> Since 2003, Wisconsin early childhood programs have been guided by the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS). These standards have established common language and developmental expectations for all children from birth to first grade. The WMELS reflect attention to all the domains of a child’s learning and development including: health/physical, social/emotional, language/communication, approaches to learning, and cognition/general knowledge.
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> This fall, the WMELS Early Literacy section was reviewed to assure that it was in line with current best practices. We worked with Alan Coulter, Ph.D., Office for the Jamie S. Settlement Agreement LSU Health Sciences Center, to identify a national reading expert, Stephanie Al Otaiba, who assisted in this review and update. Concurrently the adoption of the Common Core State Standards has provided an opportunity to further align early childhood and academic standards.
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> The PDF for the updated WMELS document can be found at http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/wmels-documents.php. For those who already have copies of the WMELS Third Edition, a separate document of only the updated Early Literacy section can also be downloaded from this page
