Students will use the problem-solving process to address common problems that arise in a kindergarten classroom and/or on the playground. The teacher will pose the problems and lead the students through the problem-solving process.

The NC Office of Early Learning strongly encourages incorporating play into the daily routine of each classroom.
Children grow and learn in all developmental domains through their engagement in centers; cognitive, physical, social, and emotional. Authentic learning and meaningful connections are made when a teacher intentionally weaves standards and supports development throughout children’s play. PlaytoLearn Center Posters provide information about common areas of development supported during play centers along with prompts connected to kindergarten standards and NC ELI dimensions.

PlaytoLearn Planning Guides (also shared on #GoOpenNC) provide information on why each center is important to children's development, tips for setting up centers, sugessted materials, actions of an intentional teacher, and common connections children make to content. Although these resources are specifically written for kindergarten, teaching and learning strategies can be applied to many grade levels.

The NC Office of Early Learning strongly encourages incorporating play into the daily routine of each classroom.
Children grow and learn in all developmental domains through their engagement in centers; cognitive, physical, social, and emotional. Authentic learning and meaningful connections are made when a teacher intentionally weaves standards and supports development throughout children’s play. PlaytoLearn Planning Guides provide information on why each center is important to children's development, tips for setting up centers, sugessted materials, actions of an intentional teacher, and common connections children make to content. Prompts connected to kindergarten standards and NC ELI dimensions can be found on PlaytoLearn Center Posters which are also shared on #GoOpenNC. Although these resources are specifically written for kindergarten, teaching and learning strategies can be applied to many grade levels.

In order to become informed participants in a democracy, students must learn about the women and men who make decisions concerning their lives, their country, and the world. The President of the United States is one such leader. As a nation, we place no greater responsibility on any one individual than we do on the president. Through these lessons, students learn about the roles and responsibilities of the president and their own roles as citizens of a democracy.

This inquiry engages kindergartners in exploring the various ways people interact with and act upon rules and laws in society. The compelling question “Are all rules good rules?” assumes that while students generally enter school with some concept of rules and what it means to follow or break them, they may not yet understand who makes rules and how they change.

Students are introduced to authority figures in the community who make and enforce rules. They come to understand that, just like home, the community has rules that provide order, security, and safety.

Students explore the rules in their family, as well as who is responsible for ensuring the people in the family follow those rules.

In this lesson, students read Kellogg's The Island of Skog, discuss key components of a democratic government and will write three rules they believe the residents of the island should follow.

Students learn voting is a fair way for groups to make decisions. In the United States of America voting is a privilege and a responsibility of its citizens.

In this lesson, students will complete poem using the pattern sheet. Students will explore the questions: What is the responsibility? What is the importance of responsibility? How can we be responsible?

Students are introduced to the Constitution. They have learned about rules at home and at school. Students will learn that our country also has rules set out by the Constitution.

This inquiry is an exploration into the concept of responsibility, beginning within the home and then expanding to school and the community. In examining the idea that we all have important responsibilities, students should consider the question of what could happen if they choose to act irresponsibly. Through interaction with the formative performance tasks and featured sources, students build their knowledge and understanding such that they should be able to develop an argument that answers the compelling question "Why do I have to be responsible?"

In this lesson, students will learn about rules and help develop a set of classroom rules to use all year long.

In their investigation of global citizenship, students begin by identifying and discussing a range of traits associated with the idea of responsible citizenship. Through the featured sources in this inquiry, students will build their understandings of these traits and see how, through a series of scenarios, those traits can play out in three contexts: classroom, community/state, and the world. In the end, students return to the compelling question and answer for themselves why they should (or should not) be global citizens.