Admissions to the Elementary Education: Early Childhood/English as a Second Language, BSE have been suspended as of summer 2023 and will be discontinued as of fall 2024. If you have any questions, please contact the department.

The Early Childhood/English as a Second Language option prepares teachers to work at the preschool and primary levels (approximately birth through age 8). Students are also certified in English as a Second Language at the Early Childhood level. Admitted students begin the four-semester professional sequence in the fall after admission.

The option coursework listed here is one component of the Elementary Education, BSE degree requirements.

Environmental Education Requirement

Select one Environmental Studies course or from the following list. If appropriate, this course may also be applied toward the liberal studies requirements.

Environmental Education courses

ATM OCN/​SOIL SCI  132 Earth's Water: Natural Science and Human Use3
BOTANY 100 Survey of Botany3
BOTANY/​PL PATH  123 Plants, Parasites, and People3
BOTANY/​BIOLOGY/​ZOOLOGY  152 Introductory Biology5
BOTANY 240 Plants and Humans3
BOTANY/​ENVIR ST/​ZOOLOGY  260 Introductory Ecology3
CURRIC/​C&E SOC/​ENVIR ST  405 Education for Sustainable Communities3
ECON/​A A E/​ENVIR ST  343 Environmental Economics3-4
F&W ECOL 110 Living with Wildlife - Animals, Habitats, and Human Interactions3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  120 Introduction to the Earth System3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  127 Physical Systems of the Environment5
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  139 Global Environmental Issues3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  309 People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  339 Environmental Conservation4
LAND ARC/​ENVIR ST  361 Wetlands Ecology3
PHYSICS 115 Energy and Climate3
POP HLTH/​ENVIR ST  502 Air Pollution and Human Health3
SOC/​C&E SOC  140 Introduction to Community and Environmental Sociology4
SOC/​C&E SOC/​F&W ECOL  248 Environment, Natural Resources, and Society3
SOIL SCI 301 General Soil Science3
SOIL SCI/​ENVIR ST  324 Soils and Environmental Quality3

Mathematics for Elementary Teachers

CURRIC 319 Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Elementary Mathematics 13
1

Students with college-level calculus coursework or advanced placement credit should see the exemption rules for this course. More detailed information about this course is available on the math department website.

Professional Sequence

Admitted students complete a four-semester sequence of professional courses beginning in the fall semester after program admission. Each semester of the sequence must be followed sequentially and taken in consecutive semesters.

Semester 1
CURRIC 660 Foundations of Early Childhood Education3
CURRIC 550 Methods, Materials and Activities in Early Childhood Education3
CURRIC 663 Learning Environments for Initial Education Programs3
CURRIC 328 Arts Integration for Teaching and Learning3
CURRIC 325 Educating Young English Learners3
CURRIC 363 Practicum in Early Childhood Education in Kindergarten3
Semester 2
CURRIC 314 Becoming Literate in and out of Schools3
CURRIC 370 Teaching Mathematics3
CURRIC/​RP & SE  506 Strategies for Inclusive Schooling3
CURRIC 326 Language Use and Acquisition in Early Childhood3
CURRIC 367 Elementary Education Practicum II3
Semester 3
CURRIC 371 Teaching Social Studies3
CURRIC 372 Teaching Science3
CURRIC 315 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood3
CURRIC 327 Methods of Teaching Young English Learners3
CURRIC 373 Elementary Teaching Practicum III3
Semester 4
CURRIC 468 Early Childhood/English as a Second Language Student Teaching10
CURRIC 463 Seminar in Elementary Education2

Related Courses

These related courses focus on children and families and are recommended (not required) for students interested in early childhood education.

Related Courses

CNSR SCI 475 Family Economics3
HDFS 262 Development of the Young Child3
HDFS 464 Play-Development and Role Across the Lifespan3
HDFS 469 Family and Community Influences on the Young Child3
HDFS 471 Parent - Child Relations3
HDFS 474 Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S.3
PHILOS 104 Special Topics in Philosophy for Freshmen3
PSYCH 311 Issues in Psychology1-4
SOC 120 Marriage and Family3-4
PSYCH 460 Child Development (formerly numbered 560)3-4
SOC WORK 206 Introduction to Social Policy4

Elementary Education: Sample Four-Year Plan

Early Childhood/English as a Second Language Option

This four-year sample graduation plan is designed to guide your course selection throughout your academic career; it does not establish a contractual agreement. Use it along with your DARS report and the Course Guide to create a four-year plan reflecting your placement scores, incoming credits, and individual interests. Consult with an academic advisor to develop a personalized plan of study and refer to the Guide for a complete list of requirements. You will likely revise your plan several times during your academic career here, based on your activities and changing academic interests.

Freshman
FallCreditsSpringCredits
Communication A (fall or spring semester)3Communication A (fall or spring semester)3
Liberal Studies course work12-15Ethnic Studies 3
 Liberal Studies course work9-12
 15 15
Sophomore
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CURRIC 3193Quantitative Reasoning B3
Environmental Education3-5Additionaol Liberal Studies or General Elective course work12
Liberal Studies course work7-9 
 15 15
Junior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CURRIC 3253CURRIC 3143
CURRIC 3283CURRIC 3263
CURRIC 5503CURRIC 3703
CURRIC 6603CURRIC/​RP & SE  5063
CURRIC 6633CURRIC 3673
CURRIC 3633 
 18 15
Senior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CURRIC 315 (also meets Communication B)3CURRIC 4632
CURRIC 3273CURRIC 46810
CURRIC 3713 
CURRIC 3723 
CURRIC 3733 
 15 12
Total Credits 120