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Chancellor Dennis Walcott prepares to read to a group of 4-year-olds at the Bank Street Head Start center.

Using skills developed at his first job, Chancellor Dennis Walcott dropped to the floor at Manhattan’s Bank Street Head Start center today and read a version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to a circle of 4-year-olds.

Just as he said he had as a pre-kindergarten teacher in the 1970s, Walcott changed his voice for the different characters and acted out parts of the story, keeping the children laughing and acting along. (Watch video of the reading.)

The read-aloud came during a break in painting, mashing play dough, building with blocks, and assembling magnetic tiles — activities that look like fun and games but actually reflect the city’s academic goals for pre-K students.

Those goals are set out in the city’s new curriculum standards, called the Common Core, which start in pre-K. Like all city students, children in the Department of Education’s pre-K classes are expected to complete Common Core-aligned “tasks” this year like the ones the DOE has suggested for units about trucks, plants, and the five senses.

Among the Common Core standards for pre-K: Students should engage in group reading activities such as the one Walcott led and practice addition and subtraction using everyday objects. (more…)