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Early Learning in Pennsylvania: Transition Toolkit

Safe Schools Resource

Early Learning in Pennsylvania: Transition Toolkit

Grade Levels

1st Grade, 2nd Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten

Course, Subject

Related Academic Standards
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  • Big Ideas
    Awareness of self provides a foundation for an understanding of people and engagement in social, personal, and academic environments.
    Building and maintaining positive relationships is central to success in school and life.
    Personal, social, and academic success requires a belief in oneself, a sense of purpose, and optimism.
    Recognizing thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of self and others enables one to cooperate, communicate, and constructively interact with others.
    Responsible decision-making requires an understanding and analysis of ethical, safety, and societal consequences.
    Self management and responsibility support participation in social, personal and academic environments.
  • Concepts
    Acting consistently within personal boundaries, rights, and privacy needs contributes to effective self management.
    Active listening enhances positive relationships
    Awareness and utilization of available resources will assist in making informed decisions.
    Awareness of Personal Attitudes and Beliefs is critical to understanding oneself and how one adapts over time.
    Awareness of Personal Strengths and Interests provides a foundation for setting priorities, meeting needs, and addressing challenges.
    Communication skills are critical self-management tools in social, personal, and academic environments.
    Cooperation and collaboration are essential elements in working together constructively.
    Coping Skills are important in managing behavior in constructive ways.
    Coping skills are necessary for managing life events.
    Decisions and choices have consequences that impact self and others.
    Effective communication assists in an understanding of self and others.
    Emotions affect personal decisions and actions.
    Empathy / sympathy increase one’s ability to understand and appreciate differences.
    Establishment of short and long-term goals provides for purposeful actions towards achieving those goals.
    Expressing emotions, thoughts and feelings is essential in both intra- and interpersonal growth
    Identification of personal and social roles is the foundation for effective engagement.
    Knowledge of how interests, abilities, values, and personality relate to accomplishment of personal, social, educational, and career goals.
    Managing one’s emotions and impulses can impact the outcome of situations.
    Managing relationships supports both intra- and interpersonal development.
    Peer Pressure may influence and impact decision making.
    Personal values, attitudes, and beliefs serve as a foundation for goal setting.
    Perspective frames how one interacts with others.
    Recognition of diversity serves to inform how one responds to and interacts with others.
  • Competencies
    Demonstrate constructive ways to minimize impulsivity and deal with upsetting emotions.
    Demonstrate persistence and perseverance in acquiring knowledge and skills and responding to life events.
    Demonstrate respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences throughout the decision-making process
    Demonstrate the ability to convey one’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives using effective listening and speaking skills during social interactions.
    Demonstrate the ability to identify and assess verbal and nonverbal cues.
    Demonstrate the ability to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in constructive ways.
    Determine when, where, and how to seek help for solving problems and making decisions.
    Develop an action plan to set and achieve realistic goals.
    Establish connections with others of varying backgrounds or cultures.
    Exercise self-advocacy in the expression of one’s strengths and needs.
    Explain how personal strengths may inform personal preferences and needs.
    Explain the roles one plays within various contexts and the expected attitudes, beliefs, and actions associated with each.
    Identify alternative solutions to a problem
    Identify alternative ways of achieving goals.
    Identify how personal attitudes and beliefs impact one’s behavior.
    Identify personal and social roles.
    Identify personal attitudes and beliefs.
    Identify personal strengths and interests.
    label, and express one’s emotions, thoughts, and feelings in varying situations.
    Make associations between one’s personal experiences and the experiences of others.
    Make the connection between how one feels and how one behaves.
    Monitor and adjust one’s behavior in order to play and work cooperatively.
    Recognize
    Recognize and analyze the effect of peer pressure when decisions are made.
    Recognize and appreciate individual and group similarities and differences.
    Recognize and name one’s emotions.
    Recognize different home, school, and community resources that support intrapersonal growth and development.
    Reflect and identify options and related consequences, both positive and negative, before expressing an emotion and/or taking action.
    Respond and adapt appropriately to personal and environmental cues
    Set short and long term goals.
    Understand causes of one’s feelings/emotions/behaviors.
    Use a decision-making and problem solving model
    Use active listening skills as a means to identify the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.
    Use social cues to inform the expression of one’s emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
    Utilize a realistic self-perception in the planning and monitoring of goals.

Description

The transition within and among early learning settings can be one of the most significant events that a young child experiences. Excitement, shock, fear, happiness, anxiety, surprise and a sense of being overwhelmed are a few of the emotions that a child might feel. Differences in class size, bathroom and building size, more structure and less freedom of movement, being away from home, a longer day, new staff and new children and less teacher attention can all cause a child to experience a variety of emotions. The transition to a new program or class and particularly to Kindergarten is a one-time event that takes careful advance preparation and planning in order to be a successful milestone for the child. Transition refers to change. It is a dynamic process that is ongoing. It involves moving from one situation to another. All children will experience this change differently. Thoughtful and deliberate attention to this process by those who are directly involved can make this a positive experience for a young child and his/her family. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning is pleased to provide this Transition Toolkit to strengthen connections among children, families, early learning programs and school districts in your community. The ideas and information presented in this toolkit have come from a review of national research and a statewide collection of successful transition practices. Research, information and tools have been selected to provide a springboard for additional learning in this area. This toolkit is not a comprehensive resource, but rather suggestions and strategies that can be adapted to meet the needs of all those involved in the transition process. Remember, transition is not a one-size-fits-all process or a once-and-done program. Effective transition is ongoing and carefully planned to meet the specific needs of each community and each child. Effective transition practices are best planned locally, taking into consideration children’s cultural backgrounds and the multiple characteristics of the community. Stakeholders in the transition process are encouraged to intentionally plan for transitions within and among early learning settings by using the research and resources included.

Resource(s)

https://www.pakeys.org/getting-started/ocdel-programs/transition-to-kindergarten/
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