumable during the first year of usage. Teams that wish to renew their subscription to the Portal can use school based funds, grants, PTA, etc. in order to continue use for teachers and students.  Please contact Kym Nwosu, Early Childhood Programs Resource Teacher, to order your subscription.

Family engagement letters for each unit are available in English and Spanish on the Online Portal.  Additionally, parents are invited into the classroom at the end of each unit to share in culminating projects. Consider using technology such as Ready Rosie, Class Dojo, or Twitter for parent and family communication.

Paraeducators may use the guided play approach with children during Learning Centers.  At times, there may be two small group lessons, in which paraeducators can lead a small group.  Paraeducators may also reinforce concepts during Self-Selected Centers with individual or small groups of students.

Learning Trajectories for mathematics are the thinking and learning processes of children at various levels and the learning activities used to move children toward their next learning goals. Learning Trajectories have three parts:

1. Learning goal (aka: target, benchmark, expectation)
2. Developmental path along which children develop to reach that goal
3. Set of activities matched to each of the levels of thinking in the path that help children develop the next higher level of thinking Homepage/LTLT Links to an external site.www.learningtrajectories.org Links to an external site.

In C4L, children work towards a large goal in each unit.  For example, in Unit 2, the students build a coral reef. The curriculum describes specific unit projects, but teams may decide to develop an alternative project such as the rainforest or desert.  Also, students may show high interest in alligators or giraffes, so additional projects can be made as long as they support the learning objectives in the lessons.

This learning center is often the lab for some of the ongoing projects in the curriculum.  Students will use the skills they’ve been learning to create a product and share it with the community outside of the classroom. This can be a flexible space in your classroom environment.

Calendar Math continues to be a great resource to practice routines and some introductory concepts in mathematics.  It can be used in conjunction with C4L; however, it should not replace the components of C4L. Calendar Math should not exceed 5-10 minutes in lesson length.  Concepts of patterning, number sense, and other domains can be optimized using Calendar Math, especially in preschool and MINC classrooms.

For the 2019-2020 school year, new users and second year users will have a new set of vendor consumables. Please consider finding a way to make sure your items can be reused.  According to the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy, teachers can share and distribute curriculum materials with copyrighted materials embedded. For more information, please visit https://hcpss.instructure.com/courses/48282/pages/all-staff-star-copyright

Weekly Learning Objectives and Material Plans are listed in Unit Guides at the beginning of each week.  A snapshot document has been provided for Unit One essential materials. This document can be used by teams to plan ahead for other units. Additionally, the Office of Early Childhood Programs has provided a bin of consumable materials for each team.

Learning centers are ever-evolving with your student’s interests.  C4L encourages students to assist in building and creating centers.  Learning center suggestions are listed in the front of each unit guide, as well as with the lessons on the Portal.  Teachers may use creativity and flexibility to enhance and supplement learning centers.

It is highly recommended that teachers read the Teacher Handbook.  The C4L Unit Guides model excellent questioning techniques, modifications for students, and research-based best practices.  Intentional planning for success requires prep time for interactive read-alouds, small groups, and formative assessments. Many teachers have found marking read-aloud books with sticky notes listing questions and vocabulary to be a helpful strategy for success.

Self-Selected Centers are not free play.  Self-Selected Centers is a student-selected center time intentionally planned for teachers to join in guided play with students.  Teachers can find ideas for learning centers in the front of each unit guide to meet the needs of their students.  Students may also contribute to center ideas.  

Guided play is when adults enhance student’s exploration and learning through: co-playing with children, asking open-ended questions, and suggesting ways to explore materials.  Teachers may also choose to pull students to reinforce concepts and assess during this time. Self-Selected Centers provide an opportunity to infuse 

fine motor development activities as well. Consider using the Early Childhood Handwriting Resource Guide for suggested activities.

Consider asking the school cafeteria manager, PTA, or school administrator to assist with purchasing of food items (RECC programs can use LTP funds as an option).  Donations could be requested from parents via newsletters or other communication platforms in anticipation of the upcoming lesson(s) or unit(s).

Self-Selected Centers is the ideal time for service providers to service students in the general education setting alongside their peers.  Playing with children in their centers can be purposeful and flexible for providers. Many service providers will also choose to teach a small group lesson in the classroom during Learning Centers. 

A C4L for Specialists document has been created to share with service providers and related arts teachers to help them better understand the curriculum.   

C4L is research-based and was tested in all settings. During lesson and project development of C4L, principal investigators referred to pedagogical strategies known to enhance social-emotional development when designing instructional activities. According to Fox et al. (2003) and Hemmeter, Ostrosky, and Fox (2006), “this approach emphasizes three key areas: 

1. designing the learning environment to promote children’s engagement with activities, materials, and peers; 
2. supporting the development of children’s social skills and emotional competencies, particularly self-regulation; and,
3. implementing a planned and intentional approach to preventing and addressing challenging behavior.”

The Pyramid framework provides guidance for practices that can be integrated into an interdisciplinary curriculum with an adaptive approach that is tailored to the individual needs of the children in a setting. HCPSS teachers can use this model to guide instruction in MINC programs.  

Within the established structure of our MINC classrooms, the C4L curriculum guides the activities and lessons within the classroom. It does not change the structure of the classroom and all components must be included within the classroom day.  

It is recommended that teachers incorporate Young Athletes activities into outdoor play and transitions.  Consider making an obstacle course in your classroom on a rainy day or request a possible gymnasium or multipurpose room time slot.