Evidence Overview III

Objective 3: Learn to plan developmentally appropriate curriculum plans, which incorporate activities designed to meet the needs and interests of children of the age group.

Activities/Resources:

Shadow and observe the lead teachers in the classroom, as well as observe them when they plan curriculum/activities
Discuss the curriculum building process with lead teachers/supervisor based on different age groups
Create a comprehensive curriculum or activity for a certain age group; observe how the children feel about the activity/whether it was developmentally appropriate and helpful in regard to their learning process and overall cognitive functioning

Evidence:

Provide a curriculum/sample curriculum which I created for a specific class/age group
Provide my notes, observations, child responses to activity in my portfolio

Evidence Overview:

My initial goal was to create a sample curriculum for a specific age group--and I am so pleased to report that not only was I able to sit down with a lead teacher and assist in creating the official curriculum for the coming week-I got to do it twice. In order to complete my goal, I spent a lot of my time learning about the importance of objectives and performance standards in order to create activities that would encourage development and growth in all sorts of ways. The curriculum plan is drafted for the entire following week, revolving around a particular theme, working towards pre-determined goals which the children are expected to achieve by the end of the week. For each day, the following is planned: a book and song are chosen, creative expression and themed group activities, dramatic play, discovery, science, and math. The performance standards are clearly defined, as well as how the plan includes parent involvement. Physical activity and outdoor play is also determined. Below I have given a brief description for each of the Toddler Curriculum I assisted in creating, as well as some photos to showcase the fun. To view the photos, hover your mouse over the ends of the photo until they begin to slide or simply click on one of the photos to view them more closely.

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Toddler Curriculum #1

In my first official curriculum plan in the “Panda” classroom (children ages 2-3) the theme was “Space” (including stars, spaceships, and the moon). By the end of the lesson, the children were able to name at least 1-3 stars and will begin to identify different objects in outer space using pictures. To give more detail, Friday’s plan was as such: The book read was “A Star in My Orange." The creative expression/themed group activity consisted of the children crafting a paper plate moon. Dramatic play was transformed into outer space, with a fun rocket-ship tent set up in the room with awesome astronaut costumes to dress up in. Their artwork also helped transform the room, as you can see in the below photos. For the discovery, science, and math activity, we had the children make (and eat!!) moon snack, which helped them learn about the different phases of the moon. However, the sugar high that followed was quite the challenge :). The outdoor play/physical activity for the week was moon walking, in which the children listened to slow music and pretended they were on the moon. It was really fun for the children, and especially funny for the teachers to watch! Performance standards met this week were: understanding that things can be grouped and shows awareness of pictures and prints.

Below I have provided the weekly curriculum plan as well as pictures of how nicely the artwork transformed the room into outer space. Additionally, I have pictures of the children and me in action, creating their paper plate moon craft. Enjoy!

Toddler Curriculum #2

In my second official curriculum plan in the “Panda” classroom I helped pre-plan for a week in August. The theme will be a continuation of “Summer," with a focus on fruits and vegetables. By the end of the lesson, the children will be able to name different fruits and vegetables and taste different food that is eaten in the summer. To give more detail, Monday’s plan was as such: The book we will read is called “Summer”. The creative expression/themed group activity will consist of the children crafting a paper plate watermelon. Dramatic play will be transformed into a summer farmers market/fruits and vegetables stand, with the addition of their new toy stand and their pretend fruits and vegetables from the kitchen area. For the discovery, science, and math activity, we will have the children count the seeds in a watermelon. I'm sure this will get super messy--all the more fun! Parent involvement will be to bring in different fruits and vegetables that we will use for our fruit popsicle making on Tuesday. The outdoor play/physical activity for the week will be the color hop game, a gross motor activity in which the children will work on their color recognition. Performance standards that will be met this week: demonstrate basic fine motor skills and sustaining attention.