North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Cognitive Development (CD)

Subdomain: Social Connections

Goal: Children identify and demonstrate acceptance of similarities and differences between themselves and others

Skill Progression: Identify and demonstrate acceptance of similarities and differences

Age: 48-54 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 48-54 Months.

Tends to choose friends with like interests and personalities

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the children during play times in the classroom. Also listen to their remarks about other children in the class.

Elicitation Strategy

No elicitation needed.

Behavior Observed

Children choose playmates who not only like the same types of play, but those who also have similar personalities (boisterous, quiet, friendly, etc.).

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Help children accept individual differences by commenting on the strengths that each child displays. Early childhood educators and parents can help children be inclusive by giving suggestions for how to respond to their peers who may have disabilities. For example, the early childhood educator or parent may model and/or tell children how to respond to a child’s tantrums or withdrawal; how to involve children who are lower functioning in play; or how to communicate with children with language concerns.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.