Bank Street Curriculum

Presented by Zach Selnes

Topics to Discuss

 Bank Street History and Description of Curriculum

 Teacher’s Roles in the Classroom

 The Environment

 The View of the Child

History Of Bank Street
Founded in 1916
Bureau of Educational Experiments
Founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell
The Little Golden Book Series
Bank Street Readers
Head Start
What is Bank Street
Learn by Experimenting
 Through upper levels

Encourage to make discoveries and make meaningful

Fewer topics
-One month vs Three month??

Major Aspect of Bank Street is “child as a social being”

 Social Aspect of Bank Street
Children need to learn about living, working and playing together
BY living, working and playing together

Children Share Experiences

Create Skits

Learn and Debate

Operate fruit market

Construct buildings
Bank Street Cont
Important “children communicate their ides, share
their experiences, pose their questions and solve their
problems in many different group settings, because
learning occurs not only when one mind tackles one
problem, but also when many minds takcle the same
problem.” (Bank Street College of Education)
More on Curriculum
Major aspect = sense of community
 And social response from 3’s to the 14’s

Bank Street extends from small groups to the whole class

itself to the community
Teach children a balance between individual needs and
needs as a whole group
Learn from each other
Main Goals
 Educate the Whole Child
 Intellectual, emotional and physical aspects

 Children must interact with their environment and

interpret their experiences
 Teachers design curriculum that will lead children to
make discoveries
 Genuine effort to represent those in community
The Teacher’s Role in Bank Street
Act as guide-facilitator with expectations
Plan Curriculum that will lead to questions
Bring in curriculum about environment
Enable children to bring in their own experiences
Learn about child through observations
Promote sense of fairness
Teacher Continued
Provide concrete opportunities
Build Partnerships with families

Assessments used are

 ECERS
 ITERS
 PAS
 PDP
 Bank Street New Teachers
What about the Environment
The classrooms are broken into
3’s the Nursery
4/5’s Pre-Kindergarten
5/6’s Kindergarten

 Center of All learning activities

 Offers emotional security
 Subject Areas clearly defined, the concept of the self-
regulated classroom continues to influence the schedule and
classroom organization
Environment
Classroom designed to extend Bank Street’s mission
Academically Rich Environment BY:
 Designing and Implementing programs
 Producing high quality curriculum materials
 Provide Academic skills
 Parenting education
 Tutoring
 Adult education
 College prep for children, youth and adults
The Child in a Social Study Mind
Begins with children are makers of meaning through
their interactions

2 Major Concepts in Social Studies

 The study of human life as it presents itself from
moment to moment
 The study of the connections and relationships
necessary for physical and psychological survival in the
world around them
More About Social Studies and the Child
Focus on concrete visible world
Based on child’s daily experiences and developmental
needs
Play is their means
Their “textbooks”
Dramatic Play
Curriculum reflects cultural diversity
Child in Emergent Literacy
Actively engaged with language and literacy materials.

Pictures books prominently displayed

 Culturally diverse

Weekly library visit

Emphasis on Literacy Goals
Communication and expression about self, others and
the physical world
Appreciation of other points of view
Acquisition of a sense of story
Making the connection between the spoken and
written world
Interest in and use of symbolic representation
Mathematics
Embedded in daily experiences and core curriculum
Concrete and active experiences are essential
Materials used
 Unit Blocks
 Pegs and Pegboards
 Cuisenaire Rods
 Pattern Blocks
 Design Cubes
 Dice and Board Games
 Playing Cards
Science
Encourage children to develop an attitude of inquiry
and respect for their natural and physical environment
Children investigate, manipulate, discuss, record and
make predictions
Explore cause and effect
How organisms change
Relationships between form and function
Teachers Promote Science By
Letting children plant and grow seeds
Collect natural samples
Plan lots of Field Trips
 Farms and Farmers Markets
 Aquariums
 Frequent trips around the community
Child and Spanish
Taught during the week through songs and stories

Spanish Teacher in small groups

Encourages them to speak Spanish

Children in Art
Early years children explore

Progression equals integrate shapes, lines and colors

Materials
 Paint
 Block building
 Clay
 Drawing
 Wood working
Children in Music
Music is explored through movement, songs, dancing
and exploring instruments

Each class sings with the music teacher and visits the
music room weekly

Spanish and Music teacher collaborate

Children in Physical Education
Children explore what their bodies can do
Early Years learn to let go, rein in and control their
bodies
Introduction of games provide foundation for later
years
All activities emphasize on repetition and variations of
basic movements
Social learning through team games
Movement focuses on technique and creative
expression
Would I Use Bank Street
Interactions through the real world
Hands on Approach
Learn through experiences
Explore Community
Curriculum makes children think and ask questions
“Textbooks” = Concrete Materials
Challenge their social understanding
 Others views and communicate own thoughts
References
Bank Street College of Education.Bank Street.
http://www.bankstreet.edu
Bank Street College of Education. Bank Street.
http://webstaging.bankstreet.edu/gems/sfc/Curriculu
mGuide.pdf
(Handouts from class ( Do not know how to site all
information is not on handout))
Curriculum Basis.What is Being Taught?.Ch 10 Section
4. Pg 406.
Role of Curriculum in Early Childhood Programs.Part
1 Early Childhood Curriculum. Pg 12.