Waterford Updates Early Learning, Launches SmartStart Curriculum
The Waterford Institute has released its Waterford Early Learning math and science curriculum and Waterford SmartStart curriculum on the iPad.
The
Waterford Institute is a nonprofit research center that creates
personalized, cloud-based curriculum, content and assessment for
preschool through grade 2. For decades, the organization has
incorporated math and science into its literacy programs, citing
research findings that early math skills can improve literacy.
Last
year, the organization released its Waterford Early Learning literacy
program on the iPad, and it has now added math and science components
to the program. "It was important for this release to bring the
subjects back together for mobile because math skills have a tremendous
impact on early literacy," said Benjamin Heuston, president of
Waterford, in a news release.
The updated Waterford Early
Learning app includes approximately 450 touch-screen optimized
activities. The literacy component covers phonics, phonological
awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary, language concepts,
writing and reading fluency. The new math and science component covers
numbers, mathematical operations and algebraic thinking, geometry,
measurement and data analysis, scientific exploration and method and
earth, life and physical science. Waterford Early Learning is available
now to Waterford Cloud subscribers for free on the App Store.
SmartStart
is a new comprehensive curriculum for preschool through kindergarten
that includes software, offline materials, teacher lesson plans and
parent resources. Like Waterford Early Learning, SmartStart blends
several subjects as part of its literacy curriculum, including reading,
math, science and social studies, as well as executive functioning and
cognition. SmartStart features week-by-week lesson plans for teachers,
a SmartStart book series, printables, interactive whiteboard
activities, iPad activities and more than 400 classroom activities.
Further information about Waterford Early Learning and SmartStart can be found on Waterford's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].