Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in the Kindergarten Classroom

Developmentally appropriate practices and strategies support a caring community in the kindergarten classroom by building partnerships with stakeholders, using assessment to develop learning, and implementing high quality curriculum to achieve successful outcomes. Demonstrating professionalism as an early childhood educator ultimately includes recognizing the strengths of young children by building upon their unique abilities across all domains of development and providing culturally, linguistically, and ability-based experiences for every child in the classroom.

Connections to the Kindergarten Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

Ensuring optimal development through strengths-based, play-based experiences, requires that the early childhood Texas educator reference the Kindergarten TEKS to drive instructional practices while implementing a high-quality Kindergarten curriculum with fidelity.

Alignment to developmentally appropriate practices and the Kindergarten TEKS may be expressed as follows:

• Referencing Kindergarten TEKS while lesson planning and/or determining lesson outcomes for culturally, linguistically, and ability-based experiences
• Using Kindergarten TEKS to identify areas for play-based opportunities in the environment as aligned with high-quality Kindergarten curriculum (e.g., Learning Centers/Stations)

Connections to Progress Monitoring 

As developmentally appropriate practices are ingrained into the ECE classroom, opportunities to continuously engage in progress monitoring routines will support instructional practices that ultimately lead to successful outcomes for all students.

• Continuously reference formative and summative assessments to adjust instructional practices that meet every child’s ability-based needs
• Collaborate with families in the assessment process to determine developmental goals as aligned to the Kindergarten TEKS
• Intentionally use play-based opportunities to observe and collect data as aligned to the Kindergarten TEKS
  • Examples include use of student portfolios that may consist of anecdotal notes, checklists, and/or individually created student-made products