Kindergarten Best Practices

Our overall goal at TEA is to ensure early childhood educators in Texas are given support, guidance, and technical assistance in key areas. The purpose of creating this guidance is to support the foundational framework for creating a high-quality early childhood education program. The content in this guidebook includes current research, instructional strategies, and developmentally appropriate approaches that are fundamental to an effective kindergarten classroom. This guidebook is not intended to replace locally adopted instructional materials, nor is it designed to override district policies. Rather, it can be used to support the design and implementation of a high-quality kindergarten program.

The design of this guidebook includes key alignment to:

• Texas Kindergarten Essential Skills (TEKS)
• Best researched-based practices for instruction
• Texas “Program Self-Assessment” for kindergarten

Resources

• Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Education
• Research-Based Best Practices for School Readiness       
• Supporting Children Receiving Special Education Services in the Early Childhood Setting           
• Supporting Emergent Bilingual Children in the Early Childhood Classroom   
• Physical Arrangement 
• Classroom Organization and Routines   
• Learning Centers/Stations   
• Technology Guidance        
• Activity/Lesson Planning and Curriculum Implementation     
• Daily Schedules