We are now in an "age of accountability" for educators. Many states have adopted content standards even for preschool programs. While most educators support accountability, some have voiced concern that the core values so important when working with young children—nurturing the whole child, facilitating learning through play, moving at the child's own learning pace, fostering creativity, etc.—will be replaced by arbitrary, teacher-directed instruction. This need not, should not, and must not be the case.

This article aligns some of the many activities in the More Than . . . curriculum series to typical content standards. Each activity in the series maps to numerous content-standard indicators. Teachers can apply the more-general alignments presented in this article to their own specific state or program standards.

Mathematics Content Standards
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) organizes key learning around five domains: Number Sense and Operations; Patterns, Functions, and Relationships (Algebra); Geometry; Measurement; and Data Analysis and Probability. Since state mathematics standards are typically quite similar to the NCTM domains, they provide a useful framework for aligning curriculum, as the following activities show.

•"Hop to the Mitten": Activity 1.15, Much More Than Counting
In this activity, children use their entire bodies as they roll a giant die and hop along a path made of carpet squares. At the end of the path, they place an animal cutout on a large mitten. Activities such as this one support indicators commonly grouped under Number Sense and Operations, including: touching objects and saying the number names when counting them, demonstrating one-to-one correspondence when counting objects, determining how many objects there are, and constructing a matching set (in this case, a set of "hops" to match the dots on the die).

•"Barrettes on Braids": Activity 2.2, Much More Than Counting
"Yikes! It's algebra!" This common reaction is a reflection of our own anxieties and misconceptions. Algebra involves patterns, relationships, and the language of math. In this activity, children use barrettes to create simple patterns on dolls. While some children may group the barrettes by color or shape, others create patterns, such as blue-red, blue-red. As they perform this activity, children are exploring important mathematical relationships frequently identified in Patterns, Functions, and Relationships content standards.

•"Elephant Stacking Game": Activity 5.1, Much More Than Counting
Almost every child will excitedly engage in math when this game is presented. Children take turns rolling a die and stacking blocks on the back of a Duplo elephant. They try not to be the one who knocks the stack over. On a basic level, this activity addresses Number Sense standards; however, the teacher can make subtle changes in the activity to include more standards. For example, instead of using all square blocks, the teacher might substitute blocks from a shape sorter, giving her an opportunity to discuss various shapes as the children stack them and thus addressing common Geometry standards. The teacher could also add a score sheet, on which children could record how many blocks they stack each turn—an activity that would map to standards that deal with writing and identifying numerals. Finally, the teacher could assist children in measuring the stack of blocks after each turn, thus addressing Measurement standards.

•"Shoe Fastener Graph": Activity 6.3, More Than Counting
Group graphs such as this one allow children to see how data can be physically represented. Such activities align with Data Analysis standards, including: comparing objects by similarities and differences, placing information in a graph according to an attribute, and selecting the category that has the most or fewest objects in a graph.

Lists of activities and how they align to content standards could go on and on. In fact, all of the more than two hundred activities presented in More Than Counting and Much More Than Counting address concepts now incorporated into state standards. As a general guide, activities described in the chapters "Math Manipulatives," "Grid Games," "Path Games," "Gross Motor Play," "Math Suitcases," "Math throughout the Classroom," "Math for Toddlers," and "Math for Inclusive Classrooms" align with Number Sense and Operations indicators in math content standards. Activities in the chapter "Collections" in More Than Counting and in "Patterns and Symmetry" in Much More Than Counting align with content standards that address Patterns, Functions, and Relationships. Activities that address Data Analysis and Probability can be found in the chapter on "Graphing" in More Than Counting and in "Estimation" in Much More Than Counting. In addition, suggestions for curriculum extensions align with standards in other curriculum areas, including literacy and science.

Language Arts Standards
Language arts encompass oral language as well as emergent reading and writing. Standards tend to cover Phonemic Awareness and Word Recognition; Vocabulary; Reading Processes and Applications; Writing Processes and Applications; and Oral Communication. The following activities, selected from More Than Letters, demonstrate how rich literacy activities align with many language arts standards.

•"Pizza Menu": Activity 7.9, More Than Letters
This dramatic-play setting encourages learning in all three areas of language arts: language development, emergent reading, and emergent writing. As children use pizza menus and create a play restaurant, they incorporate indicators associated with Reading Processes and Applications standards, including: understanding that print has meaning, holding books (menus) right-side up, distinguishing print from pictures, retelling information, and gaining information from pictures. As children take orders, they implement writing indicators, such as: determining a purpose for writing, practicing writing from top to bottom, and producing writing approximations. In addition, through their play, children initiate and sustain conversations; learn new words; and name items in common categories (pizza toppings), all of which are communication standards.

•"The Mitten": Activity 3.4, More Than Letters
Interactive charts such as the one found in this activity incorporate many language arts standards. As children point to words in the chart, they practice top-to-bottom and left-to-right print orientation, and voice-print pairing. They also explore sound relationships, which map to Phonemic Awareness standards, such as identifying words that rhyme or words that start with the same sound.

•"Grab Bag": Activity 6.5, More Than Letters
This game helps children focus on letter naming, letter sounds, and how letters form words. Children take turns drawing letters from a grab bag and matching them to words on their game boards.

As is the case with the math books in the More Than . . . series, More Than Letters helps teachers meet content-standard goals. Activities in the chapters "Big Books," "Interactive Charts," "Literacy Games," and "Environmental Print" align with content standards in the area of emergent reading. Activities in the chapters "Writing Activities," "Writing Centers," and "Literacy Suitcases" align with standards that address emergent writing. Language and Communication standards are addressed throughout the book, especially through the guides for teachers that provide questions to extend thinking. Phonemic and Phonetic Awareness standards are addressed in every activity in the book through a special section that directly relates the activity to these concepts. Teachers will find much crossover when linking activities in More Than Letters with content standards. An activity such as the "Class Post Office" (Activity 4.10, More Than Letters) incorporates reading, writing, phonemic awareness, and communication.

Science Standards
Science standards are typically grouped into the domains of Earth and Space Science, Life Sciences, Physical Science, and Scientific Inquiry. The following examples show how activities from More Than Magnets can link to these standards.

•"A Spring Tradition": Activity 2.9, More Than Magnets
This activity moves beyond seed-planting to encourage scientific inquiry. Prior to planting a variety of seeds, children examine the seeds' characteristics and then make predictions. Will the largest seed grow the largest plant? Do seeds that look alike grow plants that look alike? This focus on scientific thinking aligns this activity with Scientific Inquiry standards, including: asking questions about objects and events, predicting what will happen, making comparisons between objects, and recording and communicating observations. This activity also aligns with Life Sciences indicators, such as identifying common needs of living things, recognizing the ways that environments support life, and recognizing physical differences.

•"Adjustable Ramp": Activity 3.3, More Than Magnets
This simple machine activity involves early physics. Children compare how the slope of a ramp affects how objects behave on it. Since the children themselves can adjust the height of the ramp, they are encouraged to make predictions, experiment, carefully observe events, and communicate findings. Thus, Scientific Inquiry standards apply to this activity. In addition, the activity aligns with Physical Science standards, including: demonstrating an understanding of motion-related words and exploring various ways to move objects.

Throughout More Than Magnets, teachers learn to help children explore the standard of Scientific Inquiry. Many of the activities in the chapter "Science Displays" align with content standards in the Life Sciences, while a few ("Ancient Treasures," "Search for Hidden Ore," and "Science in the Sensory Table") relate to Earth Science. All of the activities in the chapters "Machines and Pendulums," "Science in the Sensory Table," "Science and Art," "Science and Music," "Science and Cooking," and "Science in Gross Motor Areas" align to standards in the often-neglected area of Physical Science.

As previously noted, the activities in the More Than . . . books challenge children to become engaged with numerous content standards. For example, in Activity 7.2 in More Than Magnets, as children make applesauce they explore Life Sciences as they interact with apples; Physical Science as they use simple machines to peel and chop the apples; Measurement as they measure ingredients; and Literacy as they read the recipe. With a renewed focus on the importance of preschool years in a child's development, early childhood educators must combine their commitment to developmentally appropriate practice with an understanding of content-standard frameworks. The two should be and can be mutually inclusive.

Sally Moomaw is the Associate Director for Professional Development at the Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center, and a clinical faculty member at the University of Cincinnati. Sally earned a bachelor of music degree and a master's degree in child development, both from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently working on a doctorate in special education. Sally taught preschool and kindergarten children in inclusive classrooms at the Arlitt Center for twenty-two years. She is the author or coauthor of nine books, including Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms, which won the Gustavus Meyers Outstanding Book Award for the study of bigotry and human rights; and the popular More Than . . . curriculum series. She created the Ohio Department of Education Mathematics Tool Kit to help preschool teachers implement state content standards, and she has served as a faculty member on nationally televised broadcasts, including Heads-Up Reading. Her research interests include early mathematics development and social justice. Sally's books include Nobody Else Like Me: Activities to Celebrate Diversity, Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms, More Than Letters, More Than Painting, More Than Counting, More Than Singing, More Than Magnets, and Much More Than Counting, all available from Redleaf Press.

For more information on connecting your curriculum to content standards, check out Make Early Learning Standards Come Aliveby Gaye Gronlund, published by Redleaf Press.